Friday 27 June 2008

West celebs immortalised in granite

Actor Oscar Kightley, racing driver Paul Radisich and fashion guru Karen Walker are the latest additions to Waitakere City Council’s walkway of fame.

Granite plaques bearing their handprints will be officially unveiled at a ceremony tomorrow.

The walkway at the civic centre in Henderson was started by the council in 2001 to honour famous west Aucklanders.

Mayor Bob Harvey says it wasn’t easy picking this year’s lucky three.

"There’s tough criteria," he says.

Other nominees included film director Rodger Donaldson, who once lived in Titirangi, and actor Russell Crowe whose parents once ran the old Potters Wheel pub in New Lynn.

Crowe missed out because he lived in Blockhouse Bay, not Waitakere city.

The council will soon be accepting nominations for next year and Mr Harvey says All Blacks coach and former Kelston Boys High School principal Graham Henry will probably be in the running.

"He certainly has the credentials as far as I’m concerned."

Samoan born actor, writer and television presenter Oscar Kightley is a familiar face to most west Aucklanders.

The Te Atatu Peninsula resident grew up in Waitakere and worked as a journalist after attending Rutherford College.

He soon found his way into television where he worked as a Super 14 Rugby commentator and presenter for the show Sportzah.

Mr Kightley co-wrote the 2006 film Sione’s Wedding and is also well known for his involvement in the satirical television cartoon series bro’ Town and the play the Naked Samoans.

Karen Walker is an international name in the fashion world. The Swanson resident started work in the fashion industry in the early 1990s and her designs are seen in top fashion shows in Europe and the United States.

Her clothes have been worn by Madonna, Kate Winslet, Tyra Banks and Liv Tyler and she now has permanent showrooms in London, Tokyo, New York and Sydney.

Paul Radisich grew up in west Auckland and shifted to Europe in the early 1980s where he raced in the British Formula 3 class alongside Damon Hill in 1985 and 1986.

He was back down under by the 1990s and has since been a regular fixture in the Australian Touring Car Series.





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