COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. — One Colorado Springs man’s Star Wars obsession is on a intergalactic level. Not only has it pulled him out of financial woes but since the movie’s original debut in 1977, it has been the love of his life.
In a galaxy not so far far away lives Brendan Shank who is a diehard Star Wars fan and in his home sits a museum filled with 32,000 items all dedicated to his favorite series.
“I stood in line for like 12 hours,” said Shank. “My mom wasn’t very happy. She was like, ‘Why are we standing in line for 12 hours to watch a stupid movie?’ and that was in ‘77 so it’s been a part of me since I was 7.”
He then began collecting star wars-themed items and didn’t stop until 2005 when he sold it all.
“Finance stuff, it was really nice to be able to have the finances available.” Shank said, “That’s one good thing about it. I don’t know if it’s going to bomb but when you need to come up with 320,000 dollars in 24 hours you have that availability.”
As hard as it was he still stands by his decision but 11 months later, his buddy Matt Sinclair bought him a special gift.
“The Mr. Potato Head Darth Vader because it’s Star Wars and so is he,” said Sinclair.
Shank said, “He bought it for me and thanks to Matt, he should be paying for all this because he’s the one who started this whole thing over again.”
Now every Saturday he and his wife and sometimes Sinclair too will visit 70 stores throughout Colorado all in one day looking to add to his pride and joy.
His favorite piece however…
“It’s the pop machine.” Shank said, “The sentimental value behind it, the fun of going to pick it up. Just the sheer enjoyment of people coming around going, ‘You can actually get a pop out of that?’ Yeah sure enough put some quarters in your rocking and rolling.”
Though he’s caught some grief for his Star Wars obsession, he says he doesn’t care.
“You can’t help who you are. I’m just Star Wars. That’s just me,” said Shank. “Everybody has things that they do. You’ve got to let people be people. I tell people you’ve got to be yourself or anything.”
When I asked him if he’d ever sell his beloved memorabilia again, he said this…
“You have a better chance of winning the Powerball. You can rub a lamp,” said Shank. “It’s a part of me. Obviously if my wife got sick, my best friend got sick, things like that. You need a heart surgery yeah you don’t think I’m going to sell some plastic toys to help you out like that so I don’t want to say never.”
Shank has a special security system set up in his house and a brother-in-law who is a CSPD officer who patrols the area often so he doesn’t worry too much about break-ins, although he wouldn’t say how much it’s all worth.
FOX21 actually broke the news to Shank that Carrie Fisher had passed away. He had even met Fisher before.
“She was just very down to earth,” said Shank. “You’d meet her she’d spend all day with you talking to you like, ‘You know I can’t believe I got the part when all these other people were going for it’.”
To many Fisher was more than just an actress in a Sci-Fi movie. She was also a role model for generations of girls watching her portray an independent heroine in a film series dominated by men.
Being one of the first strong female roles, at 19 years old Carrie Fisher played the powerful princess who showed girls they could lead a rebellion. For generations Princess Leia has been an inspiration to fans all over the world. Fisher put a face to the character that proved women too can have an impact on the world and she was adored by men and women alike.
FOX21 talked with some fans about her lasting legacy.
Carmen Simmons said, “She taught us confidence in ourselves as women period against a male dominated world so she’s taught us a lot.”