The main impression of Christopher Reeve is that he flew on the screen wearing a red cloak and a huge S hanging from his chest. But it was his later off-screen work, while hoping to walk again, that cemented his heroic status. His portrayal of Superman helped make the 1978 film a blockbuster, laying the groundwork for a wave of superhero films. A few years later, after paralyzing him in a horseback riding accident, he used his star effect to raise awareness of people with disabilities.
He is a hero in the hearts of millions of people, from every angle. To mark Reeve's legacy, Google will offer the actor, director and humanitarian his 69th birthday wishes in a graffiti saturday.
Born in New York City on September 25, 1952, Reeve earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from Cornell University under actor and director John Haussmann before being selected to study acting in the Julia School's advanced program. After two years of theatrical and soap opera performances, Reeve took part in interviews for the superhuman role, beating out more than 200 other actors.
With coal-black hair, bright blue eyes and an angular face, 6'4" Reeve is the quintessential figure of Superman in this big-budget movie. He played the role multiple times in three sequels of the 1980s, proving the desire for superhero movies and paving the way for the big Batman movie starring Michael Keaton later in that decade and ultimately paving the way for the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
Although he has appeared in dozens of other films, he is most closely associated with his Superman performance, and for millions of movie fans, he is Superman.
A horseback riding accident in 1995 paralyzed Reeve from the neck down, and although doctors called the injury one of the worst, Reeve showed tenacity and re-set expectations for quadriplegics, hoping to one day start walking again.
When a tabloid reported that Reeve had begged his wife to let him die, Reeve angrily denied it. "I didn't give up," he wrote. "I will never give up".
After the accident, Reeve became a strong advocate for people with disabilities and increased funding for medical research. He and his wife founded the Christopher and Dana Reeve Foundation, an organization dedicated to healing spinal cord injuries by advancing research. He lobbied Congress to expand embryonic stem cell research as the best chance to give him and others like him a chance to recover.
"I think setting challenges is a great motivator because too many people with disabilities allow this to be the dominant factor in their lives, and I refuse to let disability determine my way of life," Reeve told the Los Angeles Times a year after the accident. "I'm not saying to act recklessly, but setting a goal that seems a bit daunting is actually very helpful for recovery."
Reeve returned to Hollywood after the accident and made his debut director in 1997, filming the critically acclaimed TELEVISION film In the Dark, starring Glenn Cross. While fundraising for Reeve's foundation in 2017, a tearful Cross shared her memories of his role.
"I miss Chris. He was a great man. He has more than anyone I know... He had more moral and mental perseverance, which touched me and on a few occasions even left me breathless. And he had a lot of courage. In the face of adversity, he had the courage to hope to realize his dream, which is what we dream now – a world without a wheelchair. "
In 2004, after nearly a decade of fighting, Reeve fell into a coma after cardiac arrest and died at the age of 52.