Las Vegas Strip’s “Walk of Stars” honors Frank Shankwitz. Photo courtesy of William Burdine / SoCalCreations.

Wishing on a Star!

BY STACEY GUALANDI

Frank Shankwitz believes everyone can be a hero.

While his name might not ring a bell, the charity he helped create should. Shankwitz started the Make-A-Wish Foundation and his life story is the subject of a new movie called WISH MAN. Now this retired motorcycle cop hopes to spread his hero worship message to the masses.

“The biggest thing that I learned as a child is you don’t have to have money to give back. You can give back your time. That’s what I’ve tried to do my whole life,” says Shankwitz.

His good deeds haven’t gone unnoticed. In September, Shankwitz received his very own star on the Las Vegas Strip’s “Walk of Stars” shortly after the VOD and DVD release of the film. He says the honor was surreal.

“The only star I’ve ever had was on my [police] uniform and that was it!”

Shankwitz overcame humble beginnings and a traumatic childhood to dedicate his career to service. “I’m a veteran and served 42 years in law enforcement.”

While on duty in 1978, Shankwitz survived a horrific motorcycle accident that nearly took his life – his heart stopped for almost four minutes. A counselor later told Shankwitz, “God spared you for a reason.”

Shankwitz admits he never thought about that. “I found out that reason about two years later when I met the little boy who inspired me and others to start the Make-A-Wish Foundation.”

Christopher Greicius loved the television show CHiPs and always dreamed of being a police officer. But the seven-year-old had leukemia, so Shankwitz and several officers on the Arizona Highway Patrol gave Chris his wish: to be a cop for a day. The young boy died just four days later.

“If Chris had survived, he would have ended up being a Major and I would have ended up working for him,” Shankwitz imagines. “I only knew Christopher for 15 hours but meeting him gave me a new perspective on life.”

After the first Disney wish in 1981 was a big success, Shankwitz told his board he envisioned the foundation granting wishes all over the world, “but they all laughed at me, except the one lady [Kitty] who gave me my wish three years later when she said, ‘I do.’” Since then, the non-profit has granted over 450,000 life-changing wishes for kids with critical illnesses.

But almost 40 years later, Frank Shankwitz had one more dream realized, thanks to acclaimed author and WISH MAN producer Greg S. Reid, PhD. who also received his own star on the walk of fame not far from Shankwitz’s. The two men first met while Reid was researching his book “Stickability: The Power of Perseverance.”

Frank and Kitty Shankwitz

“I asked him what his wish was, and he said no one had ever asked him that,” says the author of 82 books. “I said, ‘Well, I’ll grant your wish. No matter what you want in life, I will give it to you,’ and he said, ‘I just want my story to be told.’ So, it took six years and millions of dollars and me not knowing what I was doing, but here we are.”

Shankwitz, who is now a sought-after public speaker, was the technical advisor, consultant and producer on the film, which stars Australian actor Andrew Steel as “Frank.” The socially conscious Steel – who started his own philanthropic film festival called “Flicks4Change” – says it was an emotional experience for Shankwitz, but his story needed to be told.

“At any point in your life, you can turn it around and you can do something incredible with that next breath. Frank had a near death experience … that could have been the end,” says Steel. “So, it could be a bad day, it could be a great day, but we can always do more, and with a little help from our friends, amazing things can happen.”

That could include awards. The folks behind the film – also starring Frank Whaley, Tom Sizemore, and Danny Trejo – say WISH MAN is on the festival circuit and is now Oscar-qualified, so winning trophies may not be wishful thinking.

But a humble Shankwitz says whatever the future holds, he’ll never stop giving hope to so many through simple acts of kindness. He’s certainly the hero of his own story.

Frank Shankwitz stands beside his star on the Las Vegas Strip’s “Walk of Stars” Photo courtesy of William Burdine / SoCalCreations.

“I always turn a negative into a positive. There’s always going to be bad things in life, but so what? Just uplift, accept it, improve it and move on.”

WISH MAN is now available on VOD and DVD. For more information check out wishmanmovie.com and wishman1.com.