Okay, so I guess I took a week off from blogging without really meaning too. Don’t feel slighted if you weren’t told.. I wasn’t told either.
It’s just that the old ball-n-chain is still out of town, so I’ve been playing. Which basically consists of eating more than I should while drinking more beer that I usually do and watching stuff on HULU.COM.
Yeah, I’m getting old.
BUT.. I ran across something that kind of sort of blew me away, so I sat and watched this with such rapt attention that my beer went flat and my pizza got cold.
I was mesmerized.
From the internet movie database..
“Confessions of a Superhero” chronicles the lives of four mortal men and women who work as characters on the sidewalks of Hollywood Boulevard. This feature length documentary explores the fascination, obsession, and allure of fame through the eyes of these very unique people struggling to make it in Tinseltown.
The reason I watched with rapt attention is because the guy lying on the green sofa in a Superman outfit is our old next-door-neighbor, Chris Dennis.
Coffeesister, aka Dorian, and I lived and worked in Hollywood from 2000-2004. I did background acting in film & TV while also working as a security dispatcher at the Hollywood & Highland complex, which happens to be next to the famed Grauman’s Chinese Theater on Hollywood Boulevard.
We’d seen the Hollywood Boulevard Superman on occasion while living over on LaBrea somewhere, and like everyone else we thought, “Geez that guy looks like Christopher Reeve.” But it wasn’t until we moved into this building on Orchid right behind the Kodak Theatre that we got to know him.
I’ll never forget stepping out the door of our new apartment to go get another load from the truck, when he came strolling up resplendent in red cape, blue leotard and boots. “Well, HI Superman!” said I, with a look on my face that must have betrayed my surprise. “Howdy! The name’s Chris.” He extended his super hand, which I was reluctant to shake knowing full well that he could easily grind my bones into dust. But he seemed kind of friendly so I took a chance.
He was going into the apartment next door.
“You live here?”
“Yep, come on in.. meet my girlfriend Bonnie.”
Okay, this was interesting.. so I went on in and met Bonnie, and then I just had to run back into our place and grab Dorian to come over and meet Superman/Chris.
Their place was wall-to-wall Superman paraphernalia, and I mean it was EVERYWHERE. Sofa, ceiling, end-tables, lamps, you name it – everything in the place had something about Superman on it.
We lived next to them for several years, and I’d often run across Chris as he was on his way out to the boulevard or coming back in. We’d sometimes drop in to pay a visit, surrounded by Superman lore and talking about.. guess what.. Superman.
The documentary points out that Chris is a bit obsessed, and I’d say that’s accurate. But they were a little unfair in their portrayal of him. I can’t speak for the other characters because I didn’t know them, with the exception of having met Batman/Max a few times – but Chris and Bonnie were definitely two of the most decent people I’d ever met. Call him nuts if you will, but I think we’re all kind of nuts and quirky about certain things – I know I am. I can certainly vouch for the fact that he’s a decent guy and hard worker. He helped us move out of the place in 2004 and the guy worked twice as hard and fast as I did.
“Confessions of a Superhero” was made a couple of years ago by Morgan Spurlock, the same guy who did “Super Size Me.” I’m sure it won’t hold your attention as aptly as it did mine, but hopefully you’ll find it interesting. I’ve just never experienced a film that’s hit so close to home because Chris was not only my next-door-neighbor, but my friend – we’d occasionally do things together and I’ve hung out in that Superman apartment many times. The film takes a tour of the apartment at one point and it’s all accurate, the exception being that it was obviously tidied up for the film crew.
Anecdote – I drove a Miata at the time, and I pulled up to the front of Grauman’s one day while Chris was standing out front. “Want to go for a ride?” He got in, and the top was down so he draped the Superman cape back over the rear to let it blow in the wind. We cruised down Hollywood Boulevard and hit the Sunset Strip, then jumped on the freeway and headed over to Universal, then the 101 back up into Hollywood. I swear I’d never had my picture taken so many times in my life as that hour I drove around with Superman in the passenger seat. We’d pull up to a red light and the person next to us would ask, “Hey Superman, how come you have to get around in a car?” Chris would smile and point upward.. “It’s a no-fly zone over LA.”
NOTE – There’s an older LAPD officer seen in several scenes, who talks about police involvement with these characters and the legality of what they do. This is Mike Shea, who was a liaison to our security team at Hollywood & Highland. He’d come up into our dispatch center on occasion and we’d have some nice chats about the local neighborhood, including the superhero characters on the boulevard.
I’m embedding the video in this post. If I’ve sold you on watching it, you can either see it here or go to its page at Hulu.com. People using a reader or getting this in email won’t get the embedded video, so just go here.
Outside of the US - well, if you’re REALLY interested there’s always Amazon – I’d appreciate it if you used my affiliate link below.
Not seeing the video? click here
