PHOTO BY VIRGINIA LINN
Oops.
After 10 honorees were inducted into the inaugural Pittsburgh Walk of Fame in a ceremony attended by hundreds Monday morning, eagle eyes noticed a misspelling in a name on one of the bronze plaques.
It was for the actor Michael Keaton, who was the only inductee to appear in person and gave heartfelt remarks to the crowd after unveiling his star along the sidewalk of The Terminal complex in the Strip District.
It’s not in the large name on the star (thankfully), but in the description. It reads: “Under his stage name, Mich-e-a-l Keaton, Michael John Douglas is credited as appearing in nearly 100 movies and TV series, ranging from the hit comedies like ‘Night Shift’ and ‘Mr. Mom’ to award-winning dramas such as ‘Spotlight’ and ‘Dopesick.’ ”
Related: How Well Do You Know the Pittsburgh Walk of Fame Inductees?
On Tuesday, Pittsburgh’s country music station, Y108-FM, was among local radio stations sharing the goof on social media. “Whoopsie! MichAel Keaton’s name is misspelled on his Pittsburgh Walk of Fame star!”
Of course, typos happen. British politicians have been experiencing a particularly embarrassing spate of episodes lately, according to The Guardian. Political opponents reacted with glee when Conservative party leader Kemi Badenoch struggled to spell her country’s name on the labels of 3,000 chocolate bars placed in goodie bags distributed recently at a party conference in Manchester. It carried the slogan “When Labour negotiates, Brit-i-a-n loses.” She blamed the mistake on a “printing error.”
Scottish politicians didn’t escape ridicule either. Scottish Labour misspelled “Scotish” on widely circulated election leaflets. In 2024, Member of Parliament reform candidate Lee Anderson appeared oblivious to a typo on his campaign leaflets that spelled his name “Andersin” when he uploaded videos on Instagram of himself handing these out, according to The Guardian.
And in 2013, the Holy See had to recall more than 6,000 commemorative medals celebrating Pope Francis when they realized the word Jesus had been misspelled as “Lesus.”
Back in Pittsburgh, it’s unclear whether Keaton or his many friends and family members who attended the ceremony noticed the misspelling. After he gave his remarks and the ceremony ended, the actor was suddenly mobbed by eager fans seeking autographs and selfies. He was quickly whisked away by his security detail.
Nancy Polinsky Johnson, the walk of fame’s founder and executive director, could not be immediately reached for comment to find out whether the panel will be replaced with the corrected name.