Besides, the gun was not a revolver and it was quite evident whether it was chambered or not. After Gone with the Wind was filmed, Reeves returned to the Pasadena Playhouse and was given the lead role in the play Pancho. Reeves began acting and singing in high school and continued performing on stage as a student at Pasadena Junior College. The Mysterious Death of Superman George Reeves It wasn't Kryptonite that killed Superman. Twentieth Century-Fox loaned him to producer Alexander Korda to co-star with Merle Oberon in Lydia,[17] a box-office failure, after which he freelanced, looking to find work in westerns. However, many of his friends and colleagues believe the actor was murdered, his death the stormy culmination of a tangled love life. The night Superman died and an enduring mystery was born. The producers looked elsewhere for a new star.[25]. Listen to 022 - The Suspicious Death of George Reeves . 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. It is located in a fairly modest area, even though the asking price in 1995 was $625,000. Superman was dead, and there were no heroes coming in to save the day. In the early morning of June 16, 1959, George was found dead . But his business manager and mother, among others, said that while it was true he was disappointed in the way things were going, his feelings werent strong enough to explain a suicide. Years later, William Bliss, one of the party guests who had originally told police Leonore Lemmon was downstairs with them when the shot was heard, changed his story. 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. Father George Thomas Reeves. He was able to play against type and starred as a villainous gold hunter in a Johnny Weismuller Jungle Jim film. For some reason Reeves had contorted his head so it was tilted upwards at the point of firing, as the bullet was found embedded in the ceiling. First, Reeves was found naked. [1] [2] His death at age 45 from a gunshot remains controversial. It was to be his final feature film appearance. [13] The Bessolo marriage lasted 15 years, ending in divorce, with the couple separating while Reeves was away visiting relatives. The . The actor had no burn marks on his hands or face - how had he shot himself in the head with a pistol without leaving powder burns? The coroner had ruled the forty-five year old actor's death a suicide, brought about by despondency over a failing career and too much alcohol. Reeves returned to Hollywood in 1951 for a role in a Fritz Lang film, Rancho Notorious. Shortly after they arrived, Reeves came downstairs to find out what the commotion was. 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. The people in the house were quite intoxicated and weren't much help to the investigation even waiting over 30 minutes before calling the police. Reeves would later recall the impact Sandrich's death had on his career. Last edited on 17 February 2023, at 06:25, Look, Up in the Sky: The Amazing Story of Superman, Learn how and when to remove this template message, "The Death of George Reeves The Original Superman", "The Life and Tragic Death of 'Superman' Star George Reeves Plus the Actor in his Own Words", "7 super things you might not know about George Reeves", "11 Homes That Are Haunted by Dead Celebrities", "Was Superman star George Reeves a suicide or murder victim? Her devastation at been rejected by her boy had pushed her to the ultimate reprisal. Had Reeves, drunk, unhappy and smarting at another argument with his new girlfriend Leonore Lemmon, pulled the trigger on his Luger whilst plumbing some dark trough of self pity? According to the autopsy report, Reeves had taken his .30 caliber German Luger pistol, placed it near his right temple and pulled the trigger. He was inundated with menacing silent phone calls at all hours of the morning and someone even abducted his beloved dog Sam. 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. Reeves died at the age of 45, from a gunshot wound to the head. As TVs original Superman, George Reeves was the ultimate hero to millions of children. Everyone involved is now dead, and little or no evidence from the crime scene remains. Was the star of 50s TV show The Adventures of Superman murdered? The story told by those there that night is full of holes, the evidence perplexing and poorly handled. George Reeves was born George Keefer Brewer in Woolstock, Iowa, the son of Don Brewer and Helen Lescher (his death certificate erroneously lists his birthplace as Kentucky). Its not like my George to do a thing like that, his mother told the press. She was absolutely terrified of going to hell", Lozzi told the LA Times. 2 min read. Is there any truth in the persistent rumours that Reeves was murdered? Character: . The characters involved range from colorful to drunk to suspicious, having by now taken any secrets they may be hiding to their graves. When the police did arrive, they found no sign . George Reeves former residence is rather small, especially by Hollywood standards. Cuando utilizas nuestros sitios y aplicaciones, usamos. But this wasn't the conclusion of the police officers who arrived at 1579 Benedict Canyon, Los Angeles, in the early hours of June 16, 1959. [28] He appeared as Superman on I Love Lucy (Episode #165, "Lucy and Superman") in 1957. 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. TV legend George Reeves was killed by older lover he jilted for a sex kitten 2018-11-16 - . Mother Victoria Alice Mason. The subsequent police report seem to accept the whole story at face value. George was dressed in a gray Clark Kent Suit from the tv show and his body was taken to Gates/Kingsley/Gates on Sepulveda. Embattled New York Rep. George Santos said Thursday that he is "fully cooperating" with the House Ethics Committee, which is . They had no children and divorced 10 years later.[16]. According to Condon, Lemmon was in an combative mood that night, and had made somewhat of a scene in the restaurant. His relatives believed he was murdered, and disputed the official ruling of suicide. 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? Reeves himself was convinced it was Mannix behind a string of strange incidents that had befallen him in the aftermath of their breakup. Reeves new girlfriend, who had since moved in, was a New York socialite named Leonore Lemmon, with whom he was rumored to be engaged. His death was officially classified as. George Reeves died of a gunshot wound to his head in the upstairs bedroom at his home in Benedict Canyon. I know he enjoyed the role, but he used to say, 'Here I am, wasting my life. Conspiracy theories abound and Reeves death has remained the stuff of Hollywood legend for over five decades since. September6, 1892 was the daughter of George Christian Lescher and Eliza Jane McKenzie, she died in a Pasadena hospital on June 18, 1964. Reeves was transferred to the Army Air Forces' First Motion Picture Unit, where he made training films. Warners loaned him to producer Alexander Korda to co-star with Merle Oberon in Lydia, a box-office failure. And how had the fatal bullet ended up in the ceiling whilst the shell rested underneath his body? For whatever reason, though, in my ten-plus years of living in Los Angeles, I had yet to stalk the former Supermans home. In reality, George Reeves life was a far cry from that of his heroic television counterpart. She died alone in her apartment over New Year 1989, her body not found for four days. In contemporary news articles, Lemmon attributed Reeves' alleged suicide to depression caused by his "failed career" and inability to find more work. No charges were ever brought against anyone in connection to the case. 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 Photo by ABC Photo Archives/ABC via Getty Images Phyllis Coates and George Reeves in The Adventures of Superman. [42] In 1985, he was posthumously named one of the honorees by DC Comics in the company's 50th anniversary publication Fifty Who Made DC Great. Authorities ruled it a suicide, but was it? There was a real man behind the superhero, whose tragic early death will likely forever be a mystery. [17] Reeves fit the rugged requirements of the roles, and, with his retentive memory for dialogue, he did well under rushed production conditions. Look! The official cause of death for Reeves was ruled a suicide. George Reeves, 45, TV's indestructible "Man of Steel," Superman, was dead by his own hand and the flowing cloak would flow no more. And so, almost forty years later, we are left wondering. Lemmon stayed awake and about thirty minutes later three friends dropped by for a visit. George Reeves' Ghost. Lemmon and writer Robert Condon, who was staying at the house, were more than happy to entertain the group, but Reeves was already in bed and was not pleased by the ruckus downstairs. When Officers Johnson and Korby entered the . More powerful than a locomotive! Would the actor, generally described as an ordinary, straightforward kind of guy, really have killed himself in a house full of guests, especially choosing to do so naked - highly unusual in suicides? A script was commissioned from David Chantler, who had written many of the TV scripts. Theyd take one look at me and say it was impossible.. Seeing the neighbors, he told them, Get out. His work on the show would earn him fame as the Original Superman, even though that wasnt technically true. Lois & Clark - The New Adventures of Superman, Superman/Shazam! He was found dead in his bedroom at 1:59 a.m. on June 16, 1959 in his modest home in Los Angeles' Benedict Canyon. Everyone involved decided that it had been a suicide. Inside the Mysterious Death of George Reeves, the Original Superman GREAT AMERICAN SCANDALS On June 16, 1959, George Reeves, who was the first to make the superhero an icon when he played. The police also appeared to be behaving in a careless manner. 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. This was before news of Reeves death had gotten out, and it always remained a mystery to Coates how Mannix could have known Reeves was murdered unless she was party to it. 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. He Grew Up Thinking He Was Italian. Perhaps he came a little too close to the truth. (Reeves and Crane both dyed their hair red to portray the Tarleton twins.) Reeves death was quickly ruled a suicide, but some facts of the case appear to be murky at best. The police also found two gunshot holes in the carpet as well as the one in the ceiling that they traced to the wound in Reevess head, yet the witnesses claimed to have only heard one shot that night. Reeves was then transferred to the Army Air Forces' First Motion Picture Unit, where he made training films. . But it was Reeves who brought the flying Man of Steel to widespread popularity, at least on the screen. A funeral was held on Wednesday, June 30. He was working on creating a fulfilling career for himself. 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. Finally, theres the fiancee. Present in the house at the time of the incident were Leonore Lemmon (who had been Reeves's fiancee at the time), William Bliss, writer Richard Condon, and Carol . Separated from his wife (their divorce became final in 1950), Reeves moved to New York City in 1949. Some after his death said it was a profound depression and frustration with his career that led to the night in question. 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. That position was taken over by Frank . At around 1.20am, a bad tempered Reeves had admonished the trio for their noise, before returning upstairs. While it's true that Reeves depressed at the time of his death, there were some inconsistencies at the crime scene that raised some red flags not only back then but still to this day. Following an investigation, officers of the Los Angeles Police Department ruled the death a suicide, likely prompted by Reeves' alleged depression over the fact that he was experiencing financial . The night of Reevess death, the actor was at home with his fiance Lenore Lemmon, along with the writer Robert Condon, who had been staying with them. Just over a year after the war started, Reeves was called up. On 16 June 1959, George Reeves retired to his bed at 12, after going out for dinner with his fianc, Leonore. Los Angeles Police Department Death Report, June 26, 1959. 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. By midnight on the night of June 16, 1959, only Lenore and writer Robert Condon were still at his house with him.