Stan Lee Gets Star On Hollywood Walk Of Fame

Yesterday, a man whose creations were responsible for putting billions into Hollywood revenue circles has been finally given his due respects. Introduced in a ceremony by Gill Champion, COO and co-founder of his production company Pow! Entertainment, and legend in his own right, Spawn creator Todd McFarlane, Stan Lee was given a star on Hollywood's Walk of Fame. The iconic Marvel guru's list of creations reads like an almost surreal roll-call of the most popular characters conceived in the last 50 years such as Spider-Man, Hulk, Fantastic Four, X-Men, and many more. Among the other 2,427 names who grace the walkway between Hollywood Boulevard and Vine Street, Lee's contribution to pop culture and the imaginations of millions around the world are massively undeniable, and frankly, long overdue.

As the official press release explains his accolade:

In 1981 Stan Lee transformed his Spider-Man and Hulk creations into Saturday morning and syndicated television cartoons. When Marvel Comics and Marvel Productions were acquired by New World Entertainment in 1986, Stan’s horizons expanded even further, giving him the opportunity to become more deeply involved in the creation and development of filmed projects for both the big and small screen. He supervised such diverse animated series as X-Men, Spider-Man and The Hulk. To date, Stan’s characters have populated over 24 separate television series, all of which continue in syndication around the world.

Accepting the honors, a humble, yet sharp-witted 88 year-old Lee quipped:

"I want to thank the men who are responsible for putting that star there, but I can't, because I don't know their names."

Recalling advice (real or not) given to him by the legendary suspense director Alfred Hitchcock, who, like Lee, was known for managing to squeeze himself into cameo roles in his films, Lee recounts:

"I remember as a young man when he dangled me on his knee and Alfred said to me: 'Stan, don't waste time trying to be a screen star, there's too much competition. Get into cameos!'"

Congratulations to Stan "The Man!" We look forward to every single one of your cameos for years to come.