Author Topic: R.I.P. Superman (Read 118 times)

Mua ha ha · « **on:** October 11, 2004, 01:12:56 AM »

BEDFORD, New York (AP) -- Christopher Reeve, the star of the "Superman" movies whose near-fatal riding accident nine years ago turned him into a worldwide advocate for spinal cord research, died Sunday of heart failure, his publicist said. He was 52.

Reeve fell into a coma Saturday after going into cardiac arrest while at his New York home, his publicist, Wesley Combs, told The Associated Press by phone from Washington, D.C., on Sunday night.

Reeve was being treated at Northern Westchester Hospital for a pressure wound that he developed, a common complication for people living with paralysis. In the past week, the wound had become severely infected, resulting in a serious systemic infection.

"On behalf of my entire family, I want to thank Northern Westchester Hospital for the excellent care they provided to my husband," Dana Reeve, Christopher's wife, said in a statement. "I also want to thank his personal staff of nurses and aides, as well as the millions of fans from around the world who have supported and loved my husband over the years."

Reeve broke his neck in May 1995 when he was thrown from his horse during an equestrian competition in Culpeper, Virginia.

Enduring months of therapy to allow him to breathe for longer and longer periods without a respirator, Reeve emerged to lobby Congress for better insurance protection against catastrophic injury and to move an Academy Award audience to tears with a call for more films about social issues.

He returned to directing, and even returned to acting in a 1998 production of "Rear Window," a modern update of the Alfred Hitchcock thriller about a man in a wheelchair who becomes convinced a neighbor has been murdered. Reeve won a Screen Actors Guild award for best actor in a television movie or miniseries.

"I was worried that only acting with my voice and my face, I might not be able to communicate effectively enough to tell the story," Reeve said. "But I was surprised to find that if I really concentrated, and just let the thoughts happen, that they would read on my face. With so many close-ups, I knew that my every thought would count."

In his public appearances, he was as handsome as ever, his blue eyes bright and his voice clear.

"Hollywood needs to do more," he said in the March 1996 Oscar awards appearance. "Let's continue to take risks. Let's tackle the issues. In many ways our film community can do it better than anyone else. There is no challenge, artistic or otherwise, that we can't meet."

In 2000, Reeve was able to move his index finger, and a specialized workout regimen has made his legs and arms stronger. He has also regained sensation in other parts of his body.

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http://www.cnn.com/2004/SHOWBIZ/Movies/10/11/obit.reeve.ap/index.html

Gotti......Xl · « **Reply #1 on:** October 11, 2004, 02:29:00 AM »

R.I.P. SUPERMAN

STILLDRE IS THE GODFATHER · « **Reply #2 on:** October 11, 2004, 02:45:32 AM »

the 1 true superman is dead rest in peace heres another article of bbc

Actor Christopher Reeve dies

Reeve had become an advocate for spinal cord injury research
Actor Christopher Reeve, star of the Superman films of the 1970s and 80s, has died.
The 52-year-old had been suffering from an infection as a result of a pressure wound and died on Sunday, his publicist Wesley Combs said.

He suffered a cardiac arrest at his New York home and slipped into a coma, Mr Combs added.

Reeve was paralysed nine years ago when he broke his neck after being thrown from a horse.

He later became an advocate for spinal cord injury research. In recent years, he had regained sensation in some parts of his body.

He had also returned to acting, appearing in a 1998 production of Rear Window, a modern version of the Alfred Hitchcock thriller about a man in a wheelchair who becomes convinced that a neighbour has been murdered.

The one true superman has been taken from us but your red cape will fly again

Steve Harley

Send your tributes
The role won him a Screen Actors Guild award.

Reeve's wife Dana said in a statement: "On behalf of my entire family, I want to thank Northern Westchester Hospital for the excellent care they provided to my husband.

"I also want to thank his personal staff of nurses and aides, as well as the millions of fans from around the world who have supported and loved my husband over the years."

Reeve was a virtual unknown before he shot to superstardom in the 1978 blockbuster Superman.

Obituary: Christopher Reeve
Life and career in pictures
Thanks to meticulous preparation and close physical resemblance to the comic-strip hero, producers gave him the part.

The film and its three sequels turned Reeve into a worldwide star and grossed $300m.

Actress Susannah York, who played Superman's mother, told BBC Radio Five Live Reeve had "enormous goodness of soul and courage".

"I felt terribly proud to play his mother. When I was doing the film I thought 'Wow, this guy is terrific'.

"He was a very real contender for a Superman hero figure, because of his courage and generosity of spirit. He was fun.

"I think he was great... what he set out to do since his accident... I admired him incredibly."

'Heroic struggle'

Film director Michael Winner called Reeve the "archetypal movie star".

"I think he grew to personify a heroic struggle against disability," said Winner.

"We all kind of believed that we would one day see him walk again and instead we see him die really very young."

It takes extraordinary individuals like Reeve to recognise that investment and effort is worthwhile in the long run to work for others

Professor Colin Blakemore
He added: "He was a kind of action actor and to see an action actor who played Superman paralysed and hardly able to speak was terrible, but we all had hope for him and it is tragic that those hopes have been dashed."

Reeve broke his neck in May 1995 when he was thrown from his horse during an equestrian competition in Culpeper, Virginia.

He then became a tireless campaigner for stem cell research, forcing it on to the political agenda.

Before the actor's death, Senator John Kerry mentioned Reeve in a presidential debate, calling him a friend and pledging support to stem cell research.

Professor Colin Blakemore, chief executive of the Medical Research Council, told BBC Radio 4's Today programme said it took commitment like Reeve's to carry research forward.

"It takes extraordinary individuals like Reeve to recognise that investment and effort is worthwhile in the long run to work for others.

"He always said that he was working for himself and was convinced that there would be a cure, but I think probably deep in his mind he knew his efforts would be far more likely to pay off for others than for him."