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Stars from Mondavi to Mays Honored

Besides owning an Academy Award, being a winemaking pioneer or winning 13 major golf championships, living inductees to the California Hall of Fame had to meet one other requirement: show up for one December night in Sacramento.

So in a rare red carpet event in the state capital, golfer Tiger Woods appeared Wednesday night with entertainer Rita Moreno, winemaker Robert Mondavi, baseball great Willie Mays and technology guru Steve Jobs, as well as relatives of seven posthumous inductees ranging from researcher Jonas Salk to author John Steinbeck.

"This is absolutely incredible, especially when you have Willie here," Woods said, referring to Mays, while standing on a red carpet outside the California Museum for History, Women and the Arts. "From an athletic perspective, this is as good as it gets."

Other posthumous inductees were actor John Wayne, photographer Ansel Adams, baseball player and civil rights pioneer Jackie Robinson, comedian Milton Berle and former governor and Supreme Court Justice Earl Warren.

Actress Elizabeth Taylor, winner of two Academy Awards, was scheduled to attend, but she bowed out at the last minute, citing back pain. Her publicist said Taylor plans to come to Sacramento at a later date to receive her medal.

"The men and women we are honoring here are all risk-takers, pioneers whose commitment to excellence and breaking barriers has changed the world," said Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, who oversaw the selection process with first lady Maria Shriver.

Outside the California Museum in downtown Sacramento, celebrity gawkers hugged the red carpet alongside reporters, youth baseball players, adult autograph hounds and state workers who decided to stay late.

Shriver launched the California Hall of Fame last year to celebrate the state's various luminaries and create a high-profile attraction for the California Museum, one of her personal causes.

Wednesday's induction ceremony was held in an auditorium at the secretary of state's office. A museum reception followed, complete with Robert Mondavi Winery's 2006 fumé blanc and 2005 cabernet sauvignon.

At a news conference Wednesday morning, Shriver said she believes it is important for inductees to appear in person at the annual ceremony – so important, in fact, that any living nominee who doesn't plan to attend doesn't get inducted that year.

"Some do need coaxing just to get here," Shriver admitted. "You know, it's not around the corner for anybody. It's not like anybody's living in Sacramento down the street."

Each of the 13 inductees has a display case with historical items lent to the museum for one year.

Among the most intriguing: a vial of Salk's original polio vaccine from his 1954 research trials, an oversized humidor Berle gave Schwarzenegger, a Supreme Court robe worn by Warren during the Brown v. Board of Education deliberations and the portable typewriter Steinbeck used while writing "Travels With Charley."

Of course, opening a Hall of Fame of any kind invites controversy over its selections. Some have questioned how closely affiliated to California one must be to warrant consideration. Salk, for instance, developed the polio vaccine in Pittsburgh, Pa., but founded the Salk Institute for Biological Studies in San Diego.

The California Hall of Fame does not have strict eligibility criteria – it includes "people who embody California's innovative spirit" as well as "trailblazers, leaders and legends who have called California home," according to an information sheet.

Shriver and Schwarzenegger selected the nominees along with museum officials and advice from state historian Kevin Starr.

Despite rush-hour light-rail trains that occasionally threatened to clip them along O Street, onlookers waited in pursuit of a camera phone picture or just a rare glimpse of stardom in Sacramento. Woods appeared to be the biggest draw; whenever the 31-year-old golfer stopped to grant an interview, fans and media rushed forward.

"They're here to see Mays – and Tiger," Michael Madrigal said of his twin sons, who play for the 10-and-under Laguna Youth Baseball Bombers team.

Inside, Schwarzenegger handed out medals to recipients in an hourlong ceremony. Each winner was responsible for introducing the next. Robinson's widow, Rachel, listed Jobs' innovations. Jobs, wearing his trademark jeans and black shirt, described Mondavi's contributions to winemaking.

Moreno, another Oscar winner, got a rise out of the audience after noting that Woods, "lest we forget, is the highest-paid athlete in the world." And Woods noted how Mays was "a person I looked up to and my father as well."

Mays wore a black Giants baseball cap, which he doffed several times in acknowledgment of the 250 attendees.

The California Hall of Fame ceremony and exhibit are paid for by four private sponsors, three of whom have lobbied Schwarzenegger's office and lawmakers in the past year: Accenture, Chevron Corp. and Comcast.

Accenture is also one of Woods' sponsors and had an ad featuring the golfer in the program.