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Hollywood Pays Tribute to “Visionary” Stan Lee

Stars took to social media Monday to pay tribute to the late Stan Lee.

Actors, directors, comic book artists and more took to social media Monday to pay tribute to legendary writer, editor and publisher of Marvel Comics Stan Lee, who died Monday at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles. He was 95.

He began his career at Marvel in the 1960s. Lee was known for giving Marvel superheroes personalities in addition to their power. He wrote, art-directed and edited most of Marvel’s series and newspaper strips. He additionally penned a monthly comics column, “Stan’s Soapbox.” The column always concluded with his signature phrase, “Excelsior!” 

Many of Lee’s characters have made appearances on TV and in films, including the Avengers blockbusters.  

Disney CEO Bob Iger issued a statement Monday paying tribute to the late creator. “Stan Lee was as extraordinary as the characters he created. A superhero in his own right to Marvel fans around the world, Stan had the power to inspire, to entertain, and to connect. The scale of his imagination was only exceeded by the size of his heart.”

Marvel’s Kevin Feige praised Lee’s legacy in a tribute sent Monday morning: “No one has had more of an impact on my career and everything we do at Marvel Studios than Stan Lee. Stan leaves an extraordinary legacy that will outlive us all. Our thoughts are with his daughter, his family, and the millions of fans who have been forever touched by Stan’s genius, charisma and heart. Excelsior!”

DC Comics addressed Lee’s passing on the company’s Twitter account. “He changed the way we look at heroes, and modern comics will always bear his indelible mark,” the company wrote. “His infectious enthusiasm reminded us why we all fell in love with these stories in the first place. Excelsior, Stan.”

Sony Pictures Entertainment’s Motion Picture Group chairman Tom Rothman said of Lee’s passing: “Original and genius are two very overused words in the world today, but Stan was both. Add irrepressible and irreplaceable, and you begin to describe the man. We have all lost a true superhero. We will greatly miss our friendly neighborhood Stan Lee.”

Walt Disney Studios chairman Alan Horn said: “It’s impossible to overstate Stan’s influence on popular culture. I was able to get to know Stan over these past several years through his work with Marvel Studios, and was always impressed by his irrepressible energy and vitality. We’ve lost a true creator. My thoughts are with his family and friends during this difficult time.”

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Shane Duffy, CEO of Stan Lee’s POW! Entertainment, said: “We at Stan Lee’s Lee POW! Entertainment are saddened by the loss of our friend and mentor Stan Lee, the father of pop culture.  His passing today marks a devastating and painful moment in time, but the legacy of Stan Lee, through his creative genius and his universes of characters, will continue to reach the world of true believers for generations to come. Our thoughts and prayers are with his family and the fans of not only his work, but of him, as a friend who made the world a better place.  He was a true iconic pioneer with no comparable second. It has been an honor to work beside him.”    

Publicist Dawn Miller, who worked with Stan Lee for many years, said: “Stan Lee was a tremendous character that will never be forgotten. He brought joy to so many, the world has lost a true legend. I feel honored to have worked with him for so many years, may he rest in peace.”

Ryan Reynolds, who has portrayed Marvel character Deadpool in two films, wrote on Twitter: “Damn… RIP Stan. Thanks for everything.”

Scarlett Johansson, who has portrayed Black Widow in the Avengers franchise, said of Lee’s death: “The galaxy just gained another Dog Star. Thankful everyday to be a small part of Stan’s universe. He was a legendary visionary and a true artist.”

Edgar Wright, who produced the film based on Lee’s character Ant-Man, also posted a tribute on Twitter. “Thanks for inspiring so many of us to pick up a pen or pencil and put your dreams onto paper. Excelsior!” he wrote.

Jason Lee, who appeared with Stan Lee (no relation) in Kevin Smith’s Mallrats, told THR, “Meeting Stan Lee and getting to work with him was an absolute pleasure. The thing that struck me the most about him was the fact that he was never without a smile. He had an abundance of energy and it was infectious. For someone of his stature and influence to be so gracious and full of joy greatly impacted me.”

Man of Action Entertainment’s Steven T. Seagle reflected on his professional relationship with Lee. “I first met Stan Lee in 1981 when he and Jack Kirby came to the Colorado Springs Mile High Comics to sign the hardcover Silver Surfer (which I still have), I was 16 years old and star-struck. 32 years later I wound up working with Stan regularly as he voiced himself on the MARVEL cartoons that my MAN OF ACTION company produced and wrote,” he said in a statement.

“One day Stan came in looking a little glum,” Seagle continued. “I asked him what was wrong. He held out his record script to me and joked that we never gave him enough lines! He had to get dressed up and drive across the valley and come in and it would be nice if his character – STAN THE SCHOOL JANITOR on ULTIMATE SPIDER-MAN – had more lines once in a while! I promised him that we’d hook him up,” he shared. “So we immediately outlined an episode for Stan where we revealed that Stan the School Janitor was secretly a retired SHIELD AGENT placed in the school to watch over Peter Parker. Stan was in the full 22 minutes, and more than that, he was kicking ass as an old guy! We worked with my buddy Joe Fallon on that script and Joe had the great idea of lifting a bunch of the phrases Stan wrote in his old SOAPBOX columns and inserting them as lines of dialogue for his character.”

“Stan occasionally got tongue twisted on the regular dialogue lines, but he had no absolutely no trouble with the Tumultuous Turns of Frenetic Phraseology that Joe inserted,” Seagle concluded. “My Condolences to his many admirers, friends, and family.”

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I owe it all to you,,, Rest In Peace Stan… #MCU #Excelsior #legend #rip #stanlee #TeamStark

A post shared by Robert Downey Jr. (@robertdowneyjr) on

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