PHOTO BY VIRGINIA LINN

[Updated Nov. 10, 2025: The spelling error on the Michael Keaton Walk of Fame plaque has been corrected.]

Oops.

After 10 honorees were inducted into the inaugural Pittsburgh Walk of Fame in a ceremony attended by hundreds Monday morning, eagle eyes noticed a misspelling in a name on one of the bronze plaques.

It was for the actor Michael Keaton, who was the only inductee to appear in person and gave heartfelt remarks to the crowd after unveiling his star along the sidewalk of The Terminal complex in the Strip District.

It’s not in the large name on the star (thankfully), but in the description. It reads: “Under his stage name, Mich-e-a-l Keaton, Michael John Douglas is credited as appearing in nearly 100 movies and TV series, ranging from the hit comedies like ‘Night Shift’ and ‘Mr. Mom’ to award-winning dramas such as ‘Spotlight’ and ‘Dopesick.’ ”

Related: How Well Do You Know the Pittsburgh Walk of Fame Inductees?

On Tuesday, Pittsburgh’s country music station, Y108-FM, was among local radio stations sharing the goof on social media. “Whoopsie! MichAel Keaton’s name is misspelled on his Pittsburgh Walk of Fame star!”

“Let me just say that embarrassment does not begin to describe how I feel about the fact that Michael Keaton’s name was misspelled on the plaque beneath his star,” said Nancy Polinsky Johnson, the founder and executive director of the Pittsburgh Walk of Fame. “I was a magazine publisher for 17 years. I used to regularly proof 130 pages of copy. So the fact that nine lines of type includes a typo is mortifying.”

Johnson said the spelling was correct when it was sent to the plaque producer, Matthews Architectural Products, so she does not know what happened in the process. She didn’t learn about the typo until news of the goof was circulating on social media on Tuesday. When the bronze plaques and stars were placed in the sidewalk they were covered up immediately, so she didn’t know of the mistake.

Of course, typos happen. British politicians have been experiencing a particularly embarrassing spate of episodes lately, according to The Guardian. Political opponents reacted with glee when Conservative party leader Kemi Badenoch struggled to spell her country’s name on the labels of 3,000 chocolate bars placed in goodie bags distributed recently at a party conference in Manchester. It carried the slogan “When Labour negotiates, Brit-i-a-n loses.” She blamed the mistake on a “printing error.”

Scottish politicians didn’t escape ridicule either. Scottish Labour misspelled “Scotish” on widely circulated election leaflets. In 2024, Member of Parliament reform candidate Lee Anderson appeared oblivious to a typo on his campaign leaflets that spelled his name “Andersin” when he uploaded videos on Instagram of himself handing these out, according to The Guardian.

And in 2013, the Holy See had to recall more than 6,000 commemorative medals celebrating Pope Francis when they realized the word Jesus had been misspelled as “Lesus.”

Back in Pittsburgh, it’s unclear whether Keaton or his many friends and family members who attended the ceremony noticed the misspelling right away. After he gave his remarks and the ceremony ended, the actor was suddenly mobbed by eager fans seeking autographs and selfies. He was quickly whisked away by his security detail. Johnson said Keaton’s PR team has since been alerted about the typo.

Johnson said Matthews is in the process of making a corrected plaque, and it should be in the sidewalk soon. While the misspelling created a cloud over an otherwise joyous ceremony, she said she was finding comfort in all the congratulatory messages she had received.

Duquesne University President Ken Gormley sent her note that called the ceremony on Monday “uplifting and inspirational from beginning to end.”

“I was very distraught about it yesterday, but today I decided to cut myself some slack and move on,” Johnson said. “And I decided I’m going to adopt the P.T. Barnum philosophy that all publicity is good publicity and we’re getting another day or two of press coverage that Michael Keaton is an honoree on the Pittsburgh Walk of Fame and that’s a good thing.”