Roy L. Dennis: Difference between revisions
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{{Infobox person |
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|name = Roy L. Dennis |
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|image = RockyDennis.JPG |
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|image_size = 150px |
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|caption = Dennis' junior high school yearbook photo, 1977 |
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|other_names = Rocky Dennis |
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|birth_name = Roy Lee Dennis |
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|birth_date = {{birth date|1961|12|04}}<ref>{{cite web|last=Witt|first=Linda|title=An Unusual Mother: Helping Her Children Face Down Death (2 of 4)|date=11 May 1986|publisher=''[[Chicago Tribune]]''|url=http://articles.chicagotribune.com/1986-05-11/features/8602030023_1_cher-rocky-dennis-real-life/2|accessdate=23 April 2016}}</ref> |
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|birth_place = [[Glendora, California]], United States |
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|death_date = {{death date and age|1978|10|04|1961|12|04}}<ref>{{cite web|last=Witt|first=Linda|title=An Unusual Mother: Helping Her Children Face Down Death (3 of 4)|date=11 May 1986|publisher=''[[Chicago Tribune]]''|url=http://articles.chicagotribune.com/1986-05-11/features/8602030023_1_cher-rocky-dennis-real-life/3|accessdate=23 April 2016}}</ref> |
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|death_place = [[Glendora, California]], United States |
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|nationality = [[United States]] |
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|occupation = |
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|parents = Florence "Rusty" Tullis<br/>Roy Dennis |
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}} |
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'''Roy Lee "Rocky" Dennis''' (December 4, 1961 – October 4, 1978<!-- Please do not change to 1964-1980; those are the birth and death years of the fictional character based on Dennis in the feature film ''Mask'', not the birth and death years of the real-world person.-->) was an [[People of the United States|American]] boy afflicted with [[craniodiaphyseal dysplasia]], an extremely rare, [[Sclerosis (medicine)|sclerotic]] bone disorder. The condition usually results in [[neurology|neurological disorders]] and death during childhood. His body was donated to [[UCLA Medical Center]] after he died.<ref>[http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=9050 Roy L. "Rocky" Dennis (1961 - 1978) - Find A Grave Memorial]</ref> His life was the basis for the 1985 drama film ''[[Mask (film)|Mask]]''. |
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==Biography== |
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Rocky Dennis was born in [[Glendora, California]], to [[Florence Tullis|Florence "Rusty" Tullis]] and Roy Dennis. At the age of 2 he was diagnosed with craniodiaphyseal dysplasia, also known as CDD or lionitis, an extremely rare disease occurring in approximately 1 in every 220 million births, with fewer than 20 recorded cases. CDD is a bone disorder that causes [[calcium]] to build up in the skull, disfiguring the facial features and reducing life expectancy.<ref>[http://www.orpha.net/consor/cgi-bin/OC_Exp.php?Lng=GB&Expert=1513 "Craniodiaphyseal dysplasia"], Orpha.net</ref> |
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Doctors informed his mother that the pressure from the abnormal calcium deposits in his skull would distort his face, destroy his eyesight and hearing and, based on the handful of cases on record, eventually destroy his brain and result in his death before his seventeenth birthday.<ref name=People>{{cite news |first=Michelle |last=Green |url=http://www.people.com/people/archive/article/0,,20090192,00.html | title=The Drama Behind ''Mask'' |newspaper=[[People magazine|People]] |date=March 18, 1985 |accessdate=July 11, 2016 }}</ref><ref name=Globe>{{cite news |url=http://www.boston.com/news/globe/obituaries/articles/2006/11/20/florence_rusty_tullis_70_portrayed_by_cher_in_mask/ |title=Florence 'Rusty' Tullis, 70; portrayed by Cher in 'Mask' |newspaper=[[Los Angeles Times]] |via=''[[Boston Globe]]'' |first=Dennis |last=McClellan |date=November 20, 2006 |accessdate=July 11, 2016 }}</ref> |
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Dennis experienced problems with eyesight and hearing along with painful headaches; but he was able to do many things he was thought not to be able to accomplish, such as learning to read. His poor eyesight, which made him [[legally blind]], meant that he would never read a book. He entered school at the age of 6, despite many of his teachers' disapproval;<ref name=Globe/> and, although experiencing a slow start (he spent two years in the first grade), he was able to make some progress thereafter before he died at 16 years of age from his life-limiting condition. He turned down an offer to have [[plastic surgery]].<ref name=People/> |
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Dennis resided in [[Azusa, California]]. He and his mother lived for a time in [[Covina, California|Covina]], where he attended Ben Lomond Elementary School. |
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==Family== |
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Dennis's older brother, Joshua Mason, died in 1987 at age 32 from complications of [[HIV/AIDS|AIDS]]. His mother, Rusty Tullis, died on November 11, 2006, at age 70 as a result of an infection following a motorcycle accident.<ref name=Globe/> His sister lives in [[Illinois]]. Neither of his siblings appeared in ''Mask''. |
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==Adaptations== |
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Anna Hamilton Phelan wrote a [[screenplay]] based on Dennis' life; [[Peter Bogdanovich]] directed the 1985 drama film, titled ''[[Mask (film)|Mask]]'', in which [[Eric Stoltz]] portrays Dennis. In one scene in the film, the character Dennis reads a poem to his mother, Rusty (played by [[Cher]]), written by the real Dennis. The movie is based very loosely on Dennis' life, with most of the scenes and dialogue altered for dramatic purposes. |
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Phelan also adapted her screenplay into a stage musical of the same name, with music by [[Barry Mann]] and [[Cynthia Weil]]. The musical premiered at the [[Pasadena Playhouse]] in California on March 12, 2008. |
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[[Sweden|Swedish]] pop musician [[Jens Lekman]] self-published a song called "Rocky Dennis' Farewell Song to the Blind Girl", causing DJs to mistakenly call the musician by Rocky Dennis' name.<ref>[http://www.indiepop.it/articoli/jenslekman_int_eng.htm Jens Lekman Interview], ''Indiepop''.</ref> Lekman clarified that the song was not about himself with the release of ''[[Rocky Dennis in Heaven]]'', an [[Extended play|EP]] containing four songs about Dennis and his portrayal in the film. |
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==References== |
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{{Reflist}} |
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Revision as of 16:44, 16 May 2017
roy L. dennis was low