From Boeing planes to Hollywood fame: A Seattle legend gets his star

Seattle science legend and comedian Bill Nye officially has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

Nye’s star was unveiled during a ceremony Monday, ABC 7 reported. The Walk of Fame Selection Panel picked Nye to receive a star out of hundreds of nominations.

The beloved scientist was surrounded by several celebrities during the celebration, including actor Joel McHale, comedian Ross Shafer, and Boston Celtics guard Jaylen Brown.

“My love for science runs deep, and I have Bill to thank for that,” Brown said during his speech, as shown by Variety. “But not just for myself, for a generation of students who grew up in the public school system, possibly thinking that school was not for them. Bill was the bright spot in all of our day.”

Bill Nye’s career in science, entertainment

Early in his career, Nye worked at Boeing in Seattle as a mechanical engineer, where he developed a resonance suppressor that was used in the 747 airplane, according to Famous Scientists’ website.

He left Boeing to focus on his career in entertainment, earning his famous nickname after correcting the Almost Live! host’s mispronunciation of gigawatt.

“Who do you think you are, Bill Nye the Science Guy?” the host quipped.

Nye went on to make his own show, produced entirely in Seattle.

He also appeared in “Back to the Future: The Animated Series,” “The Principal Takes a Holiday,” and “Stargate Atlantis.”

Nye holds several awards, including the Presidential Medal of Freedom, an honorary doctorate from Johns Hopkins University, and an Honorary Doctor of Science from Willamette University.

He moved back to his home city of Washington, D.C., in 2023 with his wife, journalist Liza Mundy, according to Axios D.C.

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