thank you, fixed... and that's a good bit of trivia about the Rock... I actually never watched the movie, just needed something that represented Scorpion for the meta
Thanks Phil. I got it a round about way, I was looking for signs but not in the clues darn it. I missed the stars completely, I should have seen it with the odd clue "Virgin mother of Jesus". At any rate I saw 51D and figured it was Zodiac so along with the fact that I am a Scorpio and I remember "The Rock's" first movie it was easy. Congratulations on a complete A-Z puzzle, heck you even got J in there three times. Nice work! (by the way splitting it into different sections and looking for repeated bi or trigrams did not reveal the answer darn it)
I'm going through and solving some of your older ones that I haven't gotten around to. I got stuck in a hole for a while on this one! The first starred answer (NEMO) is OMEN (sign) spelled backwards. Thanks, Phil!
* Crustacean boss of Spongebob Squarepants with an apt last name
26A
___ vera (succulent plant)
27A
Actress Poehler of "Parks and Recreation"
28A
* "Hunger Games" protagonist and skilled archer Katniss ___
32A
Kind of rack found in the kitchen
35A
Horn sound
36A
Airport screening org.
37A
* Virgin mother of Jesus
38A
* "Three ___ Goats Gruff" (classic fairy tale)
39A
* Wide receiver Cooper ___ for the LA Rams
40A
"___ y plata" (Montana's state motto which translates to "gold and silver")
41A
Start of a counting rhyme
42A
Vessels that carry blood back to the heart
43A
* Water bearer of Greek myth
45A
Tear to shreds
46A
Main character in "The Indian In the Cupboard" (hidden in "Doomrider")
47A
* Lady ___ (personification of moral fairness that carries a set of balance scales)
51A
* NBA legend Michael whose #23 was retired by the Chicago Bulls
54A
* Simba's mate in "The Lion King"
55A
Cardi B single ft. Megan Thee Stallion with the lyric "bring a bucket and a mop for this..."
56A
Wings, anatomically speaking
57A
Winning 4-3, say
59A
Prom rental
60A
Lagerfeld of fashion
61A
Piano adjuster
62A
Late "Jeopardy!" host Trebek
63A
Private ___ (detectives)
64A
Catches sight of
65A
Bit of subterfuge
Verticales
1D
Apprehensive feeling and word that Helga purposely spelled wrong in a spelling bee on “Hey Arnold!” (with the last letter X instead of the actual last letter M)
2D
"Burnt" crayon color
3D
How contracts are usually signed
4D
Something to boil a lobster in
5D
Visited
6D
Decorates, as a Christmas tree
7D
Gambling city near Lake Tahoe
8D
Residential care worker: Abbr.
9D
Flattery intended to persuade
10D
___ up (admitted)
11D
Be in want of a massage, maybe
12D
National park in Utah
13D
Swelled heads
21D
Word that can follow "maiden" or "middle"
23D
Folktale collection or modern slang for background information about a person
25D
Like the song 55-Across
26D
"Life is ___ of tears in which there are moments you just can't stop giggling" (quote by Robert Brault)
28D
Actress Kemper of "Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt"
29D
Decorative sewing case (hidden in "perpetuity")
30D
"SportsCenter" channel
31D
Short snoozes
32D
Urban air pollution
33D
Beginning for "normal" or "legal"
34D
Monopoly token my aunt likes to use because it has a handle and was sad it got replaced with a cat in a newer edition
35D
Hindu forehead decoration
38D
Bar freebies you can munch on
39D
Fulfilled, as a promise
41D
Jane Austen novel that inspired the movie "Clueless"
42D
Entry requirement, at times
44D
Alpine melodies
45D
Measuring sticks
47D
Jackson in a 2004 Super Bowl "wardrobe malfunction"
48D
Whitney Houston's "___ Always Love You"
49D
Brief guest appearance
50D
Powerful adhesive
51D
Actor Gyllenhaal of "Zodiac" (movie about the Zodiac killer, a serial murderer who taunted police with letters and coded messages)
52D
Skin care brand that used to have "Oil of" in front of its name