Christopher Reeve Dead

[Akira 0]

Quote[/b] ]

12:30:02 ET: Veteran Hollywood reporter Nikki Finke has learned that actor Christopher Reeve is dead, according to sources close to the actor. He died suddenly Sunday. News of his death has not been reported publicly yet. His family will make an announcement Monday at the earliest. Reeve was just mentioned Friday in the second live presidential debate by John Kerry. Noting he was a friend of the paralysed Reeve, Kerry said he was in favor of further stem cell research because Reeve could walk again one day thanks to such science.... MORE...

This on top of the Drudge Report. We'll have to see what this is about. I really hope he is not dead...

[Akira 0]

Quote[/b] ]BREAKING NEWS

Actor Christopher Reeve has died at the age of 52, a day after lapsing into a coma, his publicist tells CNN.

This on top of CNN...this sucks

[theavonlady 2]

Cardiac arrest.

[ralphwiggum 6]

RIP.

[shadow 6]

Rest in peace, Christopher Reeve.

I hope someone will continue all the work he has done for the paralyzed.

[Placebo 29]

Very, very sad news, I fondly remember my Dad taking me to see one of the Superman movies as a child, such memories became very special with the passing of my Dad.

RIP Mr. Superman

[denoir 0]

Sad

[Balschoiw 0]

Admired him for his struggle to get well after he had that horse accident. That was when he became the real superman.

He will never fly again.

[brgnorway 0]

Truly sad news!

Rest in peace!

[cozza 24]

Rest in peace Superman. They were the best movies of my child hood

[Gadger 0]

Not the kind of news anyone likes to wake-up to. RIP Superman.

[R. Gerschwarzenge 0]

[denoir 0]

Obituary: Christopher Reeve [bBC]

Quote[/b] ]

Reeve will always be known for his role as movie hero Superman and the heroic way he dealt with his paralysis after a horse riding accident.

The strapping six-foot-four New Yorker was unknown outside casting agents' offices before he became internationally famous for his role in the 1978 blockbuster, alongside Marlon Brando and Gene Hackman. The film and its three sequels made Reeve a global star and made $300m (Å167m) at box offices.

But Reeve's life was shattered in May 1995 when he was thrown from his horse during an equestrian competition in Culpeper, Virginia.

Paralysis cure

Reeve's injuries were so severe that he stopped breathing for three minutes - his head had to be reattached to his spinal column.

The result was paralysis from the neck down.

He became reliant on others to keep him alive and breathing only with the aid of an oxygen tube, he came through a near-suicidal depression, but managed to continue his acting career. But it was finding a cure for paralysis, primarily through the work of his own organisation, the Christopher Reeve Paralysis Foundation, that Reeve focused on in his later years.

Born in 1952 in Manhattan, Reeve's father was professor of Slavic languages at Columbia University.

His parents split when he was a toddler. "They had a tendency to use me like a chess piece," he later told one interviewer.  Seeking solace in sailing, swimming and theatre, he read English and Music Theory at Cornell University before becoming one of two Cornell students selected to study drama at New York's elite Juilliard School - the other fortunate applicant, Robin Williams, remained a close friend.

A Broadway appearance alongside Katharine Hepburn and an ill-fated sojourn to Hollywood, when a loss of motivation almost ended his acting career, brought him brief prominence.

But a supporting role in the off-Broadway production of My Life, which opened in January 1977, was his unlikely ticket to superstardom.

Film producers Alexander and Ilya Salkind, who had bought the rights to film Superman, were looking for an unknown actor to star in the title role. Reeve did a screen-test for the role and, through his meticulous preparation and close physical resemblance to the comic-strip hero, was given the part.

Four films and $300m later, he was one of Hollywood's most famous stars.

The success of Superman was due, in no small measure, to Reeve's witty and bumbling portrayal of the Man of Steel. But the years between Superman and his accident were filled with limited roles and unfulfilled promise. He was unable to, as he put it, "escape the cape".

Movement regained

In his years after the accident, Reeve was always determined to walk again and, with the love and support of his wife Dana, led calls for more research into such injuries.

Reeve regained movement in a lot of places, having been told after the accident he would never again have movement below his shoulders. An operation in 2003 allowed him to breathe unaided for hours at a time and, through rigorous exercise, he had gradually recovered various parts of his body.

"Suddenly, five years post-injury, I found I could move my left index finger," he said.

"So from then on, it has just been, 'the sky's the limit'."

The star said he could also feel a pin prick over most of his body and could distinguish between hot and cold, and sharp and dull sensations. At the time, doctors said the progress indicated that he might one day be able to walk again.

In an interview, Reeve said the greatest thing was being able to feel the hugs of his wife and his three children again.

[cozza 24]

*Sniff*

I'm glad he continuned to fight againts Parasliccs till the end. Truely a hero  

[Acecombat 0]

Damn i really liked his Superman movies , pity he had that accident and then couldnt even move and now an untimely death ...

[John C Flett 0]

Sad news. My mother is a big fan and was I think quite upset.

He wasn't the best actor in the world but he had a lot of charm and warmth and he made Superman his in a way nobody before or since has done. After his accident though he demonstrated remarkable courage and determination. And humour also. I didn't see his guest spot on Smallville but I heard he was very good.

Rest in peace.

[Placebo 29]

I'm a Smallville fan and it was great to see him in it, the original Lois Lane (Margot Kidder?) was in it recently as well

[Apollo 0]

Superman series was really of my favourite movies in my child years ,in hindsight i would say he did that role very well.

Rest In Peace superman.

[billybob2002 0]

WoW... the drudge report (reported last night) was right...

[bn880 5]

Too bad, he was doing some good for research... Anyway, the real lesson is, understand the risks of your past times, because it can happen to you.

[sanctuary 19]

Sad news,

I liked the Superman movies, he was convincing in it and i was happy to see him again in Smallville as a "guest star" role.

But i admired him for his own fight on his chair, this certainly gave hopes to other people that suffered the same kind of accident but had to deal anonymously with their own chair .

It was a good fight he made.

Rest in peace Christopher Reeves.

[Bernadotte 0]

Admired him for his struggle to get well after he had that horse accident. That was when he became the real superman.

Very well put, Bals.

[MilitiaSniper 0]

He's in a better place.

Rest In Peace, "SuperMan"

Now who's gonna fight Lex Luthor now?

Not to be funny.

But will there be another SuperMan?

Sincerely, MilitiaSniper

"OFF the WALL Team"

[Peanut 0]

He's in a better place.

Rest In Peace, "SuperMan"

Now who's gonna fight Lex Luthor now?

Not to be funny.

But will there be another SuperMan?

Sincerely, MilitiaSniper

"OFF the WALL Team"

Rest in peace Mr. Reeve:(

actually they are planning a new superman movie for quite some time now, once they said Keanu Reeves will play Superman/Clark Kent, but i think it wasn't sure

[Akira 0]

Superman Returns

Been in production a long time. Originally was called "Superman Lives" with Nicolas Cage as Superman and Kevin Smith writting/directing. It's gone through a few dozen incarnations since then. Now it looks like it's going to be done by Bryan Singer ("The Usual Suspects," "X-Men")

EDIT: Check the "Trivia" section for the turmoil that this thing has gone through.