00:00We now declare today Ralph Macchio Day in Hollywood!
00:17Take it away.
00:23Oh boy.
00:26This is overwhelming and humbling and...
00:30Love you back there!
00:36Well, this is as overwhelming as I expected.
00:42Billy, what a journey we have been on.
00:45To have you here, thank you for your kind words, for being here, for being a brother,
00:50for being a friend, for your integrity, for your badassery as an actor,
00:56and your sensitivity as a human being.
00:59We grow stronger and stronger and just...
01:01If you asked me 40 years if this would be the guy speaking at my Hollywood star ceremony,
01:05I'd probably say, I'll probably never have to see that guy again.
01:09But thank God that's not the case.
01:11I love you and I thank you for being here.
01:13Tamlin, you are just one of a kind.
01:19Tamlin comes back from Japan just to make sure she's here.
01:23Thank you for your kind words. I love you.
01:25You guys make life richer and it means so much to me to have you here.
01:30Steve, Anna, Hollywood Chamber of Commerce, thank you for this thoughtful placement.
01:36I'm going to get to that in a second, next to the great Pat Morita,
01:40but it's the fact that that was part of the decision in putting this together.
01:46It means the world to me and thank you so much.
01:49To my friends at Netflix, top to bottom, that support us in making this day happen.
01:55There's just too many to name, but Netflix's support has been incredible.
02:00Sony Pictures Television that produces the Cobra Kai series the last seven years.
02:07Once again, thank you so much. It means so much to have so many of you here,
02:11including Sony Pictures Feature Department.
02:15There's exciting stuff on the way with the new Karate Kid Legends movie.
02:19It means so much to have so many of you here.
02:22I do not take that lightly or for granted.
02:24I'm so glad I got you all out of the office.
02:27It really means a great deal.
02:29I was a kid, grew up on Long Island, New York.
02:32I was a daydreamer. I still am, but I was a big-time daydreamer.
02:36I grew up watching and wanting to be Gene Kelly,
02:39watching old movies with my mom and dad.
02:42Whether it was Spencer Tracy or Brando, I just had these dreams and aspirations.
02:47That's where the bug first bit me.
02:49As Steve mentioned, my mom and dad are watching right now.
02:54It means the world to me for them to experience this.
03:01They and my brother Steven provided the foundation for who I am.
03:05So I thank you, mom and dad, for allowing me the freedom to dream
03:09and providing me the love and support that has shaped me.
03:12I owe you so much. Look at what's happening.
03:15Look what you've done.
03:18I came out to L.A. with them first, probably about 1980.
03:23Walked these streets of Hollywood Boulevard looking for Gene Kelly and Marilyn Monroe.
03:27My dad brought me to buy my first car, a Santa Monica Mazda.
03:31The reason, a 626.
03:34I remember as I was driving here, I passed Las Palmas right about a block and a half down.
03:38I remember pointedly, in 1982, I sat in the car at the light.
03:42I looked to the left and saw all these stars in the right.
03:45It was the land of hopes and dreams.
03:47It was unobtainable for me at that point.
03:50But I was on my way to meet Francis Ford Coppola,
03:54who directed The Godfather and Apocalypse Now to that point.
03:57I was going to be directing a movie based on my favorite book as a 12-year-old boy.
04:03Well, I just remember that moment.
04:06It just seemed so big.
04:08Wait, I'll wait for this to pass.
04:11I just remember that moment.
04:14In thinking back and being here today, all I could say is, incidentally, nailed it.
04:22That much I could say.
04:24Then soon after that, I met this kid from New Jersey who would not leave well enough alone.
04:31Thank God in Daniel LaRusso and I was catapulted into what is now considered
04:37and known as the Karate Kid universe.
04:40Thanks to so many people who are here today.
04:43It's now reaching three and four generations.
04:45To have this star placed right next to my acting partner from that film,
04:50the great Pat Morita, is so meaningful to me, so powerful to me.
04:56Our partnership is something I always described as the soulful magic of the Karate Kid film.
05:02He's still here today, blessing all these stories that are moving forward.
05:08I can feel him here.
05:10Frankly, folks, it's only fitting I shall remain Miyagi adjacent until the end of time.
05:18I mean, that's where I...
05:20And it's amazing one-stop shopping for those tourists and Karate Kid fans.
05:24It's like, where's Morita? Where's Machio?
05:27Oh, it's just beautiful.
05:29So my life's journey has been with this unbelievable resurgence.
05:34I've learned one thing between the Netflix series of Cobra Kai that is rocking it right now
05:39and the upcoming Karate Kid Legends movie coming from Sony at the end of May.
05:44I've just learned to be so grateful and appreciative at this age of my life,
05:49absorbing and learning and sharing the wisdom that I've gained from others,
05:53paying that legacy forward, whether it be the young cast of Cobra Kai or friends of my kids.
05:59I get such joy out of sharing that wisdom and taking a piece of the legacy and passing that on.
06:08And I do not take it for granted that we get to spread a little bit of joy
06:12in what is sometimes not always a joyful world.
06:14So I feel incredibly blessed, lucky and honored.
06:18And this daydream from Long Island has too many to thank.
06:21But I must mention Robert Mark Kamen, who is here.
06:25I got him off campus, who wrote and created the Daniel Russo character and this Karate Kid franchise.
06:31Robert, you know, I cherish you. I love you.
06:33Our quips and banter and sarcasm is one of my favorite things of the day.
06:40And I just I love you and thank you for being here.
06:44John, Josh and Hayden, who were mentioned earlier, who created the Cobra Kai series
06:50and provided the rocket booster seven years ago.
06:53You guys, I, you know, have so much to say, but I will put it all in a few words.
06:59Thank you so much for caring.
07:02That's why. That's why.
07:05That's why. That's why.
07:09My L.A. friends who have provided food and shelter often during those arduously hideous pilot seasons.
07:16Stan, Andrew, among others. Thank you so much for for all of that.
07:21And my my friends and family who came out here to be here today.
07:26And my friends and family at home who are watching.
07:29Loyalty is so big with me. I've been with my reps for so long to my team at Untitled.
07:34Jason, Stephanie, Jennifer, Julia, Buckwald, Buckwald, the PR dream team, Jill Fritz.
07:40Oh, Stephen, for Tom and that whole staff.
07:42It's over to PR and my longtime business dudes for over 40 years.
07:47Tom Hansen, Don Steele, Gary Kress. I just love that the three of you are all east of the four or five right now.
07:54Thank you so much. Those watching from home and the fans all here and around the world, the fans who allow me.
08:04To do what I love to do, you never gave up on this guy, despite how hard the late 90s might have tried to extinguish.
08:12You have always been there here and around the world is always such a huge embrace from you guys.
08:17And I it's a two way street of inspiration. I thank you. Thank you.
08:22My beautiful wife, my best friend Phyllis, who simultaneously.
08:28Thank you. Who simultaneously grounds and elevates me.
08:35I love you so much. Our partnership in life is everything.
08:42None of this is happening without you. Thank you for choosing me.
08:46And life is all the richer to walk in lockstep with you.
08:50I am not here without you and my two heroes, my children, Julia and Dan.
08:56I'm so proud of you guys. I'm so proud of you.
09:00You make me way better, way better than I am.
09:03Here's a story that some of you know, but it's worth telling.
09:07It speaks to the unique narrative of my life and career.
09:11About 20 something years ago, my kids were probably four and seven at the time.
09:16My son found a large crate full of teen magazines that my mom had saved.
09:22My mom saves everything. Right, mom? She saves everything.
09:25And my son turns to my daughter, holding with two fistfuls of teen magazines
09:30in disbelief and realization when he yells out, Dad was huge and we missed it.
09:44So it is November 20th, 2024.
09:49And being here today and sharing this with you and all of you,
09:53all my friends around the world and here, it's overwhelming.
09:59It's everything. It's been an amazing journey.
10:03I am honored. I am humbled. Thank you so very much.
10:06I ain't done yet. And this is just an amazing day.
10:11Thank you so very, very much.
10:13Thanks.
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