Roy L. Dennis
Encyclopedia
Roy Lee "Rocky" Dennis was an American
boy afflicted with craniodiaphyseal dysplasia
, an extremely rare, 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. His life was the basis for the 1985 feature drama film Mask
.
, to mother Florence "Rusty" Tullis and father Roy Dennis. At the age of 4, 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. CDD is a bone disorder that causes calcium to build up in the skull, disfiguring the facial features and reducing life expectancy.
Doctors informed his mother that the abnormal calcium deposits in his skull would push his eyes toward the edges of his head, twist his nose out of shape, cause his eyesight and hearing to fail and, if the handful of cases on record were any indication, result in tremendous pressure that would destroy his brain before he was seven.
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, he entered school at the age of six, despite disapproval by many teachers, and although experiencing a slow start (he spent two years in the first grade), he was able to make reasonable progress thereafter.
Rocky and his mother lived for a time in Covina, California (Grandview Avenue) where Rocky attended Ben Lomond Elementary School.
contracted from a blood transfusion
. Joshua was neither depicted nor mentioned in the film Mask
.
Dennis's mother, Rusty Tullis, died on November 11, 2006 as a result of an infection following a motorcycle accident, at the age of 70.
People of the United States
The people of the United States, also known as simply Americans or American people, are the inhabitants or citizens of the United States. The United States is a multi-ethnic nation, home to people of different ethnic and national backgrounds...
boy afflicted with craniodiaphyseal dysplasia
Craniodiaphyseal dysplasia
Craniodiaphyseal dysplasia is an extremely rare autosomal recessive bone disorder that causes calcium to build up in the skull, disfiguring the facial features and reducing life expectancy....
, an extremely rare, sclerotic bone disorder. The condition usually results in neurological disorders
Neurology
Neurology is a medical specialty dealing with disorders of the nervous system. Specifically, it deals with the diagnosis and treatment of all categories of disease involving the central, peripheral, and autonomic nervous systems, including their coverings, blood vessels, and all effector tissue,...
and death during childhood. His body was donated to UCLA Medical Center after he died. His life was the basis for the 1985 feature drama film Mask
Mask (film)
Mask is a 1985 American biographical drama film directed by Peter Bogdanovich, starring Cher, Sam Elliott, and Eric Stoltz. Dennis Burkley and Laura Dern are featured in supporting roles. Cher received the 1985 Cannes Film Festival award for Best Actress....
.
Biography
Rocky Dennis was born December 4, 1961 in Glendora, CaliforniaGlendora, California
Glendora is a municipality in Los Angeles County, California, United States, east of downtown Los Angeles. As of the 2010 census, the population of Glendora was 50,073....
, to mother Florence "Rusty" Tullis and father Roy Dennis. At the age of 4, 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. CDD is a bone disorder that causes calcium to build up in the skull, disfiguring the facial features and reducing life expectancy.
Doctors informed his mother that the abnormal calcium deposits in his skull would push his eyes toward the edges of his head, twist his nose out of shape, cause his eyesight and hearing to fail and, if the handful of cases on record were any indication, result in tremendous pressure that would destroy his brain before he was seven.
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, he entered school at the age of six, despite disapproval by many teachers, and although experiencing a slow start (he spent two years in the first grade), he was able to make reasonable progress thereafter.
Rocky and his mother lived for a time in Covina, California (Grandview Avenue) where Rocky attended Ben Lomond Elementary School.
Family
Dennis had an older brother, Joshua, who died in 1987 at the age of 32 from complications related to AIDSAIDS
Acquired immune deficiency syndrome or acquired immunodeficiency syndrome is a disease of the human immune system caused by the human immunodeficiency virus...
contracted from a blood transfusion
Blood transfusion
Blood transfusion is the process of receiving blood products into one's circulation intravenously. Transfusions are used in a variety of medical conditions to replace lost components of the blood...
. Joshua was neither depicted nor mentioned in the film Mask
Mask (film)
Mask is a 1985 American biographical drama film directed by Peter Bogdanovich, starring Cher, Sam Elliott, and Eric Stoltz. Dennis Burkley and Laura Dern are featured in supporting roles. Cher received the 1985 Cannes Film Festival award for Best Actress....
.
Dennis's mother, Rusty Tullis, died on November 11, 2006 as a result of an infection following a motorcycle accident, at the age of 70.
In popular culture
- Anna Hamilton Phelan wrote a screenplayScreenplayA screenplay or script is a written work that is made especially for a film or television program. Screenplays can be original works or adaptations from existing pieces of writing. In them, the movement, actions, expression, and dialogues of the characters are also narrated...
based on Dennis's life; Peter BogdanovichPeter BogdanovichPeter Bogdanovich is an American film historian, director, writer, actor, producer, and critic. He was part of the wave of "New Hollywood" directors, which included William Friedkin, Brian De Palma, George Lucas, Martin Scorsese, Michael Cimino, and Francis Ford Coppola...
directed the 1985 filmFilmA film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...
, entitled MaskMask (film)Mask is a 1985 American biographical drama film directed by Peter Bogdanovich, starring Cher, Sam Elliott, and Eric Stoltz. Dennis Burkley and Laura Dern are featured in supporting roles. Cher received the 1985 Cannes Film Festival award for Best Actress....
, in which Eric StoltzEric StoltzEric Hamilton Stoltz is an American actor, director and producer. He is widely known for playing the role of Rocky Dennis in the biographical drama film Mask, which earned him the nomination for a Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor in a Motion Picture...
portrays Dennis. 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 Dennis reads a poem to his mother, Rusty (played by CherCherCher is an American recording artist, television personality, actress, director, record producer and philanthropist. Referred to as the Goddess of Pop, she has won an Academy Award, a Grammy Award, an Emmy Award, three Golden Globes and a Cannes Film Festival Award among others for her work in...
), written by the real Dennis. The movie originally was to feature music by Bruce SpringsteenBruce SpringsteenBruce Frederick Joseph Springsteen , nicknamed "The Boss," is an American singer-songwriter who records and tours with the E Street Band...
(Dennis's favorite artist), but due to problems with the record company, Bob SegerBob SegerRobert Clark "Bob" Seger is an American rock and roll singer-songwriter, guitarist and pianist.As a locally successful Detroit-area artist, he performed and recorded as Bob Seger and the Last Heard and Bob Seger System throughout the 1960s...
's music was used for the film's soundtrackSoundtrackA soundtrack can be recorded music accompanying and synchronized to the images of a motion picture, book, television program or video game; a commercially released soundtrack album of music as featured in the soundtrack of a film or TV show; or the physical area of a film that contains the...
. (Springsteen's music was reinstated for the 2004 Director's Cut DVD.) Most other parts of the movie are very loosely based on Dennis's life, with most of the scenes and dialogue altered for dramatic purposes. For example, the film shows Rusty at Dennis's gravesite; however, the real Dennis was not buried, as his mother donated his body to UCLA for medical research. The dates of birth and death on the tombstone are also incorrect. - Phelan also adapted her screenplay into a stage musical of the same name, with music by Barry MannBarry MannBarry Mann is an American songwriter, and part of a successful songwriting partnership with his wife, Cynthia Weil.-Career:...
and Cynthia WeilCynthia WeilCynthia Weil is a prominent American songwriter. She is famous for having written many songs together with her husband Barry Mann....
. The musical premiered at the Pasadena PlayhousePasadena PlayhouseThe Pasadena Playhouse is a historic performing arts venue located 39 S El Molino Avenue in Pasadena, California. The 686-seat auditorium produces a variety of cultural and artistic events, professional shows, and community engagements each year.-History:...
in California on March 12, 2008. - SwedishSwedenSweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
pop musician Jens LekmanJens LekmanJens Martin Lekman is a Swedish musician. His music is guitar-based pop with heavy use of samples and strings, with lyrics that are often witty, romantic, and melancholic. The English lyrics reflect an advanced knowledge of the language and its idioms...
self-published a song called "Rocky Dennis' Farewell Song to the Blind Girl", causing DJs to mistakenly call him 'Rocky Dennis', much to his displeasure. He clarified that the song was not about himself with the release of Rocky Dennis in HeavenRocky Dennis in HeavenRocky Dennis In Heaven is an EP by Swedish singer-songwriter Jens Lekman, released on 21 January 2004 on Service Records. The EP was later released as simply Rocky Dennis on Secretly Canadian Records. The songs on this EP can also be found on Lekman's 2005 release, Oh You're So Silent Jens...
, an EPExtended playAn EP is a musical recording which contains more music than a single, but is too short to qualify as a full album or LP. The term EP originally referred only to specific types of vinyl records other than 78 rpm standard play records and LP records, but it is now applied to mid-length Compact...
containing four songs about Dennis and his portrayal in the film.
External links
- "The Drama Behind Mask" Article 03-18-1985 from People Magazine
- Roy Lee "Rocky" Dennis at Find A GraveFind A GraveFind a Grave is a commercial website providing free access and input to an online database of cemetery records. It was founded in 1998 as a DBA and incorporated in 2000.-History:...
- Joshua Mason at Find A GraveFind A GraveFind a Grave is a commercial website providing free access and input to an online database of cemetery records. It was founded in 1998 as a DBA and incorporated in 2000.-History:...
- Florence "Rusty" Steinberg Tullis at Find A GraveFind A GraveFind a Grave is a commercial website providing free access and input to an online database of cemetery records. It was founded in 1998 as a DBA and incorporated in 2000.-History:...