Superman's dead

[Flatlander]

I have just heard that Christopher Reeve has passed.

This man was an inspiration to us all.

I'm sure you know who he is, but in case you don't,he starred in the Superman movies and was thrown from his horse nine years ago leaving him a quadraplegic. He has been fighting for spinal cord research ever since and worked very, very hard on recovery of his body. He was able to make strides no one thought possible, but he passed on yesterday of cardiac arrest. He should have died the day he broke his neck, but instead he insisted on living and fought the battle of his life everyday for nine years. The man had courage beyond belief.

Goodbye Mr. Reeve - may your spirit soar.

Thank you. :asian:

 

[GAB]

Spirit of a warrior, adios.

 

[RRouuselot]

In NEW YORK story headlined "Actor Christopher Reeve dies of heart failure," please read in 13 paragraph ... Juilliard ... instead of ... Julliard ... (correcting spelling of school)

A corrected repetition follows. (Updates throughout, doctor comment, background)

By Chris Michaud

NEW YORK, Oct 11 (Reuters) - "Superman" actor Christopher Reeve, who became a committed campaigner for spinal cord research after being paralyzed in a riding accident nine years ago, died of heart failure, his publicist said on Monday.

Reeve, 52, went into a coma on Saturday when he suffered a heart attack during treatment for an infected pressure wound and died in Northern Westchester Hospital on Sunday afternoon without regaining consciousness, publicist Wesley Combs said.

Reeve's wife, Dana, issued a statement thanking "the millions of fans around the world who have supported and loved my husband over the years."

Reeve, confined to a wheelchair since his horseback riding accident in 1995, had in recent years used his celebrity status to mobilize funds and support for research into the treatment of spinal cord injuries, including the controversial stem cell research that has become an issue in the U.S. presidential election.

Reeve's family asked that donations be made in his honor to the Christopher Reeve Paralysis Foundation, formed in 1999 to boost collaboration between experts working on the problem and to encourage new approaches.

An accomplished rider who owned several horses, Reeve suffered multiple injuries including two shattered neck vertebrae when he was thrown from his horse at an equestrian event in Commonwealth Park in Virginia.

Doctors initially predicted he would never have any feeling or movement below his head. But his foundation's Web site, www.ChristopherReeve.org, said he had experienced a degree of recovery that his doctors considered "remarkable."

Reeve was a strong supporter of the research using human stem cells, which his foundation described as having "enormous therapeutic utility." Whether federal funds should be spent on such research is a issue dividing President George W. Bush, who has limited such research, and his Democratic challenger, Sen. John Kerry of Massachusetts, who supports expanded efforts.

'CURE AND HOPE'

Dr. Wise Young of Rutgers University, who researches spinal cord injuries and treated Reeve, said he was "heartbroken."

"I think more than anything else he taught me the use of two four letter words -- cure and hope," Young said on NBC's "Today" show.

Young said he had been set to see Reeve on Sunday, adding that his former patient would have been sad to miss out on the upcoming election and had been very interested that his bill, the Christopher Reeve Paralysis Act, was moving forward in the U.S. Congress, seeking $300 million for spinal cord research.

"We will have a cure, I think that will be Christopher's legacy. We have to work very hard to make this happen," Young said.

Born on Sept. 25, 1952, in New York City, Reeve attended the city's Juilliard School and graduated from Cornell University in Ithaca, New York.

He began his acting career in summer stock and appeared on the television soap opera "Love of Life" while still in college.

Reeve debuted on Broadway in "A Matter of Gravity" in 1976, playing Katharine Hepburn's grandson, and later starred in Lanford Wilson's "Fifth of July," in which he portrayed embittered Kenneth Talley, a gay, crippled Vietnam War vet.

Despite his theater credentials and work on television, Reeve is best known as the hero of the "Superman" films.

He was a virtual unknown when he was chosen from 200 candidates to become the big screen's incarnation of 1978's "Superman," in which he played fumbling Clark Kent who at will turns into the flying superhero.

In 1993 he appeared in the Merchant and Ivory hit "The Remains of the Day," which was filmed in the English countryside.

But even there, it was hard to shrug off his super hero image.

"It is very strange to walk into the House and Hound, some pub from the 15th century in the middle of Wilshire someplace, then -- 'Aye, it's Superman, here he comes!'" he said in an 1993 interview on CNN.

Earlier movies included "Gray Lady Down," "Somewhere in Time," "Switching Channels," "The Bostonians" and "Deathtrap."

Reeve and his wife had one son, Will, 12, and he had two children from a previous relationship -- Matthew, 25, and Alexandra, 21.

 

[Lisa]

.

 

[Feisty Mouse]

.

 

[TigerWoman]

52 is too young and it makes me incredibly sad that he's gone. Christopher Reeves will always be a role model to us all for courage and bravery in how to live our lives everyday. TW

 

[gmunoz]

A definite loss to us all. One of my childhood heroes...

 

[Shodan]

Very sad.........what a fighter........now he is free.

RIP Superman

 

[Bammx2]

now......

he can fly.

:asian:
Gods speed Mr. Reeves

 

[Mace]

God, I can remember seeing Superman when it came out in the theaters. He was a boyhood hero. Goodbye Superman................

 

[MA-Caver]

.

 

[Ceicei]

. :asian:

 

[Chronuss]

I remember watching all the Superman movies on TNT one night...and I remember watching his father in the black and white Superman show on Nick at Nite...and watching his cameo appearance on the new Superman show Smallville on WB. now he can walk again.

 

[KenpoTess]

He will be missed.

 

[mj-hi-yah]

He was an inspiration...

 

[Shodan]

What does it mean when someone just puts a dot for a post on the posts having to do with someone passing away........been curious about that for a long time and see it again here.......thanks!

:asian: :karate:

 

[Gin-Gin]

He kept fighting until the end.
I hope that when my time comes, that I will do the same.

Rest in Peace Mr. Reeve. :asian:

 

[kelly keltner]

.

kelly

 

[Aikikitty]

What does it mean when someone just puts a dot for a post on the posts having to do with someone passing away........been curious about that for a long time and see it again here.......thanks!

:asian: :karate:

I think it's supposed to mean "a moment of respectful silence". Like "........" is sometimes used when somebody doesn't say anything.

I heard about Christopher Reeve yesterday when I was in my Sociology class in college yesterday. I wasn't the only one who was very sad upon hearing the news.

Robyn :waah:

 

[MA-Caver]

I don't mean to be irreverent here or to cause any embarassment to Flatlander... but as I read the papers today with the passing of Christopher Reeve I couldn't help notice two things. The repeated line of "He escaped the cape"... and how nearly every paper and internet article and even here (due respect to Flatlander now)... they kept saying "Superman" or "Super human' strength to the fight of..." and so forth.
Escaped the cape? Even in death references to his most known character which he, better than George, tried to break away from with by doing as many diversified character roles as possible, as illustrated here (a list from IMDB.com)
------------------------------
Replica (2004) .... Archive Footage
Toughest Break: Martin's Story, The (1998) (TV) .... Narrator
Rear Window (1998) (TV) .... Jason Kemp
Nine (1996) (VG) (voice) .... Thurston Last
Without Pity: A Film About Abilities (1996) (TV) .... Narrator
Step Toward Tomorrow, A (1996) .... Denny Gabrial
Black Fox: Good Men and Bad (1995) (TV) .... Alan Johnson
Black Fox: The Price of Peace (1995) (TV) .... Alan Johnson
Black Fox (1995) (TV) .... Alan Johnson
Above Suspicion (1995) .... Dempsey Cain
Village of the Damned (1995) .... Dr. Alan Chaffee
Speechless (1994) .... Bob 'Bagdad' Freed
Morning Glory (1993) (TV) .... Will Parker
Remains of the Day, The (1993) .... Lewis
Sea Wolf, The (1993) (TV) .... Humphrey Van Weyden
Nightmare in the Daylight (1992) (TV) .... Sean
Mortal Sins (1992) (TV) .... Father Thomas Cusack
Noises Off... (1992) .... Frederick Dallas/Philip Brent
Death Dreams (1991) (TV) .... George Westfield
Bump in the Night (1991) (TV) .... Lawrence Muller
Earthday Birthday (1990) .... It Zwibble
Rose and the Jackal, The (1990) (TV) .... Allan Pinkerton
Great Escape II: The Untold Story, The (1988) (TV) .... Maj. John Dodge
Switching Channels (1988) .... Blaine Bingham
Superman IV: The Quest for Peace (1987) .... Superman/Clark Kent
Street Smart (1987) .... Jonathan Fisher
Anna Karenina (1985) (TV) .... Count Vronsky
Aviator, The (1985) .... Edgar Anscombe
Bostonians, The (1984) .... Basil Ransome
Superman III (1983) .... Superman/Clark Kent
Monsignor (1982) .... Flaherty
I Love Liberty (1982) (TV)
Deathtrap (1982) .... Clifford Anderson
Somewhere in Time (1980) .... Richard Collier
Superman II (1980) .... Superman/Clark Kent
Muppets Go Hollywood, The (1979) (TV)
Superman (1978) .... Superman/Clark Kent/Kal-El
Gray Lady Down (1978) .... Phillips
-----------------
Yes, I realize that he donned the cape four times but most likely because he had fun with the character and liked the script(s). But from his filmography it would be fair to say that he saw himself as more diversified than Kal-El.
Hmm, the point... what exactly am I trying to say here... probably nothing except an observation on how the media manipulates us to go the way they want us to think.
Kudos to Reeves who held on and fought the good fight.
Compare to George Reeves with this biography (also from IMDB.com)

Raised in Pasadena California, educated at Pasadena Junior College. Skilled amateur boxer and musician. Intern at Pasadena Community Playhouse. Discovered there and cast as Stuart Tarleton in Gone With the Wind. Contracted to Warners, Fox, and Paramount Studios over next 10 years. Achieved near-stardom with male lead in So Proudly We Hail!, but war service interrupted career which never regained same level. In Army Air Corps, appeared on Broadway in Winged Victory, then made training films. Career difficulties after war led to move to New York for live television. Cast as television's first Superman and became world-famous. Some film roles remained, but was mostly typecast as Superman and other acting jobs dried up. Considering an attempt at exhibition wrestling when he committed suicide by shooting himself. Much controversy over his death, due to circumstances and his longtime affair with Toni Mannix, wife of MGM exec Eddie Mannix, but no credible evidence has arisen to refute the basic fact of his suicide. Theories abound, however.

As I understand it not even he could "escape the cape" (because of the Superman role) in death either. Papers at the time, read that he was killed by a kryponite bullet so that kids the world over won't be disillusioned of the superhuman abilities of their hero. (still trying to find original newspaper articles which stated that, but I recall reading about it a while ago... ).
Oh also here is Christopher Reeve's (immediate) family tree... many are saying that George (original Superman) is Christopher's father... not.
Father: Franklin Reeve, professor; divorced from Reeve's mother 1956
Mother: Barbara Johnson, journalist; remarried
Brother: Benjamin Reeve, lawyer; born 1953
Half-brother: Jeff Johnson
Half-brother: Kevin Johnson
Son: Matthew Reeve, born 1979; mother, Gae Exton
Daughter: Alexandra Reeve, born 1983; mother, Gae Exton
Son: Will Reeve, born 1992; mother, Dana Morosini