RKMBs Forums .::Robegories::. Comic Books The Sad Last Days of Stan Lee

‘Picked Apart by Vultures’: The Last Days of Stan Lee

• Seven months after the death of Joan, his wife of almost 70 years, beset with pneumonia, the apparent victim of gross financial malfeasance and surrounded by a panoply of Hollywood charlatans and mountebanks, he may be facing his greatest challenge, every bit the equal of any of the psychologically flawed superheroes he helped shepherd into being. According to one insider with working knowledge of Lee’s current situation, “It’s a real ----ing mess over there. I think his money will be gone in a few weeks… Stan and [his daughter] JC are literally being picked apart by vultures.”
  
  In just over two months, there have been published reports of an unauthorized check for $300,000 written from Lee’s business account without his knowledge to Hands of Respect, a “merchandising company” and ersatz charity formed by Lee and Jerry Olivarez, a former business associate of his daughter’s. The word “loan” is inscribed on the face of the check.
  
  Other red flags included the purchase in the fall of 2017 of an $850,000 condo in West Hollywood a short distance from Lee’s home in the Hollywood Hills; and $1.4 million that mysteriously disappeared in a complicated wire-transfer transaction. Most dramatically—and according to published reports— police on February 16th were called to Lee’s home to remove long-time bodyguard Mac “Max” Anderson, often seen accompanying Lee at his lucrative live appearances, after he allegedly threatened Lee and his daughter. Anderson’s attorney declined to comment for this story.
  
  Lee did not return a request for comment. But incredibly, according to multiple sources, even this may be the tip of the iceberg. A half dozen anonymous former nurses have accused Lee of sexual impropriety; Lee denies the allegations. One or more five-figure checks have been made out to Olivarez, money leaking out of larger financial transactions, mysterious bank transfers, and questionable real estate purchases. Under particular scrutiny is the period when Olivarez was briefly able to gain power of attorney over Lee’s affairs in the chaos surrounding the death of Lee’s wife.
  
  According to public records, Olivarez as of this January had also amassed 45 liens (mostly federal, state, city and county tax liens) filed against him, totaling in the low six figures, as well as 15 judgments against him for around $40,000. He is also, according to Olivarez’s attorney, Uri Litvak, the co-owner of an LLC, in partnership with Stan Lee, that controls the Hands of Respect company, recipient of the $300,000 “loan,” and the entity that purchased the $850,000 condo.

It appears from the full story that Stan's daughter is something of a ditz (to put it kindly) and let these people, primarily Olivarez, into Stan's life after his wife died. They're exploiting both Stan and his daugther (who, herself, is hardly a spring chicken).

Poor Stan...

It appears exposed at this point, that hopefully the vultures in question are being investigated and prosecuted. For Stan's sake, let's hope that's the case.

Stan Lee in finer days. In 1954, age 31.
Love the Marvel/Atlas covers on the wall behind him.

In the closing years of the pre-code era. I wonder if Lee had any contact with William Gaines and the folks over at E.C. The stuff on the wall behind him is a clear outgrowth of the EC horror titles that were topping the sales charts at that point. And their offices were probably very close.
Likewise, the DC offices.

Stan Lee in 1966.
Age 43








And in 1968, at 45.
At the beginning of his ascent to decades-long godhood.

Stan lee in 1972.
Age 49. And the year I started reading comics.

Stan Lee in 1980, this photo from his editorial page in EPIC ILLUSTRATED issue 1.
Age 57.
I think this is the first photo I'd seen of Stan Lee at this point, when I bought this issue off the stands.

In a fun 2014 photo with Lou Ferrigno, at age 92.

Someone who took the time to compile all of Stan Lee's movie cameos up to that point (2017).

My favorite will forever be his role in Mallrats.

The cameos in video form, courtesy of YouTube:

Lee's Mallrats appearance, the only one not included above:

Stan has often said his boss at the time, Martin Goodman, outright ordered him to rip off whatever was successful at any given time.

Well, Stan Lee's own account from ORIGINS OF MARVEL COMICS backs that assertion. Lee describes in the post-EC comics code slump period from 1960-1961 that he was golfing with Martin Goodman, and he told Lee that JUSTICE LEAGUE was outselling everything for DC, and to come up with a similar superhero group for Marvel.

By Lee's account, he came up with everything, and assigned Kirby to draw it.
By Kirby's account, he came up with everything and had Stan Lee script it.
Either way FF number 1 came out in Nov 1961.
I understand Goodman had a much wider line of magazines, including porn, beyond Marvel/Atlas. There was an article on Goodman in one of the COMIC BOOK ARTIST issues, pretty long, about 8 or 10 pages.

Stan Lee dead at 95



Man, it's been a rough 2 years for losing some of the people we grew up with.
Last year Berni Wrightson and Len Wein.
This year Steve Ditko, Harlan Ellison and now Stan Lee, among others.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2018_in_comics#Deaths

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2017_in_comics#Deaths