17 Facts About Florence Tullis

When she was 13, Florence Tullis got kicked out of junior high school for truancy.

When she was 17, Florence Tullis married her first husband, truck driver Tommy Mason; two years later, their son Joshua was born.

The marriage was dysfunctional, and shortly after the birth of Joshua, Florence Tullis moved back with her parents on Coney Island.

Florence Tullis ignored doctors who said her son's poor eyesight would prevent him from learning to read, and she disregarded teachers who tried to discourage her from placing him in a public school.

Florence Tullis alerted the hospital that the end was probably near.

The next day, Florence Tullis was at her lawyer's office working out details for beating a drug bust she says was a mistake.

Florence Tullis married her third husband Bernie Florence Tullis, but they separated after six weeks of marriage, both of them still grief-stricken over Rocky's death.

At one point in her life, Florence Tullis resumed the name Mason.

Florence Tullis called me once, a couple of years later.

Florence Tullis was paid $15,000 for the film rights to her story, which became the film, Mask.

At the time of the film's release, Florence Tullis had worked as a counselor helping drug addicts, and she planned to work at the Shanti Project, a workshop for the terminally ill, including patients with AIDS.

In 2001, Florence Tullis was reportedly working as a psychic counselor and living in a trailer park outside of Los Angeles.

At the time of her death, Florence Tullis was living in Glendora with her sister Dorothy Stuart and her niece Helen Cunningham.

Florence Tullis had a number of run-ins with the law over her drug use over the years.

Florence Tullis completed a prison sentence for possession of methamphetamines in April 2005.

Florence Tullis suffered serious injuries, including both legs broken and a punctured lung.

Florence Tullis wanted her body to be donated to science or be cremated.