'May The 4th Be Carrie Frances Fisher Day:' 'Star Wars' Icon Gets Walk Of Fame Star

HOLLYWOOD, CA — May 4 is known around the world annually as the unofficial "Star Wars" holiday — in a play on "may the force be with you" — but for Mark Hamill "today, May the 4th be Carrie Frances Fisher Day."

Hamill, who starred opposite Fisher in the original "Star Wars" trilogy, made the remark Thursday at a ceremony unveiling Fisher's star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. His declaration was followed-up by something more official, the Los Angeles City Council issued a proclamation that May 4 would be Carrie Fisher Day in Hollywood.

Hamill recounted the first time he met Fisher over dinner as they readied to shoot the 1977 space epic as "space twins" Luke Skywalker and Princess Leia.

"I was thinking, 'She's 19 years old, she's barely out of high school.' I was a worldly 24. Every expectation I had was just obliterated," he said. "She was so charming, so funny, so adorable, so wise beyond her years — I just couldn't believe it."

Fisher's star is at one of Hollywood's busiest destinations: outside the El Capitan Theatre at Hollywood Boulevard and Highland Avenue — and a few feet away from Hamill's star.

Hamill was joined by Fisher's daughter, Billie Lourd, as well as R2-D2, C-3PO and a stormtrooper, to celebrate the occasion. In a heartfelt speech, Lourd reflected the kind of wit her mother was known for.

"My mom used to say you weren't actually famous until you become a Pez dispenser. Well, people eat candy out of her neck every day," Lourd said. "I say that you're not actually famous until you get a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame ... in this weird little town, the epitome of fame is getting people to walk all over you."

Lourd remembered her initial childhood hesitancy to dive into the "Star Wars" universe and her mother's place in it. She later went on to see firsthand how people were so impacted by the character her mother brought to life.

"Leia is more than just a character. She's a feeling. She's strength, she's grace, she's wit. She's femininity at its finest. She knows what she wants and she gets it. She doesn't need anybody to rescue her because she rescues herself — and she even rescues the rescuers. And nobody could have played her like my mom," Lourd said.

Fisher rose to fame — and achieved cultural-icon status — for her portrayal of Princess Leia. She starred in film and TV roles in the following decades, including “When Harry Met Sally" and "30 Rock," for which she earned an Emmy nomination.

Her novel, “Postcards from the Edge,” earned her the Los Angeles Pen Award for Best First Novel. Fisher also wrote the screenplay for the "Postcards" film, which earned two Oscar nominations.

She went on to write three novels and two memoirs, including "Wishful Drinking," which Fisher adapted as a one-woman Broadway show. That show was filmed for HBO and nominated for an Emmy.

"She was a closeted quadruple threat — she could sing, she could dance, she could act and she was an absolutely beyond brilliant writer," Lourd said. "From her texts, to her Twitter, to her notes she wrote me to get out of school, to her scripts to her seven books she wrote — I have never known anyone wittier."