The La-Z-Boy True Story: Who Invented The Chair & How Here Changes Real-Life

Here's cast of characters is fleshed out by several other smaller stories, focusing on the other families who occupied that space before and after the Youngs. One of the most entertaining is the Bleekmans, a happy married couple who end up being crucial to the invention of a famous piece of American furniture, the La-Z-Boy recliner. However, similar to director Robert Zemekis' other films focused on reexamining the past, the filmmakers introduce some wrinkles to the true story. Here is how Here's La-Z-Boy story compares to real life.

The La-Z-Boy Was Created By Edward M. Knabusch & Edwin J. Shoemaker

Here's La-Z-Boy Story Doesn't Have The Real Creators Of The Chair

There are some broad stroke elements that Here's version of the La-Z-Boy's invention shares with the true La-Z-Boy, but the film ultimately changed the inventors of the La-Z-Boy to fit into the film's narrative. The La-Z-Boy was invented in 1927 by Edward Knabusch and Edwin Shoemaker. A pair of cousins from Michigan, the pair experimented with a reclining chair and eventually upholstered the piece to make it ideal for comfort. This places the creation of the chair multiple states over from the site of its creation in Here, which takes place closer to the East Coast.

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The success of the chair led to an entire company dedicated to designing and selling various home furniture. Despite the ups and downs of the market, the La-Z-Boy chairs have become a consistent reference point for American culture and has been sold around the globe. In a sense, the origin of the company matches the average invention portrayed in Here. However, Here approaches the story with a completely different inventor.

The La-Z-Boy's Story In Here Explained

Lee Bleekman Invents The La-Z-Boy In Here

In Here, one of the subplots glimpsed through the film's non-linear narrative is focused on the Beekmans' and their invention of the La-Z-Boy. Lee and Stella Bleekman are a young married couple who own the central house in Here before the Young family purchases it. The two are portrayed as deeply in love during the 1920s and 30s, in direct contrast to the somber former owners and their more three-dimensional successors. Throughout their appearances, Lee is shown working on a chair that he believes will revolutionize relaxation. This eventually becomes a prototype lounge chair.

After a successful pitch meeting with a visiting manufacturer, Lee is able to successfully strike a deal with the company. Overtly coinciding with the rising marketplace for televisions, dubbing the chair the La-Z-Boy. Lee and Stella exit the film on a largely positive note, overjoyed at their good fortune. While the general time period is the same, the actual inventor of the La-Z-Boy is reimagined as romantic amid a very happy marriage. It fits the Beekmans into Here's narrative as a largely positive counterpoint to the more dramatic life events depicted elsewhere, but it does fail to reflect actual history.

How Here Changes The La-Z-Boy's True Story & Origin

Here Uses The La-Z-Boy's Creation As Sweet Comic Relief

Here takes the idea of the La-Z-Boy and twists it into a way that allows it imbue more 20th century culture into the film. Much of the movie is focused on that era of history, especially with the Young family at the center. The La-Z-Boy plot doesn't feel out of place in the film narratively. The Bleeman's invention and romance the comic relief of the film, with a sweet sense of affection pervading Fyn and Lovibond's scenes together. It's similar to the way Robert Zemeckis and Tom Hanks' previous collabration Forrest Gump reworked cultural events to fit Forrest into history.

Some details of the real life invention of the La-Z-Boy do filter into Here's invention. In both real life and the film, the La-Z-Boy wasn't the original name for the chair. A running gag in Here sees Lee toying with a few ideas before happily accepting the title from the company. In real life, a local contest was held after the early success of the chair, leading to the name. It's the latest example of Robert Zemekis finding a way to use real life as the inspiration for character beats and storylines in films like Here.

A young couple expecting their first child takes in the husband's estranged, ailing mother. Set in a single room, the story spans multiple generations, capturing moments of love, loss, and everyday life in the same space. Directed by Robert Zemeckis and featuring performances by Tom Hanks, Robin Wright, and Paul Bettany, the film uses groundbreaking technology to de-age actors and presents a unique, stationary camera perspective throughout its runtime.

Director Robert Zemeckis

Release Date November 15, 2024

Writers Eric Roth , Robert Zemeckis