Spidey Goes to Jail! Spiderman in cuffs?

About two weeks ago I met with a friend in Hollywood. While it's true that I drive through Hollywood frequently, it's rare for me to find myself walking smack in the middle of all of the activity. It was a summerish kind of afternoon with temperatures approaching 90 degrees F and the streets were bustling with tourists. As I walked to my meeting place, I dodged scantily clad girls zooming by on roller blades. I bypassed a ten foot tall man on stilts. In between my side-steps, I marveled at the many different languages and dialects being spoken. Hollywood Boulevard was particularly alive that day. I joked out loud, "It must be a full moon."

As I strolled by Grauman's Chinese Theatre, I walked by a cluster of people speaking a strangely familiar language. Grauman's Theater is always a hot bed of tourist activity. There are usually 5 -10 impersonators walking around taking photos with the tourist and polishing up on their acting skills. I stopped and looked and listened. I couldn't quite make out the language right away but after a few seconds of watching and listening, I determined they were speaking Italian. It was now clear to me that a group of Italian tourist had surrounded "Spiderman" and several others were busy snapping photos as they all posed with the ever popular "homo-arachnid." I pondered the stories they would tell about the friendly neighborhood web-slinger when they returned to Italy.

Anyway, I walked on..... taking notice of Sylvester Stallone, Madonna, and Michael Jackson impersonators. I looked down at the many "STARS" that lined Hollywood Blvd. and briefly stepped back in time.


There were street performers singing, dancing, and playing a variety of instruments.


But I couldn't get that crazy Spiderman theme from the 60's cartoon out of my head.

"Spiderman, Spiderman, does whatever a spider can...... Spins a web...."

Oh, that was a great cartoon series. I still watch it occasionally; in between Sponge Bob episodes of course.



So imagine my dismay when I learned of the recent arrest of this web-dwelling wonder.




Apparently, Christopher Loomis, 39, was arrested and is being held on outstanding misdemeanor warrants in lieu of $5,500 bail on November 11, 2009. The details of the arrest are still a bit unclear but it seems that LAPD patrol officers received a radio call reporting a battery by a man in a Spider-Man costume. When they arrived, they encountered four different people dressed as the web-slinging crusader. (LA Times Hollywood Spiderman caught in legal web)

"They stopped one, it wasn't him," LAPD Lt. Beverly Lewis said. "They stopped the second, and it was the suspect."

The victim, who said he was hit in the face and arms, refused to press charges against the costumed impersonator. But Lewis said that when they discovered the warrants, he was booked. She said it appeared the suspect and victim knew each other.





All of a sudden, that story the Italian tourists are telling just got a little more interesting.

You just never know who is hiding behind those masks.....