But not even Lane could have imagined that the dead boy was none other than Superman George Reeves himself. Firstly, TV had just become ubiquitous in households across the country, but television as a medium was still seen as the lowbrow younger sibling to films high art. On June 16, 1959, Reeves died from a single gunshot wound in the bedroom of his Benedict Canyon home. All was not well behind the scenes in Metropolis. George Reeves (TV's "Superman") at - The Hollywood Garage - Facebook mostrar anuncios y contenido personalizados basados en perfiles de inters; medir la efectividad de los anuncios y el contenido personalizados, y. desarrollar y mejorar nuestros productos y servicios. George Reeves hit the television jackpot when he landed the dual role of Clark Kent/Superman in the television series The Adventures of Superman. George Reeves Death, Hollywoodland Movie - Pics of Toni Mannix, Eddie Since a 9mm Luger generally ejects its shells to the right, it's hard to conceive what position the actor must have been in when he fired for it to have ended up underneath him. This is however not the case as it it the guest bedroom that faces the street. Coates was amongst many of Reeves friends and co-stars who did not believe he would have killed himself. He performed on live television anthology programs, as well as on radio. Actors Alan Ladd and Gig Young were reportedly skeptical of the official determination. While this may have been the final act for George Reeves Superman, it was the first act in what would become one of the biggest mysteries surrounding the role. He was able to play against type and starred as a villainous gold hunter in a Johnny Weismuller Jungle Jim film. Jim Beaver is just as convinced that George's death was a suicide, as was reported in the newspapers of the day. Finally, a single shot rang out. The issue was that Reeves eventually broke Tonis heart when he called it off to begin a relationship with the woman who would become his fiancee, Lenore Lemmon. [1] [2] His death at age 45 from a gunshot remains controversial. Reeves death was the first in what would come to be a string of tragedies surrounding the role, in what would come to be known as the Superman curse. George Reeves Real name: George Keefer Brewer, George Bessolo. He freelanced, appearing in five Hopalong Cassidy westerns before director Mark Sandrich cast Reeves as Lieutenant John Summers opposite Claudette Colbert in So Proudly We Hail! Besides, she was married to the most dangerous man in Hollywood, who had a formidable reputation for been able to make problems disappear. Hollywood was recovering from the war, but slowly, and Reeves wasnt the only actor trying to make up for lost time with renewed dedication to dreams that were still very much alive but suddenly even further out of reach. How he came to meet this grisly end is a story as disputed and controversial today as it was when the scandal rocked Hollywood at the height of the actor's fame. And George Reeves was not unable to find work, he was not broke, he was not a suicidal depressed person. Many photos shown in various magazines in the past indicated that George's bedroom windows could be seen from the street. While he returned unscathed, he struggled from that point forward to get his career back on track. Reeves also enjoyed playing with an unloaded gun. George Reeves' Death Remains Shrouded In Mystery To This Day This is the house, and home, that Superman actor George Reeves lived and died in. Is there any truth in the persistent rumours that Reeves was murdered? It was a minor role, but he and Fred Crane were in the film's opening scene. [1][2], His death at age 45 from a gunshot remains controversial. Newspapers and wire-service reports quoted LAPD Sergeant V.A. On the night of June 16, 1959, George Reeves was found dead in his bedroom from a gunshot wound to the head in his Benedict Canyon home, while his fiance Lemmon was downstairs hosting a party. George Reeves (born George Keefer . The police did not treat the house as a crime scene, and Lemmon was able to return shortly after they had left, have the bloody sheets washed, retrieve $4000 in travellers cheques and leave Los Angeles for New York, never to return again, not even for Reeves funeral. Who shot TV's Superman? - Los Angeles Times In the home of actor George Reeves, people frantically handed somebody else their martini glass and then tried to wake the naked couple in bed, though the police wouldn't be called for nearly an hour.Earlier that evening, Reeves and his fiance had gotten into an argument at a restaurant or two and, despite planning to wed in only four days' time, Reeves reportedly wanted . The Suspicious Death of George Reeves. They had no children and divorced 10 years later.[16]. George Reeves' death was ruled a suicide, . George Reeves may not be the first actor that springs to mind when you think of Superman, but the star's untimely death put him at the centre of a conspiracy theory malestrom.. Reeves was actually . Had the jilted older woman taken things one step too far and shot Reeves in a jealous rage? (1942), a war drama for Paramount Pictures. In June 1951, Reeves was offered the role of Superman in a new television series[23] titled Adventures of Superman. As far as Reeves was concerned, one has to wonder if he had any regrets. Reeves worried he would be typecast as a childrens actor. It was to be his final feature film appearance. 1. Between the start of production on Gone With the Wind and its release 12months later, several films on his Warner contract were made and released, making Gone With the Wind his first film role, but his fifth film release. Amazingly, George Reeves shot part of a Kelloggs Corn Flakes commercial (the cereal company was the sponsor of Adventures of Superman) inside of his actual Benedict Canyon home. Those guests were neighbour Carol Van Ronkel, her lover Robert Condon, and another neighbour, William Bliss. Around one in the morning they were joined by two of the neighbors, at which point Reeves, who had already been in bed, stomped downstairs to yell at his guests. 2 min read. Was it true she was heard to say He is going to shoot himself, after Reeves had left the party to go back to bed? During the dinner, they had argued. He was inundated with menacing silent phone calls at all hours of the morning and someone even abducted his beloved dog Sam. Reeves returned to Hollywood in 1951 for a role in a Fritz Lang film, Rancho Notorious. Perhaps he came a little too close to the truth. Walker's property became known as "Houdini's House." Shortly after Houdini died on Halloween . Around 1, two friends came by for a visit. No charges were ever brought against anyone in connection to the case. Reeves blood alcohol content that night was .27 percent. : The Return of Black Adam. But it was Reeves who brought the flying Man of Steel to widespread popularity, at least on the screen. According to Larson, Reeves also said he would feel better about the role if he knew he had any adult fans but never learned that Adventures of Superman had adult fans even during its original broadcast run.[17]. The home has not changed much since the mid-fifties. Worst of all occurred on April 8th, when Reeves lost control of his Jaguar and careered into a cement pillar near his home in Benedict Canyon. According to the autopsy report, Reeves had taken his .30 caliber German Luger pistol, placed it near his right temple and pulled the trigger. And they call me Superman!). In a wild turn of events, the alleged problem with this situation was not the affair itselfjilted husband Eddie had his own liaisons outside of the marriage and allegedly had no problem with his wifes relationship with Reeves. Contraversy continues. But unable to find work, perhaps George felt he had little choice but to return to a part that clearly caused him much anguish. If the Hollywood stories are to be believed, any death involving a girl and a gun is suspicious. But even more importantly, The Adventures of Superman was marketed mostly towards a younger audience. The issues wasnt just career frustration. More sinister still, did Eddie Mannix, a man whose job it was to make Hollywood scandals go away, pull some of his underworld strings and hire a hitman to erase the man who had so grievously upset his wife? I told you, hes shot himself., When the cops arrived on the scene, Lemmon told them she had been only kidding when she made her strange remarks. Shortly after, she began her affair with Reeves, who at 10 years her junior, she referred to as the boy. Further to this, a later search of the bedroom found two extra bullet holes. It is located in a fairly modest area, even though the asking price in 1995 was $625,000. 'Superman' Actor George Reeves' Angry Ex Tormented Him and His The first half of the show was a Superman sketch in which Reeves and Neill performed with LeBell as a villain called "Mr. Kryptonite" who captured Lois Lane. Reeves initially had no autopsy and his body was swifted embalmed. George Reeves - Wikipedia While he and Lemmon were supposed to get married only a few days after his death, Lemmon allegedly had soured on him after she realized the older Superman wasnt quite the loaded Hollywood player she thought he was. His work on the show would earn him fame as the Original Superman, even though that wasnt technically true. 'See thereI told you so! The 45-minute delay in getting help, in this scenario, was the time it took for her and her house guests to cover up the murder. George Reeves as Superman CASE DETAILS The gun had no fingerprints on it Early one morning in June of 1959, Los Angeles police raced to a high priced Hollywood Hills home. Over the years, occupants of the house have been plagued by not only the sound of a single gunshot that echoes in the darkness, but strange lights, and even the apparition of George Reeves At this time, Reeves and his mother moved from Iowa to Ashland, Kentucky, to stay with relatives for a time[10] and then to her home of Galesburg, Illinois.[11]. The story told by those there that night is full of holes, the evidence perplexing and poorly handled. Hollywood comic, Lou Lubin, is on right. Entering the house from the street side, you walk into the living room. Cancel OK Your account She continued, 'He's opening a drawer to get the gun.' (Reeves and Crane both dyed their hair red to portray the Tarleton twins.) It was an open secret in the business that Reeves had been conducting a long term affair with Toni Mannix, the wife of notorious Hollywood fixer and MGM vice president Eddie Mannix. Leonore Lemmon was, by all accounts, a bit of a hell-raiser. The film won the Academy Award for Best Picture and gave Reeves the distinction of appearing in two "Best Picture" films. George Reeves3 Theories About The Death of Superman. After all these years, what happened that night at 1579 Benedict Canyon remains obscure and controversial. Reeves was transferred to the Army Air Forces' First Motion Picture Unit, where he made training films. Reeves is interred at Mountain View Cemetery and Mausoleum in Altadena, California. George lived at 1579 Benedict Canyon Drive, in the Beverly Hills area. Eddies exploits in covering up the sleazy underbelly of Hollywood were legendary. Clearly she had the motive, and through her ruthless and well connected husband she certainly had the means. Hollywood Kryptonite: The Bulldog, the Lady, and the Death of Superman A SHOT rang out. The police had never checked Reeves fingers for residue to see if he pulled the trigger nor did they count the number of bullets remaining in the gun. As Reeves returned to his room, Lemmon bizarrely began providing some morbid commentary. When he returned, his mother told him his stepfather had committed suicide. Was the star of 50s TV show The Adventures of Superman murdered? The Mysterious Death of Superman. A script was commissioned from David Chantler, who had written many of the TV scripts. Michael Hayde firmly believes that George Reeves was murdered. At approximately 1:20 AM, Reeves excused himself, and went upstairs to bed. Superman was dead, and there were no heroes coming in to save the day. Photo by ABC Photo Archives/ABC via Getty Images Phyllis Coates and George Reeves in The Adventures of Superman. Over six years and 104 episodes, the actor smiled broadly in pictures, fists planted on hips in the famous Superman power pose, and made appearances to promote the hit television show, including a guest spot in costume on I Love Lucy. A detective examines the mysterious death of George Reeves, the star of the television series Adventures of Superman (1952). However, friends and relatives think Reeves career troubles were exaggerated. Ruled as a. Copyright (c) 2023 Groundspeak, Inc. All Rights Reserved. A noise echoed: See, hes opening the drawer to get the gun. Then a shot: I told you, hes shot himself.. By mid 1959, contracts were signed, costumes refitted, and new teleplay writers assigned. The Dark Side Of George Reeves' Superman - Grunge.com The Superman Scandal: How George Reeves' Death Rocked Hollywood During the second season, Reeves appeared in a short film for the Treasury Department entitled Stamp Day for Superman, in which he caught the villains and told children why they should invest in government savings stamps. They found George Reeves upstairs on his bed, with a Luger between his feet and a bullet hole in his head. The Los Angeles county coroner said its was a suicide, but family & friends say it was a love triangle murder. How do we create a person's profile? Even if the actor had not placed the gun to his head at point blank range, as is usual in suicides, it should have left some obvious marks on his forehead. The suicidal can become very adept at hiding their inner turmoil from their loved ones. If his death was suicide Reeves must have held the gun with his right hand, although this in itself is suspicious as the actor had injured his right hand in an automobile accident a few weeks prior to his death. However, it was obvious that many parts of the investigation were not performed as they should have been. Reportedly, the police had not been called until at least a half an hour after his death. Lois & Clark - The New Adventures of Superman, Superman/Shazam! The Iowa-born actor got his big break when he was hired to play one of Scarlett OHaras suitors in 1939s Gone with the Wind. Meanwhile, DC Comics was planning a television adaptation of its most famous character. Quick Description: The actor George Reeves house where TV's "Superman," was found dead of a head gunshot wound on June 16, 1959. The Death of George Reeves - the Original Superman - Reel Reviews The actor was discovered laying face up on his bed, naked, with a single gunshot wound to his right temple and a .30 caliber Luger on the floor in between his lifeless feet. Just over a year after the war started, Reeves was called up. The Ghost of George Reeves | Paul Kupperberg According to Jim Nolts fabulous Superman-themed The Adventures Continue website, the house has remained largely unchanged since the time Reeves lived there over fifty years ago. What happened next is mired in controversy, but according to the police interviews with the witnesses, a short moment later a shot was heard and the man who had become famous for been impervious to gunfire had, ironically, ended his life with a bullet to the head. . He was lucky to escape with head injuries that required him to take powerful painkillers right up until the night he died. By midnight on the night of June 16, 1959, only Lenore and writer Robert Condon were still at his house with him. He was getting work as a director, and he had agreed to do another season of Superman, in which he would also direct quite a few episodes of. George Reeves, whose work as TV's Man of Steel would set the Superman screen standard for decades, died in his Benedict Canyon home from a gunshot to the head. [17] He avoided smoking cigarettes where children could see him and eventually quit smoking. Flickr CommonsThe costume Reeves donned as Superman on TV. The Day Superman Died, George Reeves Death House 6,369 views Feb 16, 2019 159 Dislike Share Save Michael Thompson's Hidden In Plain Sight 688 subscribers In this video I visit the house where. For whatever reason, though, in my ten-plus years of living in Los Angeles, I had yet to stalk the former Supermans home. Conversely, not everyone who is depressed about their career takes their own life. Conspiracy theories abound and Reeves death has remained the stuff of Hollywood legend for over five decades since. But it wasnt just Reeves career that was going through a dramatic turn. [17] Reeves appeared in five Hopalong Cassidy westerns before being cast as Lieutenant John Summers opposite Claudette Colbert in So Proudly We Hail! The 2006 film Hollywoodland, starring Ben Affleck as Reeves and Adrien Brody as a fictional investigator loosely based on actual detective Milo Speriglio, dramatizes the investigation of Reeves' death. [31] However, Reeves and his partner failed to find financing, and the film was never made. Loved the commercial..how cool! The following is taken from the official autopsy report: Exactly what happened that night was never fully resolved, due to varying drunken accounts. Its a plane! According to commentaries on the Adventures of Superman DVD sets, multiple scripts were filmed simultaneously to take advantage of the standing sets; for example, all the "Perry White's office" scenes for three or four episodes would be shot the same day and the various "apartment" scenes would be done consecutively. Not the comic book character, of course, but the man who personified the "real" Superman for an entire generation of television fans. I was depressed, and I accepted instantly that he had committed suicide, Larson told Unsolved Mysteries in 1995. Inside the Mysterious Death of George Reeves, the Original Superman And then there were the bruising and other marks on Reevess body. According to legend, the house at 1579 Benedict Canyon Drive in Los Angeles where actor George Reeves died of a gunshot wound to the head early in the morning of June 16, 1959 is haunted. [18] He was assigned to the U.S. Army Air Forces and performed in the USAAF's Broadway show Winged Victory. However, Superman producers offered him a salary increase, and he returned to the series. Upstairs, they found the homeowner naked and sprawled across his bed. Advertisement. The house where actor George Reeves, TV's "Superman," was found dead of a gunshot wound on June 16, 1959. George's fiancee Lenore Lemmon claims that in . Gay History: Jack Larson, Gay Actor Tormented by Jimmy - timalderman There she had met and married Frank Joseph Bessolo by 1927, according to that year's federal census. It was also widely believed that Toni, to whom Reeves bequeathed his entire estate, may have shot him in a jealous rage after hearing news of his engagement, or that her husband, E.J. The . No scandals were too big to be neutralised by Eddie, from covering-up Clark Gable accidently killing actress Tosca Roulien, to tracking down and buying up every copy of a porn film starring Joan Crawford. But the scandalous and suspicious way he met his death in 1959 could not have been further removed from his role as the Man of Steel. Forty-five minutes later, the police were called. He had also lined up a science fiction script called Return to Earth, by screenwriter Sidney Fields that he had hoped to direct, possibly with his Superman co-star Phyllis Coates in one of the lead roles. According to Larson, Reeves said that if Mark Sandrich had not died, he would not be there in "this monkey suit". Reeves' friend Rory Calhoun told a reporter "No one in Hollywood believed the suicide story." Haunted Salem George Reeves' Ghost In the 1950s the actor, In June 2021, an episode of the internet series BuzzFeed Unsolved discussed the death of Reeves and possible theories. Reeves was extremely intoxicated when he died, and also pumped full of painkillers to treat the injuries he received in his recent car accident. He was 45 years old. Superman actor George Reeves is beloved for his portrayal of the character, and this is an in-depth look back at his life and tragic death. Was Lemmon with Reeves when he shot himself? Attempting to showcase his versatility, Reeves sang on the Tony Bennett show in August 1956. He died instantly and fell backwards, his feet still hungover the bed and his back on the mattress. The Mysterious Death of Superman | What Lies Beyond Authorities ruled it a suicide, but was it? Faster than a speeding bullet! Hes been murdered. This kind of phone call would not have been out of the ordinary for Lois Lane, the character Coates famously played on TV. EXPLOSIVE new forensic evidence reveals Superman actor George Reeves didn't commit suicide he was murdered and a GLOBE investigation has uncovered the sordid truth behind the "perfect crime" and sinister cover-up of nearly 60 years! Leonore Lemmons behaviour after Reeves death did little to allay suspicions she may have had more involvement than she was letting on. The story told by those there that night is full of holes, the evidence perplexing and poorly handled. George Reeves was dead. [27], His good friend Bill Walsh, a producer at Disney Studios, gave Reeves a prominent role in Westward Ho the Wagons! Regardless of the plausibility of these theories, its likely that the identity of whoever fired the bullet that killed the Man of Steel will remain a mystery. Si no quieres que nosotros ni nuestros socios utilicemos cookies y datos personales para estos propsitos adicionales, haz clic en Rechazar todo. The producers wouldnt give me a job. George Reeves - Biography Had the usually diligent actor neglected to maintain his prized Jaguar properly or was this, as some have suspected, a murder attempt by Toni Mannix? Was Superman star George Reeves a suicide or murder victim? [24] As for Port of Entry, Reeves was never able to gain financing for the project, and the show was never made. Reeves was apparently scheduled to marry Lemmon on June 19 and then spend their honeymoon in Tijuana. Born George Keefer Brewer in 1914 in Woolstock, Iowa to Helen Lescher and Don C. Brewer, young George would grow up in Ashland, Kentucky and later in Pasadena California where his sister also lived. It was purchased for the actor at a cost of $12,000 by his longtime lover, MGM Vice-President E.J. This theory goes that Lemmon was drunk and unhappy that night and shot her soon-to-be-husband. Reeves's career as Superman had begun with Superman and the Mole Men, a film intended both as a B-picture and as the pilot for the TV series. Larson also thought the prospective return of the Adventures of Superman had filled the actor with dread, Anyone who thinks another season of Superman wouldn't depress George didn't know George, he said. Was Superman murdered? The mysterious death of George Reeves If it was Reeves that pulled the trigger then in all likelihood it was because he had had enough of his life, for whatever reason. At around 1.20am, a bad tempered Reeves had admonished the trio for their noise, before returning upstairs. More powerful than a locomotive! George Reeves was depressed and whilst entertaining guests at his home he he inexplicably left the room, placed a pistol to his right temple and pulled the trigger. Nosotros, Yahoo, somos parte de la familia de marcas de Yahoo. Able to leap tall buildings in a single bound! Both would later commit suicide . At the beginning of his life, George Reeves was a Midwesterner by birth but, as he grew older, he made his way out to California with his mother. Between the first and second seasons of Superman, Reeves got sporadic acting assignments in one-shot TV anthology programs and in two feature films, Forever Female (1953) and Fritz Lang's The Blue Gardenia (1953), but by the time the series was airing nationwide, Reeves found himself so associated with Superman and Clark Kent that it was difficult for him to find other roles. How Did George Reeves Die? - Historic True Crime Mannix was devastated by the rejection, made all the more humiliating for the fact Reeves had moved Lemmon into a house in Los Angeles she owned. On the night of his death the pair had gone for dinner with writer Richard Condon, who was staying with the couple whilst he worked on a biography of Archie Moore, the prizefighter Reeves had been due to fight in a celebrity boxing match later that year. >> George Reeves's death, and there are very interesting questions >> supporting the various theories. However, many of his friends and colleagues believe the actor was murdered, his death the stormy culmination of a tangled love life. [26] He was reportedly making $5,000 (about $50,000 in today's dollars) per week, but only while the show was in production (about eight weeks each year). The Day Superman Died, George Reeves Death House - YouTube Piecing Together The Circumstances Of George Reeves - TheFashionBall 1959: Los Angeles police arrive at the home of 45-year-old actor George Reeves, famous for his role as TV's Superman, and find him naked and dead of a gunshot wound to the head. In actual fact The Adventures of Superman was due to return in 1960, with a higher pay packet for Reeves and the promise that he would be able to direct more of the episodes, something he had enjoyed doing on the last three shows of the previous season. George Reeves (born George Keefer Brewer; January 5, 1914 - June 16, 1959) was an American actor. He was initially reluctant to take the role because, like many actors of his time, he considered television unimportant and believed few would see his work. The night George Reeves died; who was in the house? - Lee Saylor Reeves himself was convinced it was Mannix behind a string of strange incidents that had befallen him in the aftermath of their breakup. '"'[35], The official story given by Lemmon to the police placed her in the living room with party guests at the time of the shooting, but hearsay statements from Fred Crane, Reeves' friend and colleague from Gone With The Wind, put Lemmon either inside or in direct proximity to Reeves' bedroom. When they returned home, they continued to kick back the alcohol until around 12:30 p.m., at which point Reeves retired to his bedroom. He was dead from a single gunshot wound to his right temple. Death 06/10/1945 - Rebaul N.G. Lemmon had called them after she and her party guests had found Reeves dead in his bedroom. This prevented long-term work on major films with long schedules, stage plays that might lead to a lengthy run, or any other series work.[24]. Reeves had also hoped to direct a low-budget science-fiction film written by a friend from his Pasadena Playhouse days, and he had discussed the project with his first Lois Lane, Phyllis Coates, the previous year.
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