Copyright (c) 2023 Groundspeak, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 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? But it wasnt just Reeves career that was going through a dramatic turn. What raised eyebrows regarding Reeves' death is that he was found naked in his bedroom by his guests during a small gathering at 1:59 a.m.; his guests waited 45 minutes to call police; detectives found additional bullet holes in the floor of his bedroom; bruises were found on Reeves' body; shell casings were discovered in strange locations; and a (1942), a war drama for Paramount Pictures. Multiple gunshot suicides are rare, so if these shots were contemporary to Reeves death, it seems unlikely he was the shooter. This includes accusations of murder directed at his fiance and ex-girlfriend. The characters involved range from colorful to drunk to suspicious, having by now taken any secrets they may be hiding to their gravesIn . They decided that he was fooling around, not realizing the gun was loaded. They got home around 11 p.m. A couple hours later, Carol Van Ronkel and William Bliss stopped by for a drink. The home has not changed much since the mid-fifties. A funeral was held on Wednesday, June 30. In the early morning of June 16, 1959, George was found dead . I have been researching a full-scale She sounded very disturbed and was hyperventilating as she rasped, The boy is dead. It was purchased for the actor at a cost of $12,000 by his longtime lover, MGM Vice-President E.J. He had a string of B-list movies after that, and was slowly working his way up to leading man status when bombs dropped on Pearl Harbor. Reeves was 38 when he first cloaked his rugged all-American looks that were more Clark Kent than strange visitor from another planet in a caped costume. EXPLOSIVE new forensic evidence reveals Superman actor George Reeves didn't commit suicide he was murdered and a GLOBE investigation has uncovered the sordid truth behind the "perfect crime" and sinister cover-up of nearly 60 years! George Reeves' Cause Of Death: These Are The Myths Surrounding - MSN Even after almost a half-century, the mystery surrounding the untimely death of actor George Reeves remained such a potent and fascinating piece of Hollywood legend - it had been the subject of countless articles, books, and one film, the neo-noir "Hollywoodland" (2006) - that one could easily forget that the man himself as well as his long time acting career prior to his demise. Miss Lemmon then made the statement, He is going to shoot himself. Shortly, they heard a dresser drawer being opened upstairs, and Miss Lemmon commented, He is getting the gun out now, and he is going to shoot himself. Moments later, a shot was heard, and they ran upstairs to see what happened. In actual fact The Adventures of Superman was due to return in 1960, with a higher pay packet for Reeves and the promise that he would be able to direct more of the episodes, something he had enjoyed doing on the last three shows of the previous season. 2 min read. Army. Other evidence that casts doubt on this scenario is the lack of burn marks on Reeves back. The Death of George Reeves - the Original Superman - Reel Reviews If they were fired earlier, then at the very least its evidence somebody in the house had a somewhat cavalier attitude to firearms. The actors were poorly paid, and even after Reeves received a raise after trying and failing to leave the show after three seasons, he found himself struggling for money, unable to get the roles he really wanted, and taxed for time given the all-consuming nature of his Superman commitments. Televisions beloved Superman was dead at the tender age of 45. In 1953, Reeves played a minor character, Sergeant Maylon Stark, in From Here to Eternity. 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. Photo Illustration by Luis G. Rendon/The Daily Beast/GettyThe death of the original Superman is one of those American mysteries that may never fully add up. All of the conspiracy theories surrounding Reevess death would eventually be played out on the big screen in 2006s Hollywoodland, but they boil down to three scenarios. George Reeves | Unsolved Mysteries Wiki | Fandom These roles did little to advance Reeves's career, and his contract with Warners was dissolved by mutual consent. There was a real man behind the superhero, whose tragic early death will likely forever be a mystery. Lemmon says George Reeves committed suicide. Character actor Ben Welden had acted with Reeves in the Warner Bros. days and frequently guest-starred on Superman. He won critical acclaim for the role and garnered considerable publicity. How do we create a person's profile? Includes the ability to log visits, view logs, save and filter offline Waymarks and use beautiful offline maps! CleverJourneys: American Crime Chronicles Two Los Angeles police officers arrived at 1579 Benedict Canyon at almost 3 a.m., June 16, 1959. Toni, a former showgirl and starlet in the early talkies, married MGM studios enforcer Eddie Mannix in 1951. Perhaps the toxic mixture of alcohol and painkillers had led to a fatal misjudgment? Upon hearing of George's demise, he went to the house and the . Advertisement. And George Reeves was not unable to find work, he was not broke, he was not a suicidal depressed person. Effectively living an open marriage, Eddie tolerated, even liked Reeves, and himself maintained a younger mistress. George Reeves' Mysterious Passing at 45 Has People Doubting - AmoMama And that was the scene that was set on June 15, 1959. Learn about George Reeves death and the true story behind the Hollywoodland movie starring Ben Affleck as TV's Superman. Released from his Warners contract, he signed a contract at Twentieth Century-Fox but was released after only a handful of films. He is best known for portraying Superman in the television series Adventures of Superman (1952-1958). A noise echoed: See, hes opening the drawer to get the gun. Then a shot: I told you, hes shot himself.. She also hired private investigators to investigate his death. Its impossible to ever know whats truly going on in someones head, especially on a night of heavy drinking, but it did seem that Reeves was taking steps to fix his situation. It seems the dark secret haunted her for the rest of her life. Lenore was allegedly upset at the way he was handling the situation. Historical Person Search Search Search Results Results George Azer Reeves (1914 - 1945) Try FREE for 14 days Try FREE for 14 days. At around 2am that morning, two police officers arrived at 1579 Benedict Canyon, Los Angeles, the house Reeves had been living at with his new fiance Leonore Lemmon during the previous few months. Not the comic book character, of course, but the man who personified the "real" Superman for an entire generation of television fans. . See, hes opening the drawer to get the gun. Lemmon claimed. Photo by ABC Photo Archives/ABC via Getty ImagesPhyllis Coates and George Reeves in The Adventures of Superman. More powerful than a locomotive! Sandrich felt that Reeves had the potential to become a major star, but unfortunately died while Reeves was still in uniform. Others suggested that Eddie Mannix, rumored to have Mafia ties, ordered Reeves killed.[43]. Meanwhile, DC Comics was planning a television adaptation of its most famous character. Reeves and Toni Mannix split in 1958 and Reeves announced his engagement to society playgirl Leonore Lemmon. Tac -- George Reeves' Home The 2006 film Hollywoodland, starring Ben Affleck as Reeves and Adrien Brody as a fictional investigator loosely based on actual detective Milo Speriglio, dramatizes the investigation of Reeves' death. His personal life was not all red carpets and champagne. Eddies exploits in covering up the sleazy underbelly of Hollywood were legendary. The police ruled his death a suicide, but rumors quickly surfaced that Reeves was. Larson had suffered a similar career downturn to Reeves after series was cancelled, and like his Superman co-star had struggled to break free of the typecasting associated with such an iconic role. When he returned, his mother told him his stepfather had committed suicide. The woman on the other end of the line was a woman named Toni Mannix. The recent feature film, "Hollywoodland" is about this questionable death of a popular celebrity. He performed on live television anthology programs, as well as on radio, and then returned to Hollywood in 1951 for a role in a Fritz Lang film, Rancho Notorious.[22]. She and Eddie had used his underworld connections to have Reeves killed. George Reeves -- Unsolved Mysyeries No scandals were too big to be neutralised by Eddie, from covering-up Clark Gable accidently killing actress Tosca Roulien, to tracking down and buying up every copy of a porn film starring Joan Crawford. While the tragedy was unfolding, his fiance and three guests were carousing downstairs, his soon-to-be wife allegedly narrating the action going on above. It is sometimes easy to get caught up in the mystery of George Reeves demise, the different theories and suspects. Then check out 48 photos that capture vintage Hollywood. This theory goes that Lemmon was drunk and unhappy that night and shot her soon-to-be-husband. But the strange death of Superman is not a parlour game. See real George Reeves photos, and pics of the real Eddie Mannix, Toni Mannix, Leonore Lemmon and others. Was the star of 50s TV show The Adventures of Superman murdered? The film suggests three possible scenarios: accidental shooting by Lemmon, murder by an unnamed hitman under orders from Eddie Mannix, and suicide. In the 1950s the actor, George Reeves was best known for his portrayal of Superman in the television series, Adventures of Superman. Peterson as saying: "Miss Lemmon blurted, 'He's probably going to go shoot himself.' The windows above the living room are the windows to George's bedroom. Suicide or murder? Reeves a Hollywood victim - TODAY.com She died alone in her apartment over New Year 1989, her body not found for four days. After Gone with the Wind was filmed, Reeves returned to the Pasadena Playhouse and was given the lead role in the play Pancho. And how had the fatal bullet ended up in the ceiling whilst the shell rested underneath his body? The actor was discovered laying face up on his bed, naked, with a single gunshot wound to his right temple and a .30 caliber Luger on the floor in between his lifeless feet. The issue was that Reeves eventually broke Tonis heart when he called it off to begin a relationship with the woman who would become his fiancee, Lenore Lemmon. Tragic Facts About George Reeves, The Reluctant Superhero - Factinate They divorced 10 years later and had no children. More sinister still, did Eddie Mannix, a man whose job it was to make Hollywood scandals go away, pull some of his underworld strings and hire a hitman to erase the man who had so grievously upset his wife? 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. Reeves also enjoyed playing with an unloaded gun. George lived at 1579 Benedict Canyon Drive, in the Beverly Hills area. Reeves mother refused to believe her son had killed himself and hired famous Hollywood lawyer Jerry Giesler to investigate further. Up in the sky! According to Condon, Lemmon was in an combative mood that night, and had made somewhat of a scene in the restaurant. While this may have been the final act for George Reeves Superman, it was the first act in what would become one of the biggest mysteries surrounding the role. He served as national chairman for the Myasthenia Gravis Foundation in 1955. In the early morning hours of June 16, 1959, George Reeves, who was the first to make the superhero an icon when he played the titular role in the inaugural TV series, was found dead in his bedroom, naked with a bullet through his head. In their book Hollywood Kryptonite, Sam Kashner and Nancy Schoenberger make a case for the involvement of MGM vice president and fixer Eddie Mannix. and im so curious to know,is it true or not?cause if it is true..wow it is the scariest thing ive ever heard. 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. And they call me Superman!). (1956), in which Reeves wore a beard and mustache. Contraversy continues. However, many of his friends and colleagues believe the actor was murdered, his death the stormy culmination of a tangled love life. Jack Larson and Noel Neill both remembered Reeves as a noble Southern gentleman (even though he was from Iowa) with a sign on his dressing room door that said "Honest George, the people's friend". . 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. ", Death of Superman may not have been a suicide, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=George_Reeves&oldid=1139854102, Credited erroneously onscreen as playing Brent Tarleton (see above), This page was last edited on 17 February 2023, at 06:25. He Grew Up Thinking He Was Italian. Lemmon stayed awake and about thirty minutes later three friends dropped by for a visit. [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. Some after his death said it was a profound depression and frustration with his career that led to the night in question. Faster than a speeding bullet! Reeves, however, earned additional income from personal appearances. Firstly, TV had just become ubiquitous in households across the country, but television as a medium was still seen as the lowbrow younger sibling to films high art. George Reeves Born George Keefer Brewer in Woolstock, Iowa in 1914, the boy who would become Superman moved around a lot. Dubious witness statements and the examination of the crime scene by the Los Angeles Police led to the official inquiry conclusion that the death of Reeves's was suicide. 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. June 16, 1959: George Reeves, Superman, Felled by Speeding Bullet 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. George Reeves - Unsolved Mysteries Location: California, United States Date Posted: 1/12/2010 6:55:33 PM Or was the culprit his new girlfriend, the volatile and temperamental Lemmon, who had argued with Reeves the night of his death about the late night party she was having whilst he tried to sleep off his own night of heavy drinking? But in a franchise that's seen its share of tragedy George Reeves's reported suicide, Christopher Reeve's spinal injury the woes of the actor who played Jimmy in the 1950s went underreported. George Reeves (born George Keefer Brewer; January 5, 1914 June 16, 1959) was an American actor. 1579 Benedict Canyon Dr, Beverly Hills, CA 90210. Besides, she was married to the most dangerous man in Hollywood, who had a formidable reputation for been able to make problems disappear. Next, read about the gruesome and unsolved murder of the Black Dahlia. Show more. The producers looked elsewhere for a new star.[25]. They found George Reeves upstairs on his bed, with a Luger between his feet and a bullet hole in his head. All was not well behind the scenes in Metropolis. While he and Lemmon were supposed to get married only a few days after his death, Lemmon allegedly had soured on him after she realized the older Superman wasnt quite the loaded Hollywood player she thought he was. Many, though, believed the investigation had been rushed and this may have been a case of homicide. Leonore Lemmon was, by all accounts, a bit of a hell-raiser. Noel Neill was quoted as saying that the cast of Superman was ready to do a new series of the still-popular show. He was 40 years old and wanted to quit and move on with his career. A long Broadway run followed, before a national tour and a movie version. Waymarkly is the premiere Waymarking app for iOS. Hollywood was recovering from the war, but slowly, and Reeves wasnt the only actor trying to make up for lost time with renewed dedication to dreams that were still very much alive but suddenly even further out of reach. Reeves was born five months into their marriage[9] and the couple separated soon after Reeves's birth. Info Share. Rather than being seen as the hunky superhero who had proven himself as a leading man, Reeves was worried that the role would forever make him the kids beloved Superman in the eyes of the world and of casting directors. June 16, 1959. Who all was in the house that night? Reeves died at the age of 45, from a gunshot wound to the head. Authorities ruled it a suicide, but was it? Create a scavenger hunt using this waymark as the center point. The long Broadway run was followed by a national tour and a movie version. Superman birth place and death house (George Reeves) - YouTube He kept his private life discreet, including a romantic relationship with Toni Mannix, wife of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer general manager Eddie Mannix. [28] He appeared as Superman on I Love Lucy (Episode #165, "Lucy and Superman") in 1957. [26] He was reportedly making $5,000 (about $50,000 in today's dollars) per week, but only while the show was in production (about eight weeks each year).