40th Anniversary Special Series – Part 2

The story has been told more than once. According to the Dragon Con compendium, by 2000 Pat and Sherry Henry were feeling the strain. They had a small but vibrant comic store business, and they were managing a growing convention which began as a “hobby” but was now much more. In his interview with Ann Hoevel and Emanuella Grinberg for CNN, Henry remembered that he and his wife withdrew to the second floor of the Hyatt to catch their breath. As he reflected on the wear and tear of the convention he concluded: “we’re too old for this. This hurts too badly. We are way too heavily invested in this thing.” Dragon Con’s attendance had hit 20,000, and the con now spanned the Hyatt Regency Atlanta, Atlanta Merchandise Mart, and the Atlanta Apparel Mart. Perhaps it was time to step away. It was then that a moment of magic happened that changed the course of Dragon Con.

At the very moment Pat and Sherry Henry were on the second floor thinking about stepping away from the convention, they heard a bustle down below in the lobby. The sound of marching echoed up from the lobby along with a buzz from the crowd. Peering over the balcony, the Henrys saw the throng of attendees separating “like the Red Sea” to make room for the 501^st Legion marching in formation, escorting Star Wars actors David Prowse (Darth Vader) and Jeremy Bulloch (Boba Fett) through the Hyatt enroute to a panel. It was a sight that struck a chord in them. According to Henry: “Sherry and I look, and we shake our heads, and we say, ‘we can’t quit.’ It was really moving.”

The 501^st Legion is an internationally known Star Wars costuming club that specializes in Imperial Stormtrooper costumes. With thousands of members spanning over 60 countries, it is one of the most visible and popular manifestations of Star Wars fandom today. Such was not always the case. The 501^st Legion (Vader’s Fist) was the brainchild of Albin Johnson.

In 1996, Johnson (who hails from South Carolina) was recovering from a traffic accident that cost him his left leg. Johnson’s recovery included multiple surgeries over more than a year, but he eventually returned to work where he and his coworker/friend Tom Crews began talking about Star Wars. George Lucas was working on the special edition theatrical re-release of the original Star Wars trilogy, and the fandom was about to explode. The two began to reflect on the Imperial Stormtroopers. Stormtroopers were, as Johnson wrote on his blog, “the original space commandoes, bad asses in gleaming white armor, soulless black eyes, and snarling grimaces on their faces.” That led Johnson to then ask whether he could get a stormtrooper costume. He did, and a phenomenon was born.

By the time the special edition of Star Wars Episode Six: Return of the Jedi arrived in theaters, Johnson and Crews each had a set of armor. They decided to wear their armor to the theater, and Johnson was struck by the reaction. When he’d attended earlier special edition showings by himself (in his armor) the crowd had been thrilled but tended to treat him as a “museum piece,” a unique one off. When Johnson and Crews showed up together, the crowd was thrilled and a little bit intimidated by the presence of “a unit.” From those initial moments in a South Carolina theater, Johnson and Crews used the internet to connect with other stormtrooper costumers across the country and Canada and began to build a club.

Johnson, Crews, and their newfound friends decided that they would all meet at the 1998 Dragon Con convention in Atlanta, Georgia. Johnson considers the 1998 convention the “first official event for the 501^st Squadron.” This was the first “face to face” meeting of members from across the nation. Club membership stood in the 60s but the experience of the group at Dragon Con in 1998 was mixed at best. Johnson found it difficult to sell the concept of a club to people, but two events defined what Johnson refers to as “securing a beachhead” at Dragon Con 1998: one, escorting Anthony Daniels to the stage for the Masquerade (Daniels was MC), and two, escorting Cheralyn Lambeth, costumed as Princess Leia, at the Star Wars Track costume contest. Of these two, clearly the costume contest escort was more pivotal. Johnson and his fellow troopers were at the contest, and when he saw Lambeth, he had an idea. What if they recreated the scene in Star Wars: A New Hope where troopers escort a captive Leia to Darth Vader. Lambeth loved the idea and when they did it, “the crowd went nuts.”

What Johnson discovered was the power of the escort and the impact they could have. In addition to the experience of these two escorts, Johnson found additional inspiration at Dragon Con in 1998… the Klingons Assault Group (KAG).

The KAG was a popular costuming group at the time. According to the organization’s website, the KAG is “an international, not-for-profit Star Trek fan organization that primarily focuses on the Klingons, their Empire, language, and culture, but also includes other aliens who are willing to serve.” A no dues organization, they base their growth on communication and cooperation among members. During the 1998 Con, Johnson saw the power of a full-fledged star escort when a detachment of KAG members in full Klingon costume escorted Grace Lee Whitney (Yeoman Rand of Star Trek: The Original Series) through the lobby of the Hyatt. The KAG members were “the cool kids” Johnson declared, and the impact of Whitney’s escort on the crowd in the Hyatt was exactly what he hoped to see his troopers create.

Prowse, Bulloch, Peter Mayhew (Chewbacca), and Kenny Baker (R2D2) were known as the “Four Horsemen” of the convention circuit. They were convention regulars who often made appearances together. Johnson’s first opportunity to serve as an escort to one of them occurred back in Columbia, South Carolina in 1997. Peter Mayhew made a stop to visit with fans and give autographs at a local comic shop while on his way to the convention. Johnson and Crews knew the shop owner, so they reached out to him in advance, offered to attend the event in costume, and “stand in the background.” The shop owner accepted. The noise the costumes made every time one of them moved irritated an already frustrated Mayhew, but their two-hour escort had an impact. It was the start of a long and meaningful relationship between Mayhew and the club.

Over the years the number of requests for escorts steadily grew. The one that Henry remembers from his early Dragon Con days the most wasn’t the one that so touched Henry but rather the one that occurred in 2001. That year the 501^st negotiated an agreement with Planet Hollywood, then located on Peachtree Street, for it to serve as the club’s “Dragon Con Headquarters.” During the con Johnson and more than 200 members escorted Mayhew, Prowse, and Bulloch from the Hyatt to the restaurant. Johnson remembers well what a triumphant moment that was, with large numbers of troopers from Florida as well as members of a Georgia garrison that was really beginning to grow, escorting the actors. It was a “great” Dragon Con and a real moment of fulfillment for the created of 501^st Legion (as it now was called).

To this day Johnson considers Dragon Con to be the home of the 501^st. Given the success of the Star Wars Celebrations conventions, that speaks volumes. He maintains that Dragon Con is the only place where something like this (a fan-driven, fan-centered club) could find its footing and prosper. “You couldn’t do it in New York or San Diego,” he said. Why? Because those conventions have “no heart.” At Dragon Con you have a “community” he declared, and it is that community that makes so many things possible. The 501^st touched Pat and Sherry Henry’s hearts that day 26 years ago. What they don’t realize is how much the con that they created has touched “Vader’s Fist,” the 501^st.

Click here for notes and acknowledgements from the author.