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Stan Lee was an American comic book writer, editor, and publisher who was active from the 1940s to the 2010s. He rose through the ranks of a family-run business to become  Marvel Comics’ primary creative leader for two decades, leading its expansion from a small division of a publishing house to a multimedia corporation that dominated the comics industry.

In collaboration with others at Marvel particularly co-writer/artists Jack Kirby and Steve Ditko, he co-created numerous popular fictional characters, including superheroes Spider-Man, the X-Men, Iron Man, Thor, the Hulk, the Fantastic Four, Black Panther, Daredevil,  Doctor Strange, and Ant-Man.

Birth Name

Stanley Martin Lieber

Nick Name

Stan Lee, The Man, Generalissimo

Personal Life

Birthday / Date of Birth

Stan Lee was born on December 28, 1922 Manhattan, New York City, New York, United States.

Died

He died on November 12, 2018, aged 95, at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, Los Angeles,  California, United States.

Sun Sign

Capricorn

Nationality

American

Education

In 1939, Lee graduated from DeWitt Clinton High School in the Bronx.

Profession

Comic Book Writer, Publisher, Editor-in-Chief, Producer, Actor

Family Details

  • Father – Jacob/Jack A. Lieber (Dress Cutter)
  • Mother – Celia Solomon
  • Siblings – Larry Lieber (Younger Brother) (Comic Book Writer)
  • Others – Simon Lieber (Paternal Grandfather), Minnie Leibowitz (Paternal Grandmother), Mel Stuart (First Cousin) (Producer, Director, Writer)

Manager

Stan Lee was represented by Pow! Entertainment, Inc.

Body Build

Slim

Physical Statistics

His body specs may be –

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Height

5 ft 11 in or 180 cm

Weight

71 kg or 156.5 lbs

Ethnicity

White

He had Ashkenazi Jewish ancestry.

Hair Color

Salt & Pepper

Eye Color

As Stan Lee used to wear a pair of shaded corrective glasses, his eye color is not clear.

Sexuality

Straight

Religion

He was raised in a Jewish family. However, later in his life, he became more of an agnostic.

Girlfriend / Spouse

Stan Lee had dated –

  • Joan Boocock Lee (1947-2017) – Stan Lee got married to British model and voice actress, Joan Boocock, on December 5, 1947. The couple moved to Woodmere, Long Island where they bought a house in 1949. The following year, their first child, a girl named Joan Celia Lee, was born. Later, in 1953, Joan gave birth to their second daughter named Jan Lee. However, Jan died just 3 days after she was born.

Professional Statistics

Best Known For

  • Being induced as Hall of Famer twice, once in 1994 at the Will Eisner Award Hall of Fameand again in 1995 at the Jack Kirby Hall of Fame.
  • Creating a league of superheroes such as Spiderman, X-men, Fantastic Four, Thor, The Incredible Hulk, Guardians of the Galaxy, Captain America, Sentry, Hercules, Nova,  Wonder Man, Colossus, Ant-Man, and Iron Man.
  • Giving life to various supervillains like Galactus, Tyrant, Zom, Surtur, Mangog,  Thanos,  Ymir The Ice Giant,  Onslaught, Juggernaut, Loki, Hela, Abomination, and Apocalypse.
  • Receiving a National Medal of Arts in 2008.

First Film

  • He made his theatrical film debut as a Marvel Comics editor in the comedy-horror film, The Ambulance, in 1990.
  • As a voice actor, Stan Lee made his theatrical film debut by voicing the Récitant /New York’s Narrator in the French comedy film, The Year 01, in 1971.

First TV Show

  • Stan Lee made his first TV show appearance as a contestant on the family game-show, To Tell The Truth, in 1971.
  • As a voice actor, he made his TV show debut as the narrator in the animation series, The Incredible Hulk, in 1982.

Brand Endorsements

  • Stan Lee appeared in a commercial for Personna razors (1976).
  • In 2012, he was a part of The Avengers (2012) themed commercial for Dr. Pepper.
  • In April 2014, he appeared in a commercial for the U.S. Postal Service which tied-in with the release of The Amazing Spider-Man 2 (2014). In the commercial, Stan portrayed a theater projectionist who receives a reel of film from the Spider-Man.

Distinctive Features

  • Used to wear corrective glasses
  • Had a mustache
  • Used the word “Excelsior” quite frequently

Controversies

  • In 1971, the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare reached out to Stan via a letter asking him to include an “anti-drug” quote in one of his books. Heeding to the request, Stan created a scenario in a Spider-Man comic issue where Harry (Spider-Man’s best friend) started abusing the use of drugs as he couldn’t handle his break up. However, the comic was rejected by the CCA. But, Stan still got the book published.
  • In 1998, Stan Lee signed a contract with Marvel which stated that he would be paid a certain amount of the profit generated through the movies in which his character creations were featured. However, things didn’t go as per the contract forcing him to file a case against Marvel in 2002 for being underpaid. The company later compensated him with $1 million prior to which he also started receiving 10% of the profits that the company made through those movies.
  • In 2018, he sued POW! Entertainment for fraud seeking $1 billion in damages. However, he dropped the charges a few months later.

Stan Lee Awards

YearAwardNominated workResult
1974Inkpot AwardWon
1994The Will Eisner Award Hall of Fame
1995Jack Kirby Hall of Fame
2002Saturn AwardThe Life Career Award
2008National Medal of Arts
2009Hugo AwardHugo Award for Best Dramatic Presentation- Iron ManNominated
Scream AwardsComic-Con Icon AwardWon
2011Hollywood Walk of Fame
2012Visual Effects Society AwardsLifetime Achievement Award
Producers Guild of AmericaVanguard Award
2017National Academy of Video Game Trade ReviewersPerformance in a Comedy, Supporting

Stan Lee Net Worth

In November 2018, Stan Lee’s net worth was estimated to be $50 million dollars.

Social Media Profiles

Stan Lee Favorite

  • Favorite DC Comic Character – Lobo
  • Favorite Cartoon – The Simpsons
  • Favorite Films – King Kong (1933), Inherit the Wind (1960), On the Waterfront(1954), The Quiet Man (1952), The Scarlet Pimpernel (1934)
  • Favorite Marvel Film Cameo – Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer (2007)
  • Favorite Places In Los Angeles – Madeo Restaurant, Dan Tana’s, The Beverly Hills Hotel, Beverly Hills Market, The Grill On The Alley, Nate’n Al, Disney Studios
  • Favorite Comic Book Store – Golden Apple Comics
  • Favorite Website To Buy His Trousers From – sheplers.com
  • Favorite Italian Restaurant In New York – Gino’s

Some Lesser Known Facts About Stan Lee

  • From 1945 to 1947, he lived in a rented apartment on the top floor of a brownstone apartment situated in the East 90s in Manhattan.
  • Stan Lee also created a set of reimagined superheroes for DC Comics under the title Just Imagine.
  • The catchphrase “Excelsior” was one of Stan Lee’s favorite as he used to write it at the end of the columns, uttered it out during events, and also said it in between dialogues while doing voice-overs.
  • In 1939, Stan joined Timely Comics and was paid $8 a week.
  • Stan Lee was an excellent writer who won the New York Herald‘s essay writing competition for teens 3 times.
  • The first comic story he wrote was a 28-paragraph filler titled Captain America Foils The Traitor’s Revenge. It was also the first time that Stan Lee’s name appeared on a comic book.
  • As a child, he read books from authors such as Mark Twain, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Jules Verne, and H.G. Wells. However, his confidence developed from his mother who never underestimated her son’s talent.
  • Before becoming a comic writer, Stan Lee worked at a number of places where he wrote obituaries and delivered sandwiches. He even worked as an office boy during his teenage years.
  • The first superhero he co-created was called the Destroyer. The character made its debut in 1941 in the Mystic Comics issue #6.
  • Stan Lee served in the United States army from 1942-1945. He started off as a Signal Corps and was later sent off to the Training Film Division as a playwright to work on manuals, training films, slogans, and sometime even cartooning.
  • During the late 1960s, Marvel Comics took over as the most-selling comic in the market leaving the already established DC Comics behind.
  • In 1961, Stan and artist Jack Kirby created Marvel‘s very first superhero group called the Fantastic Four. Later, Lee and Jack also clubbed together other characters of Marvel to form the ultimate superhero group known as The Avengers.
  • In 1972, he got promoted as the publisher and editorial director at Marvel Comics.
  • After he met his wife, Stan never went to a barber again as she would cut his hair for him.
  • In between 1981 and 2001, he donated a sum of his personal earnings to the University of Wyoming.
  • In 2001, he co-founded the American media production company “POW! Entertainment”.
  • In 2009, Marvel Comic was sold to Disney for more than 4 billion dollars and Stan Lee started working as an ambassador for them.
  • In 2010, he started the Stan Lee Foundation which aimed at the improvement of literacy, education, and the arts.
  • In 2012, Stan Lee underwent a surgery to have a pacemaker inserted.
  • The X-men movie series Logan (2017) was the first time Stan Lee did not make a cameo appearance in one his Marvel movies.
  • He once got into an argument with his wife and she broke his prized typewriter through which he had given life to characters like the Spider-man and the Fantastic Four.
  • In 2016, Stan Lee lost most of his eyesight making it difficult for him to even read the comics that he created.
  • In 2016, he introduced his digital graphic novel, Stan Lee’s God Woke, at the Comic-Con International. The text was originally written in the form of a poem which he had previously presented in 1972 at the Carnegie Hall located in Midtown Manhattan.
  • A couple of months before he passed away on November 12, 2018, he suffered from pneumonia.
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