SACRAMENTO-
Crowds lined the sidewalks outside Sacramento’s California Museum Wednesday evening to see this year’s California Hall of Fame inductees walk the red carpet prior to the award ceremony which took place inside the museum.
“The more Hollywood in Sacramento the better,” quipped Governor Jerry Brown in a conversation with media. “In fact, we probably need a little Sacramento in Hollywood.”
The 8th annual class of inductees is made up of some instantly recognizable icons, and others who are lesser known but have made giant contributions.
Mimi Silbert was honored for her work as head of the Delancey Street Foundation which helps addicts, prostitutes and ex-convicts turn their lives around.
“And they who have dreams that no one understood have made this whole thing happen,” Silbert told FOX40.
Late scientist Stephen Schneider was honored for his contributions to the field of climatology.
“And he started in 1972 telling people we had to worry about climate change,” explained Schneider’s widow, Dr. Terry Root, on the red carpet. “And it’s because of him that I think we’re going to do something sooner than we would have if he hadn’t started.”
Basketball great, author, broadcaster and activist Kareem Abdul-Jabbar is no stranger to awards. But earning a permanent place in this California Hall of Fame class is something he will treasure.
“I’ve been a California resident now so long,” said Abdul-Jabbar. “And it’s nice to be recognized and honored like this.”
Fellow inductee, Oscar-winning filmmaker and entrepreneur, Francis Ford Coppola, expressed a similar sentiment.
“You know it’s not just any state,” Coppola pondered. “It’s California. California is unique and beautiful and big.”
When asked by FOX40 what his proudest contribution is, Coppola said, “My children and my grandchildren.”
Coppola is not finished making his mark on popular culture. “I have some things up my sleeve, but I’ve learned not to spill the beans, ” the filmmaker teased.
Legendary music mogul, Andre “Dr. Dre” Young made a brief appearance on the red carpet before the ceremony.
“A hundred percent honored,” Dr. Dre said in regard to his Hall of Fame induction. “This is crazy.”
He was honored alongside music-producing pioneer Jimmy Iovine.
Also inducted Wednesday night: Award-winning author Joan Didion, who was unable to attend the ceremony, late civil rights activist Charlotta Bass, and late community organizer, Fred Ross, Sr.
“On behalf of all the unsung heroes and heroines, tonight they’re getting their due,” Fred Ross Jr. said of the farm workers who were helped by his father.
