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| Superman" actor Christopher Reeve, paralyzed
when he fell from a horse in 1995, died in a New York hospital of
heart failure October 10, 2004, his publicist said on October 11.
(Reuters) |
Christopher Reeve, who portrayed a hero in the "Superman" films and
embodied one as an advocate for spinal
cord research after being paralyzed in an accident, has
died. He was 52.
Reeve went into cardiac
arrest Saturday at his home in Westchester County, New
York, after developing a serious systemic infection during treatment for a
pressure wound. He slipped into a coma and died Sunday afternoon at a
hospital near his home.
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."
"He put up with a lot," his
mother, Barbara Johnson, told the syndicated television show "The
Insider." "I'm glad that he is free of all those tubes."
Reeve first gained renown when he was selected from 200 candidates to
play the title character in the 1978 movie "Superman," which was followed
by three sequels. But he made a bigger impact on the public consciousness
after becoming paralyzed in May 1995, following an equestrian accident in Virginia.
The actor went through months of therapy to train himself to breathe
without the continuous aid of a respirator. He then became an advocate for
the disabled, lobbying Congress, appearing at the Academy Awards and
returning to acting and directing. His name was mentioned by Sen. John
Kerry during Friday's presidential debate when the talk turned to stem
cell research.
Reeve himself was vocal on the subject. In 2001, while President Bush
considered a decision on stem cell research -- he eventually allowed
federal funding of research using existing stem cell lines -- Reeve spoke
to CNN's John King about the impact of delaying study.
"That would be a big mistake because you could spend the next five
years doing research on the adult stem cells and find that they are not
capable of doing what we know that embryonic cells can do now," he said.
"And five years of unnecessary research to try to create something that we
already have would cause -- well, a lot of people are going to die while
we wait."
Christopher Reeve was born September 25, 1952, in New York City, the
son of a novelist and a newspaper reporter. He appeared on the soap opera
"Love of Life" while attending college at Cornell University; his senior
year, he was also one of two students selected to attend New York's
prestigious Juilliard School to study under John Houseman.
He debuted on Broadway in 1976 in the play "A Matter of Gravity,"
opposite Katharine Hepburn, and later starred in Lanford Wilson's work
"Fifth of July," playing a gay, crippled Vietnam veteran.
But it was "Superman" that thrust Reeve into stardom . At an athletic 6-foot-4,
the actor appeared to be a model for the superhero (an image helped by the
fact that he performed many of his stunts, including dangerous "flying"
exercises) -- and yet, with the merest addition of some glasses and a meek
voice, easily turned into the shy and hesitant Clark Kent, often
overpowered by Margot Kidder's brash Lois Lane.
Reeve made frequent attempts to avoid typecasting. He starred as a
playwright who goes back in time to meet a beauty in "Somewhere in Time"
(1980), Michael Caine's rival in the film version of Ira Levin's play
"Deathtrap" (1983) and an unscrupulous reporter in "Street Smart" (1987),
the film that helped make Morgan Freeman a star.
Among his other films were "The Bostonians" (1984), "Switching
Channels" (1988), "Noises Off" (1992) and "The Remains of the Day" (1993).
(Agencies) | 
Updated: 2004-10-12 10:24