This Week’s Midnight Opening of The Force Awakens Occurring on Super-Fan’s Birthday
While many adults might remember “Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star” or another special nursery rhyme from when they were three years old, Wilmington College’s Ken Lydy has distinct memories of the words: “A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away....”
(PICTURED) Ken Lydy poses with some of the Star Wars memorabilia displayed in his WC office.
WC’s associate vice president for student affairs was present in late spring 1977 when the original Star Wars opened at The Strand theatre in Delaware, Ohio. His film buff father took the three-year-old Ken and his older brother to the genesis of what has become a $30 billion Star Wars empire of films, DVDs, novels, video games, TV shows, cartoons, apparel, comic books and toys.
Through the ensuing 38 years, Star Wars has seldom left his psyche, imagination, VCR/DVD player or toy box. He revisits the six previously released films in the saga on a regular basis — he’s seen each movie 30-plus times — and eagerly anticipates Thursday night’s (Dec. 17) midnight release of the seventh installment, Star Wars: The Force Awakens.
“What can I say? I’m a fan!” he said.
Lydy’s family fueled his initial fascination with Star Wars begun in 1977 by giving him action figures, other toys, even Underoos and clothing depicting the franchise’s stars: Darth Vader, Luke Skywalker, Han Solo, and the lovable droids, C3PO and R2D2.
“With the action figures, I could re-live the film over and over again,” he said. “For Christmas and birthdays, it was a lot of fun opening those packages and seeing the Star Wars logo.”
Also, throughout much of his childhood, the next Star Wars film was on the near horizon. Indeed, after seeing the original Star Wars: A New Hope, he returned with his father to The Strand to view The Empire Strikes Back in 1980 and Return of the Jedi in 1983.
“The special effects, especially for the time, were incredible. This was no Plan 9 from Outer Space,” he said in contrasting Star Wars with the low-budget 1959 science fiction film in which southern California is under attack from flying saucers.
Indeed, as Lydy became older, he realized the Star Wars saga represents much more than spectacular interstellar battles and visually interesting characters. He came to appreciate “genius” creator George Lucas’ brilliant weaving of Biblical parables (The Prodigal Son), and such themes as good versus evil, trusting God and his promises, and the universality of father and son relationships.
“Star Wars is still reaching kids but it has always resonated with adults,” he said.
The original three films constitute the middle trilogy (IV, V and VI) of nine episodes that also feature the prequels: The Phantom Menace (1999), Attack of the Clones (2002) and Revenge of the Sith (2005); and three sequels beginning with this month’s release of The Force Awakens and plans for the final two films in 2017 and 2019.
A 1997 Wilmington College graduate, he hosted a Star Wars marathon his senior year and his graduation cap and gown reflected a distinctly Star Wars theme. Shortly thereafter, then in his 20s, he was enthralled with the trilogy of prequel films whose releases, which began in 1999, depicted the story of how young Anakin Skywalker became one of Hollywood’s all-time, most memorable villains, Darth Vader.
“Just like when I was a kid, I got lost in the whole story again,” he said. “Also, prior to the prequels, they did a theatre re-release of the original three films, digitized and with added footage. While some purists complained, I enjoyed seeing the films on the big screen again.”
Lydy’s collection of all things Star Wars continues to this day as his wife, Tara and 10-year-old daughter, Lindsay, supplement his fascination. Indeed, their birthday gift to him last December was a model of R2D2 attired in a Santa’s hat.
“Tara grew up with three brothers that liked Star Wars and she role-played characters with them, so she understands where I’m coming from,” Lydy said, adding that his wife has accompanied him to Star Wars conventions and other meetings of the afflicted. “She supports me 100 percent — she enjoys the fact that I enjoy it so much.”
Lindsay, while reluctant to sit through watching the entire multi-film epic, enjoys battling with him using laser sabers and joining him in building Star Wars fixtures with Legos.
And neither his wife nor daughter had any problem with his naming their wild-haired Yorkshire Terrier “Chewy,” as in Han Solo’s Wookiee warrior, Chewbacca.
From the start, Lydy was a merchandise and memorabilia collector whose mission was not to keep the pieces in their packaging in hopes that someday they would become valuable artifacts, but, rather, “I was a collector in the sense of having stuff to play with. We buried action figures in the sand — we played with them.”
While he has parted with some of his collection due to space concerns, that’s not to say he’s out of the collecting business. Friends aware of his fascination often pick up items for him at garage sales and, two years ago, he discovered at a yard sale two, pristine, 20-piece sets of Star Wars action figures, vintage 1980, being sold by a former employee of the manufacturer, Kenner Toys in Cincinnati.
Once he negotiated a price, he looked at Tara, who acquiesced that Father’s Day was coming. She and Lindsay complemented the purchase with additional gifts of display cases in which to house the figures.
Lydy has scheduled a vacation day Thursday — his birthday — in which "to prepare" for the midnight premiere. For Star Wars fledglings and aficionados alike, he recommends they watch the original three films in preparation for The Force Awakens — or at the least, view Return of the Jedi, which is set some 30 years before Force.
“Or just go and enjoy a good, sci-fi, action film!” he said.