Repair work was underway Tuesday at Dolly Parton's Hollywood Walk of Fame star after someone scratched over her name, turning a site of grief into a fresh scene of damage. The star, already covered with flowers, cards and other tributes, had been part memorial, part work zone by the time crews moved in.
The timing gave the vandalism unusual force. Parton died at age 80 one week before Tuesday, and the star had quickly become a place where people stopped to remember her. Among them was Lore Corona, who posted a video Monday saying she and her daughters were planning to leave flowers when they discovered the star had been vandalized shortly before they arrived.
Corona said, “Somebody decided to do this about 10 minutes before we got here,” and added, “It just doesn't make any sense.” A custodian at the scene told her that a woman kicked around candles that had been left there and that shards from one were used to scratch the star, according to Corona's account.
There was another layer to the damage. Ana Martinez said the star had already been cleared in anticipation of repair work planned by the Hollywood Historic Trust because of prior cracks. That means the star was already set for maintenance before the vandalism was noticed, but the scratch over Parton's name forced the issue into public view just as the memorial was growing.
The unanswered part is who did it. Repair work was underway, but no one had been identified as responsible for the damage, leaving the star in the awkward space between tribute and cleanup. For the people who came to leave flowers, that is now the most visible mark left on the Walk of Fame star.
