LOS ANGELES When he got his start in the 1940s, Stan Lee was embarrassed by his profession.
I would meet someone at a party, and they would ask what I did and I would say, Im a writer, then start to walk away, the man who helped create Spider-Man and other famed superheroes recalled years later.
Pressed for more details, he would say he wrote for magazines. And if the questions kept coming?
Finally I would say, comic books, Lee said. And they would walk away from me.
A half-century later, the writer who in the 1960s spearheaded Marvel Comics transformation into a powerhouse brand was considered a superhero in his own right. He was mobbed by fans at conventions and became the toast of Hollywood, with blockbuster films based on his characters racking up billions at the box office.
Lee died Monday at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, according to an attorney for Lees daughter, J.C. Lee. His cause of death was not immediately known.
J.C. Lee and all of Stan Lees friends and colleagues want to thank all of his fans and well wishers for their kind words and condolences, the Lee family said in a statement.
Stan was an icon in his field. His fans loved him and his desire to interact with them. He loved his fans and treated them with the same respect and love they gave him, the statement continued.
He worked tirelessly his whole life creating great characters for the world to enjoy. He wanted to inspire our imagination and for us to all use it to make the world a better place. His legacy will live on forever. Excelsior.
Stan Lees official Twitter account verified the news too, with a tweet that also quoted his catchphrase: 1922 2018 Excelsior!
In recent years, Lee was credited as associate producer on many of the blockbuster movies including multiple sequels starring Marvel characters Iron Man, X-Men and Captain America, in addition to Spider-Man.
Marvel Comics and the Walt Disney Company honored Lee in a statement posted online Monday.
Stan Lee was as extraordinary as the characters he created, said Bob Iger, chairman and CEO of the Walt Disney Company.
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.
No one has had more of an impact on my career and everything we do at Marvel Studios than Stan Lee, tweeted Kevin Feige, the president of Marvel Studios. Stan leaves an extraordinary legacy that will outlive us all.
Lees legacy was celebrated far and wide on social media Monday, and the man once embarrassed by his work was showered with adulation and praised as a cultural transformer.
