To celebrate its 75th birthday as a daily publication, the Hollywood Reporter was looking for more than commemorative coffee mugs. The show business trade paper wanted its own star on Hollywood Boulevard.

But so did its chief competitor.

Variety, which is marking its 100th year of publication, asked for its own star soon after the Reporter got in line for one. To appease both publications and pocket the $15,000-per-star fee the Hollywood Historic Trust is awarding stars to the Reporter on Sept. 6 and to Variety on Oct. 14.

The trades will be the second and third inanimate objects to gain a spot along the fabled Walk of Fame. Disneyland got the first star designated for a non-living entity on July 14, in honor of its 50th anniversary.

The stars for Disneyland, the Reporter and Variety are called Awards of Excellence.

The two trades had jockeyed for position on Hollywood Boulevard (their stars will be many feet apart) and for the honor of being the first, said Johnny Grant, the honorary mayor of Hollywood and historic trust president.

“There’s a lot of competition there,” Grant observed. “Every time one of them would set the date, the other one would try to move up.”

For the Hollywood Reporter, the star search was an obvious move, said Robert J. Dowling, the paper’s publisher and editor-in-chief. “We are the Hollywood Reporter. It’s in our name,” Dowling said. “We’re the first daily (entertainment) newspaper, started on Sunset Boulevard.”

Variety was mum on the star-crossing.