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In Memoriam: Christopher Reeve
He had at one time been so desperate to "escape the cape" and the related typecasting that he disparaged the role of Superman, but later in life he became a real life superman to many victims of spinal cord injuries. "Reeve, who became paralyzed after a riding accident in 1995, died of heart failure in hospital in New York on Sunday, at the age of 52," Britain's BBC reported. "About 100 family and friends have remembered actor Christopher Reeve at a private ceremony at his [Pound Ridge] New York home," they said. In Communist China and democratic India, and all around the globe and throughout the United States, newspapers, TV stations, radio stations and internet sites carried tributes to the late actor and activist, who fought to secure funding in the search for a cure for paralysis. Superman's place as one of the most recognized characters in the world - aided greatly by Reeve's four stints in the role, of course - made him recognizable. It's widely acknowledged, though, that it's what he did afterward with adversity that made him a hero. "The man who personified the superman of supermen has been one major profile in courage since his unfortunate accident that robbed him of the full functioning of his spine," Louisiana's Bayou Buzz said. Reeve became a relentless and even controversial advocate for paralysis victims, seeking greater funding for research into a cure. He never gave up on his prediction that he would walk again one day. In his attitude, he served as an inspiration to many. The New York Daily News reported that half of the Pound Ridge police force was on hand yesterday to make sure outsiders did not travel down the long private drive to the Reeve home, adding that the family is planning a public memorial for sometime in the next few weeks. Reeve, who continued to act and even direct after becoming paralyzed, had grown fonder of the Superman role he had disowned after dismal reviews for the third feature and the failure of the fourth. In the last two seasons, he had guest starred in a pivotal role on the WB series Smallville, which tells of Clark Kent/Superman's formative years. In addition to the four Superman movies, Reeve had a lengthier and more diverse career in film than some remember. He acted in The Aviator, as well as The Bostonians, Deathtrap, Monsignor, Noises Off, The Remains of the Day, Somewhere in Time, Speechless, A Step Toward Tomorrow, Streetsmart, Switching Channels, and Village of the Damned. On television, his production included The Brooke Ellison Story (which he directed), the remake of Alfred Hitchcock's Rear Window (on which he served as executive producer), and In the Gloaming (which he also directed). IDT Entertainment has announced that the computer-animated feature film Yankee Irving, which Reeve had been directing at the time of his death, will remain in production. The story centers on a father and his son, a baseball player who overcomes personal obstacles to realize his dreams. The Reeve family has said that for those who care to do so, donations can be made to The Christopher Reeve Paralysis Foundation, which can be found online at http://www.christopherreeve.org/. "We'll miss Chris for his friendship and for his wonderful portrayal of our character. In the last years of his life, he gave new depth to what being a Superman can mean," DC Comics President and Publisher Paul Levitz told Newsarama. If you would like to pay tribute to Christopher Reeve, please send in your anecdotes, impressions, condolences and reflections. We will run them in next week's issue of Scoop.
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