Tuning In to TV

Mr. Clooney, who spent five seasons on “ER” before becoming a big-screen A-lister, said Mr. Wells, 55, had made the career of many actors and actresses, as well as TV crew.

“When 'ER' sold for a record-breaking fee, it was [Mr. Wells] that gave bonuses to every crew member. Every single crew member on our show got a check between $25,000 and $100,000,” Mr. Clooney said.

“It’s his character that kept a young [assistant director] on our show who was suffering from terminal cancer on the payroll, long past the time he was able to do his job.”

Mr. Wells, who is a six-time Emmy winner, four as a producer of “The West Wing,” received the 2,457th star in a small ceremony on the Walk of Fame, which draws millions of tourists along the sidewalks of Hollywood Boulevard.

“West Wing” star Allison Janney said he had a “unique, almost savantlike ability to know where the story is, the heart of it, how to twist it and shape it and keep it pulsing over years and years and hundreds of episodes.”

Mr. Wells added: “This is a star I’m proud to have my name on, but it represents the hundreds of us doing this work for over 2½ decades.”

• Compiled from Web and wire service reports.