RIP: Christopher Reeve dies at 52

[cira]

BEDFORD, New York (AP) -- Christopher Reeve, the star of the "Superman" movies whose near-fatal riding accident nine years ago turned him into a worldwide advocate for spinal cord research, died Sunday of heart failure, his publicist said. He was 52.

http://www.cnn.com/2004/SHOWBIZ/Movi....ap/index.html


I saw him in an interview a couple of months back. He was so determined to walk again, to hug his wife and children again. That determination in his eyes made me tear. I am very sadden by his departure.

I admire his courage to face up to adversity. Not many can do what he did. Hope he can finally find the inner peace he is looking for.

[momopeach]

Wow I'm shocked.

Btw, your link isn't working. Just thought you might wanna know.

[cira]

Originally posted by momopeach
Wow I'm shocked.

Btw, your link isn't working. Just thought you might wanna know.

Corrected! Thank you!

[brainspoil]

yup, i was totally shocked too when i heard it over the radio on the way home. The last I heard of him was that he was actually getting better, and that, as cira mentioned, so determined to stand up and walk again. Didn't expect him to die of a heart attack.

[jepunnye]

RIP: Christopher Reeve dies at 52

'Superman' actor known for activism in spinal cord research
http://edition.cnn.com/2004/SHOWBIZ/...eve/index.html

Monday, October 11, 2004 Posted: 1734 GMT (0134 HKT)



(CNN) -- 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."

Model form
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 (the other, according to the Internet Movie Database, was Robin Williams).

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" (198, "Noises Off" (1992) and "The Remains of the Day" (1993).

'Let's continue to take risks'

An active horseman, Reeve was taking part in an equestrian competition in 1995 when he was thrown from his horse. The event changed his life overnight.

After the accident, he told Barbara Walters that he had considered suicide, but thoughts of his children dissuaded him, according to The Associated Press.

"I could see how much they needed me and wanted me ... and how lucky we all are and that my brain is on straight," he said.

He refused to let his injury -- he was left a quadriplegic -- slow him down, and he exhorted others to take chances.

"Hollywood needs to do more," he told the audience at the 1996 Oscar ceremony. "Let's continue to take risks. Let's tackle the issues. In many ways our film community can do it better than anyone else."

He was also master of ceremonies at the 1996 Paralympic Games in Atlanta and delivered an opening-night speech at the Democratic National Convention the same year.

Reeve won a Screen Actors Guild award for best actor for his performance in a remake of "Rear Window," about a man in a wheelchair who becomes convinced a neighbor has been murdered. In the original 1954 film, Jimmy Stewart played a photographer whose legs were encased in a cast after an accident; Reeve's portrayal of the character was all the more starker for his real-life disability.

"I was worried that only acting with my voice and my face, I might not be able to communicate effectively enough to tell the story," Reeve told the AP. "But I was surprised to find that if I really concentrated, and just let the thoughts happen, that they would read on my face."

In the meantime, Reeve vowed he would walk again. In 2000, the actor was able to move his index finger, and he maintained a strenuous workout regimen to make his limbs stronger. In a commercial for the Nuveen investment firm, Reeve -- with the help of computer animation -- appeared to walk.

Despite some criticism, Reeve stood by the ad.

"It is a motivating vision of something that can actually happen," he told BusinessWeek magazine. "... Rather than just imagining a spinal-cord victim walking in the future, I thought it would be even more powerful to see it actually happening."

Dr. John McDonald, who treated Reeve as director of the Spinal Cord Injury Program at Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri, called Reeve "one of the most intense individuals I've ever met in my life."

"Before him there was really no hope," McDonald told the AP. "If you had a spinal cord injury like his there was not much that could be done, but he's changed all that. He's demonstrated that there is hope and that there are things that can be done."

Reeve tried to maintain an active life.

"I refuse to allow a disability to determine how I live my life. I don't mean to be reckless, but setting a goal that seems a bit daunting actually is very helpful toward recovery," Reeve told the AP in an interview.

The actor is survived by his wife, Dana, and three children: a son, Will, with his wife, and a son and a daughter, Matthew and Alexandra, by a previous relationship with Gae Exton. Plans for a funeral were not immediately announced.

The family has requested that donations be made to the Christopher Reeve Paralysis Foundation.

[natnatviv]

double post?
http://forums.cozycot.com/showthread...threadid=10002

[naughtygirl]

I am pretty sadden by the news. I do admire his courage and spirit. I also love him as superman and also in the movie "somewhere in time". The latter is such a romantic and touching movie and the theme song touched my heart. Its a pretty old movie but I would recommend any die hard romantic to watch it.

[Ziann]

I am also saddened by the news, I used to have a crush on Reeves as Superman

[Glossie]

Me too, Bummergal.

Naughty, Somewhere In Time was my all-time favourite. For a period in my life, I slept to the soundtrack every night.

A sad day.

[bebelatte]

oh, I admire his determination & fighting spirit. May he rest in peace.

[blossomcharm]

Judging from the contents of the last presidential debate, I hope they won't turn his death into a political thing.

[cassia]

I was saddened when he almost died and became paralysed years back. And then I thought, luckily he survived and was determined to live on. But now, he's gone. It's just so heartbreaking that despite his efforts, he's defeated eventually by an infection and one that he can't control. Of course, a better way of putting it would be like what his mum said - that will free him from all those tubes. May he live happily and freely eternally.

No one can easily replace his Superhero image.

[jepunnye]

Originally posted by natnatviv
double post?
http://forums.cozycot.com/showthread...threadid=10002

opsss sorry..didnt realised the other thread LOL

[naughtygirl]

Originally posted by Glossie
Naughty, Somewhere In Time was my all-time favourite. For a period in my life, I slept to the soundtrack every night.

Glossie, me too. I went searching high and low for the sound track and finally found it after a long search then.

[blurzcyn_see]

Originally posted by cassia
I was saddened when he almost died and became paralysed years back. And then I thought, luckily he survived and was determined to live on. But now, he's gone. It's just so heartbreaking that despite his efforts, he's defeated eventually by an infection and one that he can't control. Of course, a better way of putting it would be like what his mum said - that will free him from all those tubes. May he live happily and freely eternally.

No one can easily replace his Superhero image.

Even now, after so many years .. when you mention Clark Kent, his face will be there...

was shocked when I saw the news on MSN