ENTERTAINMENT
SUPERMAN DIED AT 52
Christopher Reeve — the actor who
came to embody the Man of Steel to a generation of moviegoers with his
work in four "Superman" films, and who inspired millions more with his
battle against paralysis — died Sunday of heart failure. He
was 52.
Reeve,
who became paralyzed following a horseback-riding accident nine years ago,
went into cardiac arrest on Saturday while undergoing treatment for an
infected pressure wound. The actor fell into a coma and did not regain
consciousness before passing away at Northern Westchester Hospital in
Mount Kisco, New York, on Sunday afternoon. A virtual unknown when he took
on the starring role in "Superman," Reeve played the dual roles of
mild-mannered reporter Clark Kent and superhero Superman in four films
from 1978-1987, cementing his place as a pop-culture icon in the process.
Today, blockbuster films based on comic-book superheroes abound in
theaters. But although comic books and their heroes were already
successful before Reeve pulled on the cape (they had spawned cinematic
serials, TV shows, animated series and feature films), the actor proved
that in Hollywood's modern age, a man could turn one of these characters
into a bona fide cinema heavyweight. "Superman" was Hollywood's first
comic-book blockbuster. Still, Reeve spent years trying to avoid being
typecast in the film industry and took on roles far outside the superhero
realm. In 1980, he played a gay, crippled Vietnam veteran in the Broadway
play "Fifth of July." He also portrayed a gay aspiring playwright in the
1982 thriller flick "Deathtrap." Reeve was born on September 25, 1952 in
New York City to a journalist mother and writer/professor father.
He
studied at Cornell University while working as an actor on the side. At
Cornell, he was one of two students chosen to study with legendary actor
John Houseman at the prestigious Julliard School of Performing Arts in New
York. Fellow students included Robin Williams (who was Reeve's roommate)
and William Hurt. He made his debut on Broadway playing opposite Katharine
Hepburn in "A Matter of Gravity." Before taking on the "Superman" role,
Reeve appeared in the TV series "Love of Life" from 1974 through 1976, and
had a role in the 1978 film "Gray Lady Down." He had roles in nearly 40
films before his death, including several after his debilitating accident
in 1995, in which he was thrown from a horse during an equestrian
competition. The fall left Reeve paralyzed from the neck down and confined
to a wheelchair. He underwent months of therapy to help regulate his
breathing.
Using his fame and strength to inspire others, Reeve became a spokesperson for spinal-cord injury research with efforts that include the
Christopher Reeve Paralysis Foundation and the Christopher
and Dana Reeve Paralysis Resource Center, a facility that operates a Web site,
publishes a resource guide and houses a large collection of publications. Reeve also became a
major proponent of stem-cell research, one of the hotly contested issues
in this year's presidential election. "These cells have the potential to
cure diseases and conditions ranging from Parkinson's [disease] and
multiple sclerosis," Reeve said while giving testimony to Congress in
2000, "even spinal-cord injuries like my own. They have been called the
body's self-repair kit."
Reeve had hoped to see the passing of his bill, the Christopher Reeve
Paralysis Act, which seeks $300 million for spinal-cord research and is
currently moving forward in Congress. During Friday's presidential debate,
Democratic candidate John Kerry, an advocate of stem-cell research, said
he hoped funds would be allotted toward finding cures for spinal-cord
injuries so that his "friend Christopher Reeve" could walk again. Despite
his condition, Reeve returned to acting in 1998 in a television production
of the Alfred Hitchcock thriller "Rear Window," in which a man in a
wheelchair becomes convinced his neighbor has been murdered. For his
portrayal, Reeve won a Screen Actors Guild award for Best Actor. Most
recently, Reeve returned to directing with the A&E film "The Brooke Ellison
Story," the story of a girl paralyzed from the neck down and unable to breathe
on her own after being hit by a car. Reeve's résumé also featured producer
credits (including one for "Rear Window"), director credits (1997's "The
Gloaming," for which he won a Cable Ace award as Best Director) and writer
credits (including "Superman IV"). The actor is survived by his wife, Dana,
and three children.