The ‘Superman Curse’ Most Superman and film fans can point to the 2006 film Hollywoodland as a prime example of the Superman Curse, with Ben Affleck giving us his best George Reeves, TV’s Clark Kent from Adventures of Superman (1952 – 1958). While it’s true that Reeves died tragically, the urban legend goes back farther than most people realize, albeit dubiously. Kirk Alyn played Superman in two film serials, Superman (1940) and Atom Man Vs. Superman (1950). The legend would have you believe that Alyn’s career ended after he played the Man of Steel and his typecasting made it impossible to find roles, until his untimely death. While it’s true that Alyn’s career wasn’t exactly neck and neck with that of, say, John Wayne, the first “Live Action” Superman found steady work, virtually every year from the end of the sequel ‘till 1981 (including playing Lois Lane’s father in 1978’s Superman: The Movie). He made his final appearance in the Superman 50th Anniversary special in 1988. “Tragically”, Alyn “only” lived to the age of 88 when he died in 1999, making his oft-reported (read: poorly researched) “untimely death” more full of bull than a herd of bison. Bob Collyer was the voice of Superman and Clark Kent in both radio and in the impressive Max Fleischer cartoons. True, Collyer didn’t match Alyn’s longevity, but he did live to be 61 years old, returned to the role of Superman in CBS’ cartoon The NEW Adventures of Superman (1966) and was the popular host of the gameshow To Tell the Truth . He died in 1969 at the age of 61. Of course, there are more debunkable facets to the legend. Bob Holiday, (of Broadway’s 1966 It’s a Bird, It’s a Plane, It’s Superman), Brandon Routh (of 2006’s Superman Returns), Tom Welling (of the 2001 – 2011 series Smallville) and Dean Cain (of the 1993 – 1997 series Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman) are all still with us and have enjoyed respectable careers since donning and doffing the cape and tights. George Reeves, however, is not so lucky. Reeves took over “Big Blue’s” role from Alyn in the theatrically released Superman and the Mole Men (1951) and the aforementioned TV show that followed it. Almost immediately Reeves was associated with his character in the popular show and typecasting caused difficulty in getting other parts. Reeves was found dead of a gunshot wound to the head in June of 1959, an apparent suicide. But not so fast… Reeves’ rocky relationship with the wife of MGM executive Eddie Mannix shined a certain light on the “foul play” angle and Reeves’ fingerprints were never found on the murder weapon. But he was depressed over the cancellation of his TV show, right? Oh really? On paper, sure, the show had been cancelled… more than once, and had been brought back every time. Including this time. After that last cancellation, sponsor Kellogg’s increased the budget for the “cancelled” show and the casting of new supporting characters was already underway. Further, the script for a second Reeves-starring motion picture, to be titled Superman and the Secret Planet had already been written. Every show should be “cancelled” like that. While the show couldn’t go on without its lead, the legend of the “Superman Curse” began then and there. It didn’t end with Reeves, though. The similarly named Christopher Reeve donned the “S-Shield” starting in 1978 and made two great films, one decent film and one absolute turkey while in his blue tights. Much like the other actors on this list, reports of Reeve’s lack of success sans cape have been greatly exaggerated. Reeve worked with Anthony Hopkins, Michael Keaton, John Carpenter, Michael Caine, Jane Seymour and many others during and after his time as Superman. On 21 May 1995, Above Suspicion, which featured Reeve as a paralyzed, wheelchair bound police officer, was released into theaters. Six days later, Reeve was paralyzed and wheelchair-bound in real life due to a horseback riding accident. Reeve became an advocate for the paralyzed and a new kind of Superman, but his career continued with his directorial debut In the Gloaming (1997) and his award winning turn in the 1998 remake of Hitchcock’s Rear Window (which he also produced). In October of 2004, Reeve died of a heart attack, brought on by an infected pressure wound. There’s no question this was a tragedy, but a curse? Reeve had somehow become MORE Super when he lost all his powers. Even though he lost the power to walk—even breathe—on his own, he began lobbying congress and created the Christopher Reeve Foundation. He made a difference in countless lives both, in and out of the cape—and the tights. Advocates for the Curse say that Reeve’s wife Dana, a non-smoker who died of lung cancer, Superman III star Richard Pryor, who died of multiple sclerosis at age 65, Lee Quigley, baby Kal-El from Superman, who died at age 14 due to inhalant abuse and Lois Lane actress Margot Kidder, who was diagnosed with bipolar disorder, all prove the legend. The Verdict: All of this is sad, sure, but there’s no curse there. Alyn, Cain, Holiday, Routh, Welling and Collyer are all living (or have lived) long and successful lives. Dana and Chris Reeve and Pryor made massive impacts after their brush with Supes, and George Reeves’ death was not as simple as it seemed. As for Kidder, who rolled her car three times and barely missed crashing down a 50 foot ravine, her answer is “What about the Luck of Superman?” Thus, as haunting as many of these events are, they hardly constitute a “curse”. «Nessie»
Posted on: Fri, 09 May 2014 18:53:02 +0000
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