Geist did what he described as "a snide piece about how they were letting lesser lights on the Walk of Fame" in 2007, which included submitting the application.
The story also included Geist asking Lassie, who was among the original 1,550 recipients of Walk of Fame stars when it was dedicated on Feb. 8, 1960, for advice on getting a star.
Geist interviewed honorary Hollywood mayor Johnny Grant, the longtime executive with the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce, which administers the Walk of Fame, for the story.
Geist was selected as a star recipient in 2007, which he credited to Grant, who died on Jan. 9, 2008.
"He obviously was a huge fan," Geist told City News Service following the ceremony. "If I had to have one huge fan, it was good to have Johnny Grant as the one big fan."
Geist said he was undecided whether to accept the star, but his children, Willie, the host of MSBNC's "Way Too Early with Willie Geist" and a co-host of "Morning Joe," and Libby "finally put me over the top."
"They said, 'Your grandkids can come and see it,'" Geist said. "It's like immortality."
Lassie participated in the ceremony next to the El Capitan Theatre on Hollywood Boulevard in a role described by Leron Gubler, the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce President and Chief Executive
Officer who serves as the master of ceremonies for the star ceremonies, as a "guest barker."Lassie barked twice for no to Gubler's question about whether Geist could have gotten a star without her advice.
Gil Schwartz, CBS' executive vice president and chief communications officer, also spoke at the late-morning ceremony, saying Geist represents "all that is best" about "Sunday Morning."
"First and foremost, he is a dedicated reporter who really listens to people," Schwartz said. "He's whimsical, funny and he's true."
Geist has been a correspondent for "Sunday Morning" since joining CBS News in 1987, receiving Emmy Awards for his 1992 report on the 66th anniversary of Route 66 and a 2005 profile on Fred Carl, who started the Viking Range company in Greenwood, Miss. that completely revitalized the small, impoverished town.
Geist also contributed his humor, observations and storytelling to the since-canceled news magazine "60 Minutes II," and CBS' coverage of the 1992, 1994 and 1998 Winter Olympics, the World Series, various Super Bowls and NCAA basketball tournaments.
Geist is the best-selling author of seven books -- "Fore! Play"; "The Big Five-Oh: Facing, Fearing and Fighting 50"; "Monster Trucks and Hair-In- A-Can -- Who Says America Doesn't Make Anything Anymore?"; ""Little League Confidential"; "City Slickers" and "The Zucchini Plague and Other Tales of Suburbia." His most recent book, "Way Off the Road," is a compendium of stories from "Sunday Morning."
Before joining CBS News, Geist was a reporter and columnist for the Chicago Tribune from 1972-80 and The New York Times from 1980-87.
Born May 10, 1945 in Champaign, Ill., Geist graduated from the University of Illinois at Champaign-Urbana in 1968 with a degree in communications. He served as a combat photographer with the First Infantry Division in 1969. Geist received a master's degree in communications from the University of Missouri in 1971.
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