A star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame was unveiled recently honoring Judge Greg Mathis for his 23 years presiding over his eponymous courtroom program and his philanthropy.
Basketball legend Ervin “Magic” Johnson and singer Johnny Gill joined Mathis at the May 4 ceremony at 7076 Hollywood Blvd., between Sycamore and La Brea avenues.
Mathis said the star “represents the crowning achievement in a 23-year television career that has allowed me to entertain, inspire and inform millions of viewers. It also provides an opportunity for my grandchildren and their grandchildren to celebrate my engraving on one of the most famous streets in the world.’’
The star is the 2,722nd since the completion of the Walk of Fame in 1961.
“Judge Mathis’’ is a four-time Daytime Emmy nominee for outstanding legal/courtroom program, winning in 2018. Mathis is known for mixing social commentary, humor and humanity and using the bench to provide resolution and counseling to litigants.
Mathis’ 23 years as a judge in a courtroom program are the second most, behind Judith Sheindlin who spent 25 seasons on “Judge Judy’’ and is in her first season on its spinoff, “Judy Justice.’’
In addition to “industry excellence,’’ philanthropy is another criteria for star honorees, said Ana Martinez, producer of the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
“Judge Mathis has shown to be a leader in this sector in many ways,’’ Martinez said.
Mathis opened the Mathis Community Center in Detroit as part of his efforts to reach out to youth and ex-offenders and has assisted thousands of youth with his non-profit organization Young Adults Asserting Themselves which provides career opportunity; business start-up; job training; and college enrollment assistance.
Mathis was a gang member in his native Detroit and arrested numerous times. He was released from jail on early probation after his mother was diagnosed with colon cancer. Mathis began working at McDonald’s and was admitted to Eastern Michigan University, where he discovered a new interest in politics and public administration.
In college, he led campaigns against South Africa’s apartheid policies and voter registration drives. After graduating, he became an assistant to Detroit City Councilman Clyde Cleveland and attended law school at night.
Mathis was elected a district court judge in 1995, the youngest in the state.
The judge will soon be featured in a second series, “Mathis Family Matters’’ which follows him and his wife, Linda as two of their adult children move back to Los Angeles “to find their way and join the rest of the family,’’ according to E!, where the series will premiere June 19.
