Christopher Reeve

In the week prior to his death, Reeve was being treated at Northern Westchester Hospital for a pressure ulcer, a common ailment for paralytics, that had subsequently become seriously infected. In 1961, he took the role of the defense attorney in Judgment at Nuremberg, for which he won the Academy Award for Best Actor. 1974's The Pedestrian, which Schell wrote, produced, directed, and starred in, was nominated for Best Foreign Language Film. He was only 52 years old. Born in Vienna, he made his Hollywood debut in 1958 in the World War II film The Young Lions. Reeve died of heart failure on October 10, 2004 after suffering cardiac arrest and falling into a coma the previous day. His elder sister is actress Maria Schell. Margot Kidder, who played Lois Lane in the Superman films will continue the plot as Swann's assistant. Maximilian Schell (born December 8, 1930) is an Austrian actor.

Swann will die in a 2004-05 season episode. 1961 - Won Best Actor in a Leading Role - Judgment at Nuremberg. Shortly following Reeve's death, Smallville announced that Dr. 1976 - Nominated Best Actor in a Leading Role - The Man in the Glass Booth. Reeve appeared in the role again in the April 14, 2004 episode "Legacy". 1978 - Nominated - Best Actor in a Supporting Role - Julia. On February 25, 2003, he appeared in the television series Smallville as Dr. Swann, who provides young Clark Kent with insightful clues as to his origins. The episode, "Rosetta", was warmly received by critics and the viewing public as a fitting connection from one generation's Superman to the next.

On April 25, 1998 Random House published Reeve's autobiography, Still Me. For example, in the new film he sends emails by using speech recognition software (instead of the telephone used in the original). This distinguishes the film clearly from the original. As an example, in 1998 he appeared in a re-make for TV of the famous film Rear Window, originally by Alfred Hitchcock. This re-make is set in the time in which it was made and is characterized by its depiction of (useful) gadgets for wheelchair users.

Reeve also appeared in television movies after his accident, in his wheelchair. [1] (http://www.accessibility.com.au/news/internat/reeve_vs_biggies.htm). He also lobbied against the U.S. government's restrictions on stem cell research. With his wife Dana, he opened the Christopher and Dana Reeve Paralysis Resource Center, a facility in Short Hills, New Jersey devoted to teaching paralyzed people to live more independently.

He largely retired from the production of films after his paralysis, instead devoting his time to rehabilitation therapy. Reeve has often said that these were the words that literally saved his life. You are still you". She told him, "I still love you no matter what.

He credits his wife with pulling him out of his depression. Reeve later admitted that he briefly thought of suicide after realizing the extent of his disability. On May 27, 1995, Reeve was paralyzed from the neck down after being thrown from his horse, "Eastern Express", in a cross country riding competition at Culpeper, Virginia. Reeve appeared in over 150 plays during his career.

Reeve often faulted fellow actors for shunning stagework claiming they were dishonoring their craft. Despite becoming famous as Superman, he returned each summer until his accident. He served as an apprentice and on its Board of Directors. Reeve had a great love for the Williamstown Theatre Festival in Williamstown, Massachusetts.

The movie flopped and Reeve was unable to land a major film role for the next four years. This was a modern day remake of the 1930s stageplay "The Front Page" and also provided the first comical role for Reeve. In 1988, Reeve co-starred with friends, Burt Reynolds and Kathleen Turner, in the comedy Switching Channels. it's Newsman!".

Reeve's performance was dismissed by the critics; one even mocked, "Look up in the sky, it's a bird, it's a plane.. Also in 1987, Reeve starred in the gritty Street Smart as a reporter who falsified a story about a pimp. Morgan Freeman won an Academy Award nomination as best supporting actor for his role as the pimp "Fast Black". The plot focused on Superman ridding the world of nuclear weapons. Reeve helped write the screenplay because he wanted to send a powerful message about world peace.

In the same year, the third Superman sequel was released. Aboard his aircraft, he piloted them to safety and was widely praised as a humanitarian hero. In 1987 he travelled to Chile, at that time under the dictatorship of Augusto Pinochet, to stand in solidarity with several dozen actors and writers who had been threatened with death for their left wing views. Critics were astounded by his performance and headlines blurted "Superman can act!".

Reeve had always been fond of England and jumped at the chance to co-star with his friend Vanessa Redgrave in The Aspen Papers which was an adaptation of a Henry James novel. This time it was on a London stage. It was immediately afterwards that he scored another triumph on the stage. He often said this was the best movie role of his career.

In 1984, Reeve won critical acclaim for his role as a 19th century southern lawyer in The Bostonians. Seymour thought so highly of Reeve that she named one of her children after him. In 1980, Reeve co-starred with Jane Seymour in Somewhere in Time, a time travel romance. Although this film was not popular at the time it was released, it has since inspired a wide "cult" following. He once said, "I want to challenge myself in my roles, not run around on screen with a machine gun".

He was a stage actor at heart who preferred doing classical period plays and films that really required him to "act". Superman was the kind of part Reeve usually disdained. Coincidentally, Christopher Reeve's good friend Robin Williams also became a star that same year with the television show Mork & Mindy. This film was an enormous success and inspired three sequels.

In 1978, he was selected to portray the international icon Superman in the 1978 film directed by Richard Donner. Reeve continued to work on the stage, as well as on the soap opera Love of Life His first role in a Hollywood film was a small part as a submarine officer in the disaster movie Grey Lady Down in 1977. Reeve joked back "I don't think I'll live that long Miss Hepburn". Hepburn in turn praised her young co-star. She predicted great things for him and joked that he would "support me in my old age".

He and Hepburn became very close. Reeve credited the legendary actress with giving him many valuable lessons on acting. Reeve's first big break as an actor came in 1975 when he was selected to co-star opposite Katharine Hepburn in the Broadway play A Matter Of Gravity. Reeve stayed with the play throughout its year long run and was given very favorable reviews. In 1995 Reeve was paralyzed in a riding accident and spent the rest of his life wheelchair-bound, becoming a spokesperson for the disabled and for stem cell research. While at Juilliard, he became friends with a wildly improvisational classmate named Robin Williams.

He received a Bachelor of Arts degree at Cornell University in 1974, after which he was selected to study at Juilliard School of Performing Arts under John Houseman. Reeve was born in New York City to writer Franklin Reeve and journalist Barbara Johnson. Christopher Reeve (September 25, 1952–October 10, 2004) was an American actor, director, producer and writer renowned for his film portrayal of Superman/Clark Kent.
.

Love of Life (1974-1976) TV Series. Superman (1978). Superman II (1980). Somewhere in Time (1980).

Deathtrap (1982). Monsignor (1982). Superman III (1983). The Bostonians (1984).

Anna Karenina (1985) (TV). Superman IV: The Quest For Peace (1987). Switching Channels (1988). Noises Off (1992).

The Sea Wolf (1993) (TV). The Remains of the Day (1993). Earth Journeys with Christopher Reeve (1994)(TV). Village of the damned (1995).

Rear Window (1998) (TV).