FOUR MORE WESTERN STARS ADDED TO WALK NATIVE SON HARRY CAREY JR. JOINS DAD AS NEW INDUCTEE.

Byline: Carol Rock Staff Writer

NEWHALL - Just as they turned out to honor Western stars William S. Hart, Tom Mix and Gene Autry 24 years ago, the town gathered Friday to honor the newest inductees into downtown Newhall's Walk of Western Stars.

Braving the brilliant afternoon sun, Harry ``Dobe'' Carey Jr., Graham Greene, Powers Boothe and Jack Williams knelt down to pull the velvet square off their shiny bronze saddles implanted in the sidewalks along San Fernando Road.

The trail of tributes started in 1981, when merchants and the Santa Clarita Valley Chamber of Commerce thought it would be nice to honor some of the movie stars that had worked making movies in the area. A bronze saddle was designed and cast to be surrounded with pink terrazzo tile, much like the stars in the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

In fact, the original name of the series of plaques was the Western Walk of Fame until the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce gently reminded the townsfolk that they had trademarked the ``Walk of Fame'' moniker. It was quickly changed to Walk of Western Stars. The ceremonies were suspended temporarily in 1994 as the community dealt with the aftermath of the Jan. 17 earthquake, and resumed under the auspices of the city's Cowboy Festival in 2000.

Honorees, their guests and fans were feted at a reception in the lobby of the Canyon Theatre Guild after the unveiling; later in the evening, a gala dinner and video tribute was held at the Hyatt Valencia, attended by many former honorees and industry professionals.

Carey's father received his saddle posthumously in 1987. A native of the Santa Clarita Valley, Dobe grew up in San Francisquito Canyon and, after his military service, was featured in the 1946 film ``Rolling Home.'' Director John Ford added Carey Jr. to his stable of Western stars, pairing him with fellow Walk of Western Stars honoree Ben Johnson in the movie ``Wagonmaster.'' Carey Jr. last appeared in 1993's ``Tombstone.''

Powers Boothe also appeared in ``Tombstone,'' and currently stars as bordello owner Cy Tolliver in the HBO series ``Deadwood'' that films at Melody Ranch. A character actor frequently cast in authority figure roles, he was the lead in TV series ``Philip Marlowe: Private Eye'' and won an Emmy for his portrayal of the suicidal cult leader in ``Guyana Tragedy: The Story of Jim Jones.''

Graham Greene didn't start out as an actor, but lost a bet when he was working as a sound engineer for a band in Canada. He started out on the London stage and has since received an Oscar nomination for his portrayal of Running Bird in ``Dances With Wolves.'' A full-blooded Oneida from Six Nations Reserve in Ontario, Canada, he was also featured in ``The Green Mile'' and was a regular on the TV series ``Northern Exposure.''

Jack Williams may not have been the star, but audiences always sat up and took notice when his handiwork was on the screen. As a stuntman specializing in the horse fall, he created some of the most memorable on- screen animal effects and jumps. Williams' first movie was ``Red River'' for Howard Hawks and he was featured in ``The Alamo,'' ``A Man Called Horse'' and ``How The West Was Won.''

Carol Rock, [phone]

carol.rock(at)dailynews.com

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Photo:

(1 -- 2) Powers Boothe, above left, and Harry Carey Jr., above right, unveil their bronze plaques Friday during ceremonies on the Walk of Western Stars in Newhall. Also honored this year were Graham Greene and Jack Williams.

David Crane/Staff Photographer