The Hollywood Chamber of Commerce honored comedian Kevin Hart with the 2,591st star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame on Monday, October 10th at 11:00 a.m. PDT. The star in the category of Live Performance was be dedicated at 7013 Hollywood Boulevard next to DSW Shoes.
Helping Emcee and Hollywood Chamber President/CEO Leron Gubler to unveil the star was Ice Cube, Will Packer and Tim Story.
“We are so excited to honor the hilarious Kevin Hart with a star on the Walk of Fame next to DSW Shoes,” stated Ana Martinez, Producer of the Walk of Fame ceremonies. “Before Kevin took the entertainment world by storm, he honed his work ethic as a shoe salesman in his hometown of Philadelphia. It’s fitting that a man who has achieved so much in his career and given such joy to so many across the world has never forgotten where he comes from. If the shoe fits, Kevin…”
If there’s one thing Kevin Hart can do, it’s sell shoes. If there’s one thing Kevin Hart can do better than sell shoes, it’s explode into one of the foremost comedians and entertainers in the industry today.
After an electrifying performance at amateur night in a Philadelphia comedy club, Hart quit his shoe-salesman job and began performing full time at such venues as the Boston Comedy Club, Caroline’s on Broadway, Stand Up NY, the Laugh Factory and The Comedy Store in Los Angeles. However, it was his first appearance at the Montreal Just for Laughs Comedy Festival that led Hart into roles in feature films.
Hart’s recent movie projects include the animated film The Secret Life of Pets (Illumination Entertainment and Universal Pictures); the highest grossing live-action comedy Central Intelligence (New Line Cinema and Universal Pictures), Universal Pictures’ Ride Along 2, which grossed more than $100 million worldwide; Screen Gems’ The Wedding Ringer, which also starred Josh Gad; and Warner Bros.’ Get Hard, which also starred Will Ferrell. Always the consummate worker, Hart is also a force in television, executive producing the show Real Husbands of Hollywood, which just started production on its fifth season.
In addition, Hart embarked on the multi-city domestic and international “What Now?” comedy tour. Domestically, he sold out eight tri-state area arenas, including Madison Square Garden, Barclays Center, Prudential Center and Jones Beach Theater, selling over 100,000 tickets in the New York market. He was also the first comedian to sell out an NFL stadium, selling over 50,000 tickets in one show. Internationally, he sold out over a dozen arenas in the European market, selling over 150,000 tickets, and sold out arenas across Australia, selling 100,000 tickets. Hart’s hit comedy tour grossed over $100 million worldwide.
Hart remained busy in 2012, hosting the MTV Video Music Awards, garnering much industry praise for his performance before his comedy tour, “Let Me Explain,” took him to 90 U.S. cities, as well as with Europe and Africa. On his “Let Me Explain” tour, Hart became the second American in history to sell out London’s O2 Arena. In fall 2012, Hart filmed two movies back to back: Ride Along and Screen Gems’ remake of About Last Night. He continued his incredible run with a starring role in Screen Gems’ Think Like a Man, a comedy based on Steve Harvey’s best-selling book that grossed $95 million worldwide, as well as a supporting role in Nicholas Stoller’s comedy The Five-Year Engagement, produced by Judd Apatow for Universal Pictures.
In September 2011, Hart released Laugh at My Pain, the feature-film version of his comedy tour of the same name. The movie grossed more than $7 million and was 2011’s most successful film released in fewer than 300 theaters. The “Laugh at My Pain” tour was so successful, it catapulted Hart to 2011s No. 1 comedian on Ticketmaster; in February 2011, he sold out the Nokia Theater for two nights in a row, breaking the record previously set by Eddie Murphy. This led to the Laugh at My Pain DVD hitting double platinum in February 2012, after being on sale for only a month.
Hart’s previous film credits include Little Fockers,which starred Robert De Niro and Ben Stiller; Death at a Funeral; Fool’s Gold; and The 40-Year-Old Virgin.
In 2009, Hart’s one-hour Comedy Central special Kevin Hart: I’m a Grown Little Manbecame one of the highest-rated specials for the network. In 2010, Hart’s Seriously Funnywas one of the fastest-selling DVDs, going triple platinum, aided by the Comedy Central special of the same name, which was the year’s highest-rated comedy special.
Hart’s additional television credits include hosting BET’s classic stand-up comedy seriesComic View: One Mic Stand; a starring role on ABC’sThe Big House, which he also executive produced and wrote; and recurring roles on Love, Inc., Barbershop and Undeclared.
Hart’s charity endeavors include donating funds to the Philadelphia school district for scholarships and to purchase new computers.
