Award-winning performer Melba Moore was recently honored with her very own star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
Last week, the 77-year-old singer was the 2,760th person to receive the homage. There to celebrate Moore were fellow performers Jimmy Jam, Sheryl Lee Ralph, Freda Payne and Lunell.
Comedian Katt Williams was also present to commemorate Moore’s achievements. However, afterward, Williams would be recognized for his kindness. Moore told the crowd that Williams paid the entire $75,000 fee for her to receive her well-earned star.
On Sunday, she posted a message addressed to the Next Friday actor on her Instagram.
“A public thank you to KW. He is the sole sponsor of my Star 🌟………I am still in shock 😱 #2,760 August 10, 2023.”
She ended the post by telling Williams, “Katt in me you have a Friend.”
Prior to the ceremony, Moore announced she would be a recipient via her Instagram on August 1, 2023. Along with a clip of her giving a stirring performance of her single, “Lean On Jesus,” she expressed her pride over the star.
“As I look back over my life Harlem / Newark NJ , I am proud. Receiving a Hollywood Star made me reflect on the goodness of God,” she wrote.
View this post on Instagram
During her acceptance speech, Moore recalled significant moments of her life and how she got her start in New York with a career leading her to Broadway. She also called Williams an “angel” whose “kindness” and “generosity” is “unmeasured and unmatched.”
As expected, the comedian began his remarks with a joke, saying that ChatGPT gave him the “same speech as Jimmy Jam, so he’d have to “go somewhat off the cuff.”
He then switched gears to properly honor Moore, whom he considers a “true legend.”
“In this day and age, we call somebody a legend if they’ve been doing something for 20, 30 years, but to be at the top of your craft in stage, television, music, and film, there really has never been anything like it.”
He continued, “I looked up who paved the way for Melba Moore. Who was the person that excelled in all of those things and I found out that that person did not exist. Melba Moore is one-of-one in our industry and that’s what we’re celebrating.”
The First Sunday actor gave Moore her flowers for creating music “that never ages,” listing her singles, “You Stepped In My Life” and “Love’s Comin’ At Ya.”
“As a young man with a mustache growing up in Dayton, Ohio, I thought that Melba Moore exemplified the elegance, grace, dignity, and strength of the Black woman,” he said. “This strength and her ability to turn adversity into fuel for her art is a testament to her unwavering determination… True greatness extends beyond the boundaries of talent alone.”
Her newly placed star is not the only monument that Moore will celebrate this year. It was recently announced the city of Newark, New Jersey, will be naming a street in honor of the Grammy-nominated singer.
In September, the intersection across from her alma mater, Arts High School, will be renamed Melba Moore Plaza.
You can watch Moore’s entire Hollywood Walk Of Fame induction ceremony below:
