As some other pros have already said, something is going on with Stan Lee. His personal assistant, Max Anderson, has been fired and is being kept away from having any contact with Stan, who recently was in poor health fighting a bout with pneumonia.
All of the reportage seems to be coming from Stan’s “camp,” although the identity of those in the camp is a bit debatable.
But I can speak about Max, that’s for dámņëd sure. Because I’ve been a friend of Stan’s for decades, and have had plenty of opportunities to watch Max with Stan at various conventions. And I can tell you right now that whatever bad things you may hear people saying about Max concerning Stan: Don’t believe it.
I’ve watched Max manage Stan at conventions for the last fourteen years. In addition to being a tireless supporter of Stan, including organizing and selling all manner of Stan Lee merchandise that has pumped tons of money into Stan’s pocket, I have watched Max treat Stan the way a good son treats his beloved father. Max doesn’t hesitate to put himself between Stan and overeager fans, creating a bubble of space so Stan doesn’t get crushed by well wishers. I’ve seen Max arrange at conventions for a comfortable couch/rest area to be set up so that Stan has somewhere to go in order to take a nap between panels and autograph fests.
Some years ago, at Dragon*Con, I presented the Julie award (name for Julie Schwartz) to Stan. Now there’s no stairway directly from the ground to the stage; you have to come around and use a side entrance. Disdaining that, Stan–who was in his eighties–vaulted from the floor up onto the stage. I saw a hilarious photograph of Stan leaping onto the stage while the people from his table ran up behind him to spot him in case he pitched backwards. Max was the first one out of his chair.
Max has cared for Stan, watched over his business and health concerns for over a decade. He does not deserve to be kept away from Stan, and he certainly doesn’t deserve to be savaged by fans for any reason. Max is a great guy.
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You might want to rethink that position, Peter. Stan Lee himself told police officers he was scared to have Max around:
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-5428459/Stan-Lees-longtime-manager-fired-honeytrap-claims.html
If that story appeared in the National Enquirer, how seriously would you take it? Because that the nearest journalistic equivalent to the Daily Mirror. It’s a tabloid unconcerned about accuracy. Furthermore Stan told them nothing. The comments came from others whose veracity is never challenged.
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So I’m guessing you’re going to dismiss TMZ’s reporting out of hand also? Whether you like him or not, Lee no longer wants him around, and he does NOT sound like a “great guy”.
http://www.tmz.com/#!article/2018/02/16/stan-lee-lapd-trespasser-home-marvel-bodyguard/
Gee, I don’t know. I followed your link and couldn’t find the article, and then got distracted by the news article defying me to guess which white hot babe had shared an incredibly hot pick with them.
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This seems to be the subject article:
http://www.tmz.com/2018/02/16/stan-lee-lapd-trespasser-home-marvel-bodyguard/
“Law enforcement sources tell us they were called to the Marvel founder’s L.A. home after a former bodyguard of Lee’s showed up. We’re told both Lee and his daughter asked Max Anderson — a convicted felon — to leave, and when he refused, they called police to intervene.”
Neither Stan nor his daughter are directly quoted in the piece, nor does it does directly address Mr. Anderson’s character or alleged reasons for his presence, so I’m not sure that it’s worth much as a source.
It’s really not. First, referring to Max as a “former bodyguard” is idiotic and wildly inaccurate. A bodyguard just makes sure their client remains physically safe. That is an insanely ridiculous description of Max and the services he’s provided for Stan. Second, it doesn’t say who was there, what they were arguing about, or why Max refused to leave. It is entirely possible that he was concerned about the other people in the house and he was determined to stay because he was worried about Stan. One shouldn’t be condemned for that.
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I clicked on the link, and read the article. The nurse is accused of giving Stan “naked showers.” Am I misreading that, or that not the normal way someone takes a shower?
In point of fact, when I was in the recovery center after my stroke, female nurses helped me with showers. There was nothing sexual about it.
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Likewise for me when I was in rehab after my bad car accident several years ago.
I’m afraid I’ve never heard of Max Anderson before this instance. Because of that, and because these reports so far seem to be from second (or third or even further) hand sources, I’ll take your word for it, Peter.
The main thing right now is that we seem to be getting close to losing Stan Lee, inarguably someone who had a colossal impact on the culture of the United States and beyond in there 20th Century and beyond. Having just had a personal loss of my own, and the loss recently of far too many famous people whose work I’ve enjoyed and admired over the years (the most recent being David Ogden Stiers), I’m not ready to say goodbye to Stan. I realize I have no say in the matter, but that won’t make it any easier. As an employee of the USPS, I especially look forward to a few years down the road when Stan is on stamp.
Look, I don’t know who s the bad guy here, but somebody sure is. If it’s not Max, Then we need to find out who is. I saw that horrible TMZ video. Stan Lee deserves better than this.!
I just don’t want anyone to hurt Stan.
Obviously I don’t know what is going on now. What I do know is that I saw Stan at a Convention a couple of years ago, and during his presentation, he talked positively about how much Max does for him , and Max even spoke a little at Stan’s behest.
I’m kinda worried about Stan. There is a long (and badly written) article on the Daily Beast
https://www.thedailybeast.com/picked-apart-by-vultures-the-last-days-of-stan-lee
that makes no mention of Max, but there is a lot of stuff going on around Stan that looks pretty odd.
Yes, I read it. A lengthy puff piece organized by Keya Morgan who is, trust me, a huge part of the problem rather than the heroic solution he pretends to be.
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Max is also a convicted felon – for beating his own son, no less. Max is also notorious for making low-ball offers for top end items and telling trusting fans that Stan actually wants it. I’ve seen Max yell and kick an elderly couple out of a convention. I can go on and on… just glad he’s out of the picture… hopefully Stan can get one more time to say goodbye to the fans at a few cons and his daughter can get everything she deserves! That being said… Peter, I love your work!
Funny story: One day when Max’s son, who was about 14 at the time, came home from school, Max said, “So how was school today?” His kid promptly told him about all the stuff he’d done. Max then said, “That’s odd, because I just got off the phone with your school counselor who told me you haven’t been to school in two weeks.” Turned out his son was skipping school, hanging out with his friends, and getting into trouble. Max was so incensed, that he took the kid over his knee and spanked him five times.
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Next thing Max knows, child services has been called (likely by Max’s ex wife) and he’s dragged into court. For spanking his son. That’s it. That’s the whole thing. Judge gave him probation.
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But now people who know nothing about it declare that Max is a convicted child beater.
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Spanking your own kid I have no problem with. Spanking them when they’re 14? Now that brings on a whole different, semi-disturbing, element… IMO at least… wow…
It worked. He didn’t cut school ever again, and I saw them working a con together getting on just fine. So…no conviction. No felony. No truth to anything you said. You can question his parenting all you want, but everything you said was wrong.
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If he was given probation, there was a conviction.