Christopher Reeve
American actor (1952-2004) · United States · Actors · Died at 52
Christopher Reeve is read about 7,151 times a day, in 69 languages.
A typical day, 30 days to 20 October 2026
The middle day of the days counted, so one week of news cannot move it. The line under it is the last 395 days, one point a day.
Something wrong?He became Superman, then spent the last decade of his life redefining what strength looked like - paralyzed from the neck down, lobbying Congress from a wheelchair, turning a riding accident into a crusade for spinal research and the disabled.
A life in dates
The Brooke Ellison StoryFilm, 2004Director2003Lasker-Bloomberg Public Service AwardAward2002“What makes Superman a hero is not that he has power, but that he has the wisdom and the maturity to use the power wisely.”In their wordsAs quoted in Celebrities in Hell (2002) by Warren Allen Smith, p. 982001ASCB Public Service AwardAward1999“We live in a time when the words impossible and unsolvable are no longer part of the scientific community's vocabulary.”In their words14 April 1999Testimony to a U.S House of Representatives subcommittee, on NIH funding for the year 2000 (14 April 1999)Grammy Award for Best Audio Book, Narration & Storytelling RecordingAward1998The Johannes B. Kerner ShowSeries
Rear WindowFilm, 1998Producer1997
In the GloamingFilm, Director1996“So many of our dreams at first seem impossible, then they seem improbable, and then, when we summon the will, they soon become inevitable.”In their words26 August 1996Speech at the Democratic National Convention (26 August 1996)1995
Black FoxSeries, Alan Johnson1994
SpeechlessFilm, Bob 'Bagdad' Freed1993
FrasierSeries, Leonard (voice)
Morning GloryFilm, 1993Will Parker1991
Bump in the NightFilm, Lawrence Muller1989
Tales from the CryptSeries, Fred1988
Switching ChannelsFilm, Blaine Bingham1986“Superman is nothing more than a popular retelling of the Christ story, or Greek mythology.”In their wordsCaught in the Act : New York Actors Face to Face (1986) by Don Shewey and Susan Shacter, p. 181985
Anna KareninaFilm, Count Vronsky1984“In 1984, the government spent zero dollars on AIDS research, because AIDS was thought to be a death sentence, and the virus was far too complicated to deal with.”In their wordsChristopher Reeve, “Rehabilitation Research - No Reason to Hold Back", VA Rehabilitation Research and Development Research and Development
The BostoniansFilm, 1984Basil Ransome1982
Faerie Tale TheatreSeries, Prince Charming / 'My Son, the Prince'
DeathtrapFilm, 1982Clifford Anderson1980
Somewhere in TimeFilm, Richard Collier1978“The key word for me on him is "inspiration." He is a leader by inspiration. He sets an example.”In their wordsOn the role of "Superman" in an interview with Gene Siskel (1978), quoted in the "Biography" at Chris Reeve Homepage
Ciné regardsSeries, 1978
Gray Lady DownFilm, 1978Phillips1975
Saturday Night LiveSeries1962
The Tonight Show Starring Johnny CarsonSeries1953
The OscarsSeries1952Born25 September 1952Also in Deutsch
Photos 5
Reeve, Frank Gifford and Ronald Reagan at a reception and picnic marking the 15th anniversary of the Special Olympics program in the Diplomatic Reception room, May 1983
Reeve at Life and Art rally in Chile, November 1987
Reeve discussing stem cell research at a conference at MIT, March 2, 2003
Reeve's star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2010In their own words 10
, What makes Superman a hero is not that he has power, but that he has the wisdom and the maturity to use the power wisely.
We live in a time when the words impossible and unsolvable are no longer part of the scientific community's vocabulary.
When the first Superman movie came out, I gave dozens of interviews to promote it. The most frequent question was: What is a hero?
Filmography 40
SSSuper/Man: The Christopher Reeve Story
MWMusic by John Williams
CFChristopher Reeve, Superman Forever
SCSecret Origin: The Story of DC Comics
EHEveryone's Hero
SCSuperman II: The Richard Donner CutTSThe Brooke Ellison Story
OHOnce Upon a Time: The Super HeroesRWRear WindowIGIn the Gloaming
VDVillage of the Damned
ASAbove Suspicion
BPBlack Fox: The Price of Peace
BFBlack FoxSPSpeechless
TDThe Remains of the Day
TWThe Sea WolfMGMorning Glory
NONoises Off...
NDNightmare in the DaylightBNBump in the Night
DDDeath DreamsSCSwitching Channels
TSThe Great Escape II: The Untold Story
SPSuperman IV: The Quest for Peace
SSStreet Smart
TAThe Aviator
DIDinosaur!AKAnna KareninaTBThe Bostonians
SISuperman III
TIThe Making of 'Superman II'DEDeathtrap
MOMonsignor
TMThe Making of 'Superman: The Movie'
SISuperman IISTSomewhere in Time
THThe Muppets Go Hollywood
SUSupermanGDGray Lady Down105 credits on file
Television 21
SSSuperpowered: The DC Story
SMSmallville
TPThe PracticeBFBlack Fox
ISInside the Actors StudioFRFrasierTCTales from the Crypt
TSThe Great Escape II: The Untold Story
WOWoganFTFaerie Tale Theatre
FMFriday Night, Saturday MorningCRCiné regards
TSThe Muppet ShowSLSaturday Night LiveTCThe Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson
TATony AwardsTOThe OscarsAwards
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Correct this familyAbout this person
Born in New York City in 1952 and raised in Princeton, Reeve caught the acting bug at nine, studied at Cornell and Juilliard, and made his Broadway debut in 1976. Two years later he put on the cape for Superman (1978) and its three sequels through 1987, but turned down big-budget offers afterward to chase complex roles in indies and theater - Somewhere in Time, Deathtrap, The Bostonians, Street Smart, The Remains of the Day, Fifth of July on Broadway, The Aspern Papers in the West End. Already an activist for environmental and human-rights causes since the 1980s, his life split in 1995 when a fall from a horse in Virginia left him paralyzed from the neck down. He spent the next nine years on a ventilator, directing In the Gloaming, acting in a Rear Window remake, guest-starring twice on Smallville, writing two memoirs, and leading the Christopher & Dana Reeve Foundation's fight for stem cell research and disability coverage. He died of cardiac arrest in October 2004, at 52.
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