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Christopher Reeve was a hero not only in the movies, but in real life.
Google
Christopher Reeve is widely known for flying across the screen while wearing a red cape and a giant S across his chest. But it was for his subsequent off-screen work, while hoping to walk again, that solidified him as a hero.
His sensitive take on Superman helped turn the 1978 film into a blockbuster that set the stage for a wave of superhero films. Years later, after a horseback riding accident left him paralyzed, he used his star power to raise awareness about people with disabilities.
From all angles, he was a hero to millions of people. To honor Reeve’s legacy, Google will dedicate Saturday’s Doodle to actor, director and humanitarian, on what would have been his 69th birthday.
Born in New York City on September 25, 1952, Reeve received a Bachelor of Arts degree from Cornell before being selected to study theater in an advanced program at the Juilliard School under the direction of actor and director John Houseman. After two years of acting in plays and soap operas, Reeve auditioned for the role of Superman, beating over 200 other actors.
With charcoal black hair, piercing blue eyes, and chiseled face, the 6-foot-4 Reeve was the very image of Superman in the big-budget movie. He would reprise the role in three sequels during the 1980s, proving there was an appetite for superhero movies and paving the way later that decade for the big Batman movie starring Michael Keaton, and ultimately for the wonder Cinematic Universe.
Although he’s starred in dozens of other films, he’s mostly associated with his performances as Superman, and for millions of moviegoers, he was Superman.
It has become the case for millions more after a horseback riding accident in 1995 left Reeve paralyzed from neck to toe. Even though medics called the injury one of the worst possible, Reeve showed courage, resetting expectations of what a quadriplegic could do, and he promised he would walk again someday.
When a tabloid reported that Reeve begged his wife to let him die, Reeve responded with an angry denial. “I did not give up,” he wrote. “I’ll never give up.”
After his accident, Reeve became a strong advocate for people with disabilities and increased funding for medical research. He and his wife founded the Christopher & Dana Reeve Foundation, an organization dedicated to healing spinal cord injuries by advancing research. He lobbied Congress to expand embryonic stem cell research, arguing it was the best chance to give him and others like him a chance for a cure.
“I think challenging myself is a great motivator because too many people with disabilities allow this to become the dominant factor in their lives, and I refuse to allow a disability to determine how I live my life,” said Reeve at the Los Angeles Times. year after his accident. “I don’t mean to be reckless, but setting a goal that seems a little intimidating is actually very helpful for recovery.”
Reeve returned to Hollywood after his accident and made his directorial debut in 1997 with the critically acclaimed TV movie In the Gloaming, starring Glenn Close. During a 2017 fundraising appearance for Reeve’s founding, Close in tears shared her memory of her character.
“I miss Chris. He was a great man. He had more… he had more moral and mental toughness than anyone I have ever known,” she said, according to an account of the speech on E Online. “It touched me deep inside, and there were times when it even took my breath away. And he was brave. Against all odds, he had the courage to hope for his dream. , which is now our dream – a world of empty wheelchairs. “
In 2004, after a battle of nearly a decade, Reeve suffered cardiac arrest and fell into a coma before dying. He was 52 years old.
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