Kevin Smith Remembers Stan Lee, Shares Birthday Video of the Last Time He Saw Him

It's been less than two months since the world lost the great comics legend Stan Lee. From touching celebrity tributes to animated cameos, there has been no shortage of reminders of Lee's legacy since he passed.

Today is an especially rough day for those who loved Lee, because it would have been the creator's 96th birthday. Born on December 28, 1922, Lee lived a long and important life but that doesn't mean fans, friends and colleagues alike aren't wishing Lee was here today to celebrate.

The most recent birthday tribute to Lee comes from Kevin Smith, long time friend and lifelong admirer of Lee's. Smith shared a video from Lee's surprise birthday party last year, showing the touching moment when he entered the party.

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One year ago today on his 95th birthday, I saw @therealstanlee in real life for the last time. Prior to that, I’d last seen Stan at his footprints ceremony at the @chinesetheatres, when I was the emcee at the @legionmofficial event. But on December 28th of 2017, Stan’s faithful body man Max invited me to a steak house in Beverly Hills for a surprise party on behalf of our beloved Mr. Lieber. I asked “Are you sure it’s a good idea to throw a *surprise* party for a 95 year old?” But it truly was: as you can see in the video, Stan made it through the surprise just fine. I remember nearly not going because I had a HOLLYWOOD BABBLE-ON with @ralphgarman that night (like we do Monday for New Year’s Eve; Tickets at the link in my bio). But then I said “The Man’s only gonna turn 95 once...” I’m SO glad I went, as this was the last time I’d ever see my friend and hero: two months later, I had a massive heart attack. And nine months after that, Stan would leave us for a better place where the master storytellers gather and reminisce about how their magic words changed the world. Happy Birthday, Stan! We all miss you because you hung the moon, man. #KevinSmith #stanlee #legend #icon #birthday #nonagenarian #marvel

A post shared by Kevin Smith (@thatkevinsmith) on Dec 28, 2018 at 8:07am PST

"One year ago today on his 95th birthday, I saw @therealstanlee in real life for the last time," Smith begins. "Prior to that, I'd last seen Stan at his footprints ceremony at the @chinesetheatres, when I was the emcee at the @legionmofficial event. But on December 28th of 2017, Stan's faithful body man Max invited me to a steak house in Beverly Hills for a surprise party on behalf of our beloved Mr. Lieber."

"I asked 'Are you sure it's a good idea to throw a *surprise* party for a 95 year old?' But it truly was: as you can see in the video, Stan made it through the surprise just fine. I remember nearly not going because I had a HOLLYWOOD BABBLE-ON with @ralphgarman that night (like we do Monday for New Year's Eve; Tickets at the link in my bio). But then I said 'The Man's only gonna turn 95 once…' I'm SO glad I went, as this was the last time I'd ever see my friend and hero: two months later, I had a massive heart attack. And nine months after that, Stan would leave us for a better place where the master storytellers gather and reminisce about how their magic words changed the world."

"Happy Birthday, Stan! We all miss you because you hung the moon, man."

Smith has known Lee for a long time, most memorably working together when Lee cameoed in Smith's 1995 film, Mallrats. You can watch his appearance here.

In the post, Smith plugged his New Year's Eve HOLLYWOOD BABBLE-ON. If you live in the Los Angeles area, tickets are available here.

We remember Lee fondly today for all of his contributions to entertainment, but especially the co-creation of characters such as Spider-Man, the X-Men, Iron Man, Thor, the Hulk, the Fantastic Four, Black Panther, Daredevil, Doctor Strange, Scarlet Witch and Ant-Man.

Many others have paid tribute to Stan Lee today, including Marvel Entertainment.

Avengers: Infinity War is now available on home video and Netflix. Upcoming Marvel Cinematic Universe movies include Captain Marvel on March 8, 2019, Avengers: Endgame on April 26, 2019, and Spider-Man: Far From Home on July 5, 2019.