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George Bessolo Reeves (born George Keefer Brewer to Don Brewer and Helen Lescher) (January 6, 1914 – June 16, 1959) was an American actor, best known for playing the role of Superman on television in the 1950s.
Early Career
Reeves film career began in 1939. He was featured in minor roles, one being as one of Vivian Leigh's beaus in the initial scene of Gone With the Wind. In 1942 he won acclaim for his part in So Proudly We Hail.
Military Service
Military service then interupted his career. Reeves enlisted in the United States Army Air Corps and appeared in war training films. Reeves found leading parts lacking after the war and at one point was forced to earn a living digging septic systems.
Superman
Reeves, offered the role of Superman in a television series, was reluctant at first to take the role. Like many actors, he considered television to be unimportant and thought that few would see his work. He was astonished when he became a national celebrity. He became so well known that he was often forced to do personal appearances as Superman. This was always embarrassing for the actor because he pointed out that many children would often test his super powers by physically assaulting him. In one instance, a youngster came up to him with a loaded gun and said that he was going to shoot bullets off Superman's chest!
Reeves first appeared as the Superman character in 1951 in a theatrical feature called Superman and the Mole Men. It was effectively a pilot for the TV series, whose regular episodes began filming soon after, during f and 1952. That film was edited down to a two-part episode for the TV series, retitled The Unknown People. The original film was seldom seen after its initial release, but it is on the DVD of the first season which was released in the fall of 2005.
The Superman TV series was broadcast in first-run from the fall of 1951 through the spring of 1958, a total of 104 episodes. In addition, Reeves appeared as Superman in a Goverment short film, entitled either "Stamp Day for Superman" or "Superman's Stamp Day" (title unclear). In this, Superman's job was to catch some crooks and tell kids why they should invest in government bonds. Reeves also appeared as Superman in an episode of "I Love Lucy" in 1956.
After Superman
After the series went off the air, Reeves found himself so typecast as Superman that it was difficult for him find other roles and this was said to have deeply saddened him. One example sometimes cited is that he was upset when his scenes in the classic film From Here To Eternity were all cut after a preview audience kept yelling "Superman!" whenever he appeared. While the last part of that statement is apparently true, that film was released in 1953, when Reeves was still in his early days as the Superman character. Whether the original theatrical release of the film included those scenes, the DVD release does include Reeves' brief appearance as a former lover of the Deborah Kerr character.
Death
In the early morning hours of June 16 1959, three days before a planned wedding to Lenore Lemmon, Reeves went to bed after a long night with guests. Shortly thereafter, a shot rang out, and he was found dead in his bedroom with a gunshot wound to the head. An official inquiry concluded that the death was suicide. His disbelieving mother conducted an investigation of her own, which was inconclusive.
With suicide the official verdict, much speculation resulted as to whether it was because of his failed career. It was also noted that he had suffered a concussion in an auto accident shortly before that event, leading some to suspect that his mental health had been compromised. These facts are recounted in Gary Grossman's 1976 book, Superman: Serial to Cereal. At that time, suicide was the predominant presumed cause of death, and various reasons were cited to justify or explain it.
In recent years, there have been questions raised again as to whether Reeves' death was really a suicide, or whether it was a murder covered up Hollywood insiders, similar to the claims about suspicious deaths of other Hollywood notables such as Thelma Todd and Paul Bern. The 1996 book, Hollywood Kryptonite, by Sam Kashner and Nancy Schoenberger, discusses the issues, the doubts by friends and relatives, the forensic evidence as to whether suicide was even physically possible, whether the shooting was properly investigated by police, and alternative theories. His hands were washed, instead of investigated for Gun Residue. Only police was called to take the body out, there was no investigation by detectives as required. Main suspect was Eddie Mannix, husband of Toni Mannix the woman George spent many years with. It's hard to imagine George wanted to kill himself. He was a golden gloves champion, undefeated in his youth. (Pasadene Jr. College) On June 17th he was to fight Archie Moore, two round exhibition match!
The book makes an interesting argument for Reeves having been the target of a "hit" due to having spurned a long-time lover with mob connections. The hypothesis is that the aforementioned car accident was also an attempted hit. There is no question that Reeves' circle of friends included some unsavory characters. There are groups trying change his death certificate, NOT reopen the case. However, the allegations and unanswered questions are unlikely ever to be resolved, due to the passage of time and the deaths of apparently everyone who might know the truth of the matter.
Other Reeve(s)
Because of the similar surnames, people sometimes surmise that George Reeves is related to Christopher Reeve, an actor who would later portray Superman on the big screen. It should be noted that the two are not related, as the last names differ, and the similarity is merely coincidental. Nor is there any relation between him and Steve Reeves, the actor/bodybuilder from the same era; nor any known relation to a character actor named Richard Reeves a.k.a. Dick Reeves, who looked nothing like George, but happened to appear in several "Superman" episodes. There were few other Reeves', politicans and explorers.