Ken Jeong speech at his Hollywood Walk of Fame star ceremony

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https://www.maximotv.com  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

Transcript

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.

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