Christopher Reeve

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Christopher Reeve (1985)

Christopher D'Olier Reeve (born September 25, 1952 in New York City , † October 10, 2004 in Mount Kisco , New York ) was an American actor , director and writer . He became known from 1978 through the portrayal of the comic book hero Superman in four films. From 1995 Reeve was paraplegic due to an accident , but occasionally continued to appear as an actor.

Life

Reeve graduated from Cornell University with a degree in humanities in 1974 after being accepted into the Juilliard School of Performing Arts . During this time he made friends with his classmate Robin Williams .

Reeve was working on the stage and in the soap opera Love of Life when he accepted the offer to play the role of internationally known Superman in Richard Donner's film adaptation . This film became a huge hit and led to three sequels. In 1980 he starred with Jane Seymour in A Deadly Dream , a time travel love story. Although this film did not attract much attention when it was released, it soon gained cult status, especially among students. Seymour was so fond of Reeve that she named one of her children after him. In 1984, Reeve received good reviews for his role as a lawyer in The Boston Ladies .

From 1992 Reeve was married to actress Dana Reeve . The two have a son together. Reeve has a son and daughter with his former partner, Gae Exton.

Christopher Reeve at a conference at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT, 2003)

On May 27, 1995, Reeve was paralyzed from the neck down when he fell from his horse Eastern Express (called "Buck") and fractured two neck vertebrae at a cross-country horse show in Charlottesville , Virginia . The spinal cord injury caused him to largely withdraw from film production. Instead, he focused on rehabilitation and with his wife founded the Christopher and Dana Reeve Paralysis Resource Center, a facility in Short Hills , New Jersey that helps people with paraplegia live more independently. In addition, he was committed to stem cell research .

He was also seen as an actor from time to time, for example in the remake of the Hitchcock film The Window to the Courtyard , in which he took over the lead role previously played by James Stewart . In February 2003, he appeared on the television series Smallville as Dr. Virgil Swann, who gives the young Clark Kent (later Superman) a deeper insight into his origins. This episode received critical acclaim and viewers saw it as a successful marriage of the Superman generations. In April 2004 he played again in an episode. Also in 2004, he led the directing The Brooke Ellison Story with Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio in the lead role.

Reeve died on October 10, 2004 at the age of 52 after suffering cardiac arrest the day before and falling into a coma . The cause was an infection that he had contracted through a sore spot.

After his death

The film Superman Returns (2006), which represents an implicit continuation of the Superman movies with Reeve, Reeve and his wife Dana is dedicated. Episode four of the fourth season (cuddly monsters) of the series Smallville was dedicated to him ("In loving memory of Christopher Reeve: He made us believe a man could fly"). His wife Dana survived him by a year and a half. The son of Reeves daughter, born in 2015, received his first name.

Filmography (selection)

cinemamovies

Television series and films

Fonts

Web links

Commons : Christopher Reeve  - Collection of images, videos and audio files
personal data
SURNAME Reeve, Christopher
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Reeve, Christopher D'Olier (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American actor, director, and writer
DATE OF BIRTH September 25, 1952
PLACE OF BIRTH New York City , New York, USA
DATE OF DEATH October 10, 2004
Place of death Mount Kisco , New York, USA