Mario Lopez receives star on Hollywood Walk of Fame on 51st birthday

HOLLYWOOD, LOS ANGELES (CNS) -- A star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame was unveiled Thursday honoring Mario Lopez on his 51st birthday for a career best known for portraying star athlete A.C. Slater on the NBC Saturday morning comedy "Saved by the Bell'' and hosting "Extra'' and "Access Hollywood.''

"This is the best birthday ever,'' Lopez said as he accepted the honor at 6930 Hollywood Blvd., in front of Wahlburgers restaurant and across the street from the TCL Chinese Theatre.

Actor Mark Wahlberg was among those speaking at the ceremony, prompting Lopez to joke about his star's location, "I'm assuming that means free burgers for life.''

"A special thanks to two legends who were incredibly influential in my life and my career -- the late Norman Lear, who gave me my first professional job when I was only 10 years old on a show called 'a.k.a. Pablo,' and Dick Clark, who I was proud to call a good friend and a mentor to me,'' Lopez said. "He said, Mario, there are a lot of great actors out there, but very few great hosts.'

"And as my mom said earlier, she made a point to keep me busy as a kid -- if you don't have time for trouble, trouble won't have time for you. And it wasn't just about being busy, it was about time. And that time is, of course, the most valuable thing we have. Work hard while you have it. It's not good enough to just spend it. You've got to use it. Well, I've used my time over the last 40 years doing what I love most.''

Lopez's mother Elvia Lopez and Valari Dobson Staab, the chairman of NBCUniversal Local, also joined Lopez at the ceremony.

The star is the 2,792nd since the completion of the Walk of Fame in 1961 with the initial 1,558 stars.

Born on Oct. 10, 1973, in Chula Vista, Lopez was discovered by a talent agent at a dance recital when he was 10 years old. He made his professional acting debut as a cast member in the ABC comedy a.k.a. Pablo,'' which ran for six weeks in 1984.

Lopez was a cast member of "Saved by the Bell'' throughout its 1989-1993 Saturday morning run, its prime-time spinoff, "Saved by the Bell: The College Years,'' which ran on NBC in the 1993-94 season, and its 2020-22 reboot on Peacock.

Lopez's other television acting credits include portraying four-time Olympic gold medal-winning diver Greg Louganis in the 1997 USA Network made-for-television movie, "Breaking the Surface: The Greg Louganis Story,'' the CBS daytime drama "The Bold and the Beautiful,'' and the FX medical drama "Nip/Tuck.''

Lopez has been a host of Access Hollywood'' since 2019 after being a host of the rival syndicated entertainment news program "Extra'' from 2008-2019.

Lopez is also a host of "Access Daily with Mario & Kit," the radio shows "On with Mario Lopez," and "iHeartRadio Countdown with Mario Lopez," and the boxing podcast "The 3 Knockdown Rule."

Lopez also hosted the Miss America pageant in 2007, 2009 and 2010 and the Miss Universe pageant in 2007 and 2020.

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