Famecrawler
To Watch Tonight: American Splendor, in Memory of Harvey Pekar
Harvey Pekar was an American original, and there’s only one way to truly honor him: Be yourself. Okay, two ways: if you can track it down, rewatch American Splendor, the movie, tonight. It’s a tribute to a man who might have been a misfit (if it weren’t for his skewed outlook and tremendous, offbeat talent) and might have been lonely (if it weren’t for his third wife, Joyce Brabner, with whom he built a life and a family).
Pekar, who had been suffering from prostate cancer, high blood pressure, and depression, died in his Ohio home early this morning. He was best known for writing comic strips — not about superheroes or red-headed high schoolers, but about everyday people (often himself) with enormous anxieties and frustrations.
He might not seem like a natural for fatherhood, but as the 2003 film shows, he’s a man with tremendous heart, and when he and Brabner became guardians of foster child Danielle, her presence seemed to complete him. In fact for Harvey Pekar, Danielle was a sort of gift: after her real parents, who were friends of Harvey and Joyce, divorced, the girl decided she’d rather live with Pekar and Brabner.
Feel free to leave your own comments on the film (which starred Paul Giamatti as Pekar, with appearances by Pekar himself) below.
Christopher Rogers 
Shana Aborn 
Joanna Mazewski 
Sunny Chanel 
The Walt Disney Company supports Babble as a platform dedicated to honest, engaged, informed, intelligent and open conversation about parenting. However, the opinions expressed on this site are those of individual parents/writers and do not reflect the views of Disney. In addition, content provided on this site is for entertainment or informational purposes only and should not be construed as medical advice, diagnosis, treatment, or safety advice.
0