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Ken Jeong speech at his Hollywood Walk of Fame star unveiling ceremony on Wednesday, October 23, 2024, at 1708 Vine Street at the historic corner of Hollywood & Vine in Los Angeles, California, USA.
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©MaximoTV
Ken Jeong speech at his Hollywood Walk of Fame star unveiling ceremony on Wednesday, October 23, 2024, at 1708 Vine Street at the historic corner of Hollywood & Vine in Los Angeles, California, USA.
This video is available for editorial use in all media and worldwide. To ensure compliance and proper licensing of this video, please contact us.
©MaximoTV
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PeopleTranscript
00:00Today is Ken Jeong Day in Hollywood!
00:17Thank you, Steve.
00:18Please give it up for everybody here.
00:23Thank you, Randall Park.
00:25Thank you, Robin Thicke.
00:27And that's all.
00:28Thank you so much.
00:31And thank you, Joel McHale, for just being the best last second booking, you know, in
00:38the history of the Walk of Fame.
00:40I just want to thank...
00:41Joel, I love you.
00:42I love all three of you so much.
00:44Thank you for being here.
00:45And oh, God, I don't even know what to say.
00:49Thank you, Hollywood Chamber of Commerce.
00:52Thank you to Steve.
00:53Thank you to Anna.
00:54Thank you to everybody.
00:55And thanks to, most importantly, thank you to the fans.
01:05This is all about you.
01:08This is not about me.
01:09This is about the fans.
01:11You know why?
01:12Because I was a doctor at Kaiser Permanente for like seven freaking years.
01:23And in no way did I...
01:28I didn't even think I could be an actor or I just wanted to be a working actor.
01:31I took my first acting class at Duke, shout out Blue Devils.
01:35And I wanted to, yes, but I didn't know if it was possible.
01:42And I really thought once I started doing acting full time, that's why I still kept
01:47my license.
01:48I still keep it to this day, just in case, just in case I need to go back.
01:54But because of you, I never have to go back.
01:59It is because of the fans.
02:02It is because of you.
02:04I'm not the funniest guy in the world.
02:06I'm not the most talented guy, and according to Joel, I'm not the tallest guy.
02:10But I am the most grateful guy and I'm the most grateful person to my fans, to any audience
02:16member watching me, because at the end of the day, you are putting bread on my table.
02:21You are letting me do what I love to do more than anything else in the world.
02:26So from the bottom of my heart, I cannot articulate how much I thank the fans.
02:32And this is your star because you are my star.
02:35Thank you so much.
02:38I thousand million percent mean that.
02:45And on a personal note, a lot of first times today, my family in North Carolina is here
02:53for the first time in years.
02:57Great joy.
02:58Great joy.
03:00My father, DK Jung, 94 years young.
03:06Yes.
03:0794.
03:08All right.
03:09You don't have to stay up that long.
03:13Please.
03:14You're pulling focus.
03:15Please.
03:16Don't be like Joel McHale.
03:17Please.
03:18He's a bad role model.
03:21Ninety-four years old, retired economics professor from North Carolina A&T State University.
03:29You're my role model.
03:30You're my rock.
03:32And you made me the man I am today.
03:36I thank you for that.
03:38And please.
03:39Okay.
03:40Don't get up again.
03:42Please.
03:43I know my dad looks exhausted today because he was out partying all night with Robin Thicke
03:48at Delilah.
03:49But that's beside the point.
03:51I had to pick him up this morning.
03:52Let's not make it weird.
03:54Now, I am proud to be your son.
03:57Thank you so much.
04:02And even more of an honor.
04:03My mother is here.
04:04My mother is here.
04:06She has the most generous, artistic heart in the world.
04:12She herself is an accomplished pianist, accomplished singer.
04:17And true story.
04:19She was the first person to tell me to do the Masked Singer.
04:23When I first got offered, I went to my mom and she said, oh, Kendrick, it's so great.
04:28I was named Kendrick.
04:29She named me after Kendrick Lamar.
04:30And she said, Kendrick, you have to go on Masked Singer.
04:34It is a game changer.
04:35Because it was created in Korea.
04:37And I did.
04:38And here we are.
04:40And here's the star.
04:41Thank you, mom.
04:42So proud to be your son.
04:46And my sister, Sarah, oh, my goodness, from North Carolina, my sister, Sarah, also graduated
04:52Duke.
04:53Go Devils.
04:54And she doesn't get enough credit.
04:57She is my first fan.
04:59She believed in me before anybody else.
05:02When we were kids, we would just make each other laugh.
05:05I would just do stupid pro wrestling promos from North Carolina and just make her laugh.
05:11And it was one of those things where she, when I went to Duke, you said, she saw a play
05:15that I did.
05:16Oh, you could do this.
05:17And then jump cut a few years later when I actually did this.
05:22And after I started getting work, you said, I'm not surprised.
05:26I'm so proud to be your brother.
05:28Thank you, Sarah, so much.
05:29My first fan.
05:31My first fan.
05:33And now on to my daughters, my reason for living.
05:40Everything I do is for them.
05:43My daughters, Alexa and God, what's your name, Zoe, they you're perfect people.
05:55You're perfect people.
05:56They are the best and brightest our future has to offer.
06:01And I am so proud.
06:03It is so easy to be your parent because they're so much smarter and more talented than me.
06:09So while I'm traveling around the world, spreading my brand of silliness, I know they're holding
06:14down the fort at home and they're going to kill me for saying this, but I have to be
06:18that Korean dad.
06:19My kids are kumlade.
06:20They are smart as hell.
06:22And I tell you, Zoe is a two-time Allstate clarinetist, plays saxophone in the jazz band.
06:28We saw her crush it last Tuesday.
06:30And Alexa's amazing artist won several awards and she was just nominated for California
06:33Young Filmmaker Award at the Burbank International Film Festival.
06:37They are smarter and funnier than me.
06:40And they're going to kill me for saying that.
06:42I don't care.
06:43I'm Korean.
06:44Deal with it.
06:46And on to the ho.
06:52Tran, my wife, this is our 20th year anniversary we celebrated last September.
07:04I mean, even in our private moments, we look at each other and it's like, this is insanity.
07:10This is crazy.
07:12And people, most of you know the story, but if you don't, she was the first to encourage
07:20me.
07:21She was the first to insist that I quit my day job to pursue acting full-time.
07:27We're both doctors at Kaiser Permanente.
07:29We're both partners.
07:30We're both tenured.
07:31We both had pensions.
07:32So we're losing a lot.
07:34And she said, I married a comedian.
07:36I married an entertainer at heart.
07:38You have to do it.
07:39If you don't do it now, you never will.
07:42And here we are.
07:43I'm not here because of you.
07:45A lot of people say, well, I wouldn't be here without my wife.
07:47No, I would not be here without my wife.
07:51So Tran, I love you.
07:52You are my partner in crime.
07:54I love you so much.
07:56I honestly don't know what I would do without you.
08:02I just don't know.
08:04I did not want to cry.
08:06I did not want to cry.
08:08I know what I would do without you.
08:10I would implode.
08:11That's what I would do.
08:12Thank you for not letting me implode.
08:14I love you 3,000.
08:16Thank you so much.
08:17Wow.
08:18Okay.
08:19I just want to thank, you know, I want to give a shout out to the good folks at Fox
08:25and also my Masked Singer crew, Jenny, Nick, Evan, Robin, and the crew, Brian, Marissa,
08:31all the crew.
08:32And Gary's here, everybody here, and all the Fox execs.
08:36We were out shooting late night till 1 a.m.
08:40And they're coming here.
08:41And it's not a job because we enjoy it.
08:43I mean, it is a job.
08:44But we enjoy it.
08:46It was so much fun.
08:47And working with you, like, there's so many times we just know this is the gift that just
08:52keeps on giving.
08:54And I want to, again, thank Kate, thank Yvette, thank Randall, thank Jay, who plays my wife
09:00in a movie coming out called A Great Divide.
09:02It's amazing.
09:04And you know, we don't have to talk about John, but everybody else, just thank you.
09:09And I want to give a special shout out to Joe Lovell and a buddy of mine, Mike O'Connell.
09:13Joe is here from my first improv group in New Orleans, Brown, it just says right there.
09:19So it just brings back so many memories.
09:22But finally, and most importantly, this award, in addition to the fans, this is dedicated
09:30to that one Asian American person that moves out to Hollywood and is just nervous that
09:39maybe this won't happen.
09:42Maybe I can't do it.
09:44Go to 1708 Vine Street.
09:47Look at my star situated right next to, at my request, Lucy Luce and Anna Mae Wong star,
09:53Anna Mae Wong, the first Asian American in the Walk of Fame.
09:58Keep going down the Walk of Fame and you're going to see Bruce Lee, you're going to see
10:02Jackie Chan, you're going to see Mako, you'll see James Hong, Ming-Na Wen, and soon to be
10:08Michelle Yeoh.
10:09And like Robin's saying, don't stop believing because if you dream it, you can do it.
10:16Thank you very much.