Roy L. Dennis

Roy Lee Dennis
1977 Junior High School yearbook photo of Rocky Dennis in Glendora, CA
Born	Roy Lee Dennis (1961-12-04)December 4, 1961 Glendora, California
Died	October 4, 1978(1978-10-04) (aged 16) Glendora, California
Nationality	United States
Parent(s)	Florence "Rusty" Tullis Roy Dennis

Roy Lee "Rocky" Dennis (December 4, 1961 - October 4, 1978) was an American boy afflicted with craniodiaphyseal dysplasia, an extremely rare, disfiguring, sclerotic bone disorder. The condition usually results in neurological disorders and death during childhood. His body was donated to UCLA Medical Center after he died.

Biography

Rocky Dennis was born in Glendora, California, to mother Florence "Rusty" Tullis and father Roy Dennis. At the age of 2, Dennis was diagnosed with craniodiaphyseal dysplasia, also known as CDD or lionitis, an extremely rare disease occurring in approximately 1 in every 22 million births, with fewer than 20 recorded cases. It is a bone disorder that causes calcium to build up in the skull, disfiguring the facial features and reducing life expectancy.

The doctors told his mother that the abnormal calcium deposits in his skull would push his eyes toward the edges of his head and twist his nose out of shape, his eyesight and hearing would fail and, that if the handful of cases on record were any indication, the tremendous pressure would destroy his brain before he was 7.

Dennis experienced problems with eyesight and hearing along with painful headaches, but was able to do most of the things doctors told him he would never accomplish, such as learn to read. They told him that his poor eyesight, which made him legally blind, meant that he would never read a book; however, at the age of 16, he became a student of the Sandburg Junior High School (despite disapproval by many teachers) and although experiencing a slow start (he spent two years in the first grade), he was able to make excellent progress thereafter, becoming a straight-A student, and eventually graduating with honors.

Dennis died of complications from his disease on October 4, 1978.

Personal life

Dennis's mother, Rusty Dennis, died on November 11, 2006 as a result of an infection following a motorcycle accident. Rusty was 70 years old. Rocky also had an older brother, Joshua, who died in 1987 at the age of 32 from complications related to AIDS contracted from a blood transfusion. Joshua was never mentioned or characterized in the film Mask.

Mask

Anna Hamilton Phelan wrote a screenplay based loosely on Dennis's life; Peter Bogdanovich directed the 1985 film, entitled Mask, in which Eric Stoltz portrays Rocky. The film was a dramatic depiction of his life, showing him as a mature, fun-loving, kind and thoughtful youth who had many dreams and lots of ambition.

In one scene in the film, the character Rocky reads a poem to his mother, Rusty (played by Cher), written by the real Dennis:

These things are good:
Ice cream and cake,
A ride on a Harley,
Seeing monkeys on a tree,
The rain on my tongue,
And the sun shining on my face.

These things are a drag:
Dust on my hair,
Holes in my shoes,
No money in my pocket,
And the sun shining on my face.

The movie originally was to feature music by Bruce Springsteen (Dennis's favorite artist), but due to problems with the record company a different soundtrack had to be used. Most other parts of the movie are very loosely based on Rocky's life, with most of the scenes and dialogue being altered for dramatic purposes.

For example, the film shows Rusty at Rocky's gravesite; however, the real Dennis was not buried (as mentioned earlier, when Dennis died, his mother donated his body to UCLA for medical research). The dates of birth and death on the tombstone are also incorrect.

Pop Culture references

Phelan also adapted her screenplay into a stage musical (also titled Mask), with music by Barry Mann and Cynthia Weil. The musical premiered at the Pasadena Playhouse in California on March 12, 2008.

Swedish pop musician Jens Lekman published Rocky Dennis in Heaven, an EP containing four songs about Dennis and his portrayal in the film.

Dennis is also mentioned in the Tech N9ne song "Red Nose" on the 2009 album Sickology 101.

References

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