George Reeves - Unsolved Mysteries On 16 June 1959, George Reeves retired to his bed at 12, after going out for dinner with his fianc, Leonore. Photo by ABC Photo Archives/ABC via Getty Images Phyllis Coates and George Reeves in The Adventures of Superman. She also kept his shaving utensils and lotions, and even built an altar in the house with a crucifix, candles and an 11-by-14 photograph of Reeves. In 1983, the publicist sat by her bedside during her last hours, and knowing she was the last person on earth to know the truth, confessed all to her priest. When they returned home, they continued to kick back the alcohol until around 12:30 p.m., at which point Reeves retired to his bedroom. Getting tapped to play a famous superhero may be considered the pinnacle of an acting career today, but Reeves agreed to the role out of desperation. The roles just werent coming his way. Between the start of production on Gone With the Wind and its release 12months later, several films on his Warner contract were made and released, making Gone With the Wind his first film role, but his fifth film release. Newspapers and wire-service reports quoted LAPD Sergeant V.A. Advertisement. The costume Reeves donned as Superman on TV. He was 45 years old. Both would later commit suicide . George Reeves former residence is rather small, especially by Hollywood standards. George Reeves - Superman Homepage The actor had no burn marks on his hands or face - how had he shot himself in the head with a pistol without leaving powder burns? George Reeves as Superman CASE DETAILS The gun had no fingerprints on it Early one morning in June of 1959, Los Angeles police raced to a high priced Hollywood Hills home. And did that scandal involve one of the most powerful men in the movie business, Toni Maddoxs husband Eddie? And that was the scene that was set on June 15, 1959. After, they returned home and continued drinking. gruesome and unsolved murder of the Black Dahlia. Army. While the authorities officially declared Reeves' death to be a suicide, not everyone was willing to accept that conclusion. While he and Lemmon were supposed to get married only a few days after his death, Lemmon allegedly had soured on him after she realized the older Superman wasnt quite the loaded Hollywood player she thought he was. At around1 am, William Bliss and Carol Van Ronkel came by for an impromptu meeting. One, Reeves committed suicide. While Reeves was depressed at the time of his death, there were oddities at the crime scene. The house where George lived is fairly modest for the area, but the asking price in 1995 was $625,000. Due to their advanced state of inebriation the party guests were not entirely coherent, but they all seemed to agree on the suicide story. Two neighbors stopped by, hoping to join the party. Sprawled naked on his bed, Reeves had been shot in the head after a late night party at his house. The night of Reevess death, the actor was at home with his fiance Lenore Lemmon, along with the writer Robert Condon, who had been staying with them. Nevertheless, the end of his iconic role reportedly hit him hard and at 45, typecast, unemployed and overweight, he found himself reduced to appearing in commercials and celebrity boxing matches. George Reeves Real name: George Keefer Brewer, George Bessolo. Reeves knew the show could potentially be popular, but it was almost because of that that he was reticent to take it on. He served as national chairman for the Myasthenia Gravis Foundation in 1955. 1579 Benedict Canyon Dr, Beverly Hills, CA 90210. Conversely, not everyone who is depressed about their career takes their own life. Eddies exploits in covering up the sleazy underbelly of Hollywood were legendary. Reeves and Leonore Lemmon. He performed on live television anthology programs, as well as on radio. George Reeves: The Strange, Lonely Death of TV's Superman Hollywood Kryptonite: The Bulldog, the Lady, and the Death of Superman This part directly led to his being contracted to Warner Brothers. In the early hours of June 16, Mannix called Coates; she was hysterical and told her friend that Reeves had been murdered. Its Superman! The iconic intro blazed into American households on Sept. 19, 1952. Had the actor been placed on the bed some time after he was shot? Lemmon and Reeves had a stormy relationship but, at least according to her, were engaged to be married. Upstairs, they found the homeowner naked and sprawled across his bed. Reeves death was the first in what would come to be a string of tragedies surrounding the role, in what would come to be known as the Superman curse. In actual fact The Adventures of Superman was due to return in 1960, with a higher pay packet for Reeves and the promise that he would be able to direct more of the episodes, something he had enjoyed doing on the last three shows of the previous season. Reeves established his own production company and conceived a TV adventure series called Port of Entry, which would be shot on location in Hawaii and Mexico. George Reeves was born George Keefer Brewer in Iowa in 1914five months into his parents' marriage. Tall and chisel jawed, Reeves was the perfect choice to play the all American hero in the syndicated television show the Adventures of Superman. He starred in a number of two-reel short subjects and appeared in several B-pictures, including two with Ronald Reagan and three with James Cagney (Torrid Zone, The Fighting 69th, and The Strawberry Blonde). For some reason Reeves had contorted his head so it was tilted upwards at the point of firing, as the bullet was found embedded in the ceiling. Mysterious death of Superman star George Reeves and long - mirror The Day Superman Died, George Reeves Death House 6,369 views Feb 16, 2019 159 Dislike Share Save Michael Thompson's Hidden In Plain Sight 688 subscribers In this video I visit the house where. However, a number of suspicious details about the case have long piqued the interest of gossip mongers and armchair detective alike. ", Death of Superman may not have been a suicide, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=George_Reeves&oldid=1139854102, Credited erroneously onscreen as playing Brent Tarleton (see above), This page was last edited on 17 February 2023, at 06:25. The first half of the show was a Superman sketch in which Reeves and Neill performed with LeBell as a villain called "Mr. Kryptonite" who captured Lois Lane. In June of 1959, things started to look up for George. He looked forward to working with So Proudly We Hail! Inside the Mysterious Death of George Reeves, the Original Superman He is best known for portraying Superman in the television series Adventures of Superman (1952-1958). 1. Leonore Lemmon was, by all accounts, a bit of a hell-raiser. Many felt that Reeves was tired of being known as Superman, and that he killed himself out of anguish. The Mysterious Death of Superman. A SHOT rang out. He Grew Up Thinking He Was Italian. [17], However, Reeves was inspired by So Proudly We Hail! A noise echoed: See, hes opening the drawer to get the gun. Then a shot: I told you, hes shot himself.. [17], Released from his Warner contract, he signed a contract at Twentieth Century-Fox but was released after only a handful of films, one of which was the Charlie Chan movie Dead Men Tell. Reeves died of a gunshot wound to the head in the upstairs bedroom of his home at 1579 Benedict Canyon Drive[34] in Benedict Canyon between 1:30 and 2:00a.m. on June 16, 1959, according to the Los Angeles Police Department report. But this wasn't the conclusion of the police officers who arrived at 1579 Benedict Canyon, Los Angeles, in the early hours of June 16, 1959. Inside the Mysterious Death of George Reeves, the Original Superman Historical Person Search Search Search Results Results George Azer Reeves (1914 - 1945) Try FREE for 14 days Try FREE for 14 days. SUPERMAN MURDER SOLVED! George Reeves - Turner Classic Movies [13] His Gone with the Wind screen credit reflects the change. If you are lucky enough, the homeowners may allow you to tour the home's grounds and possibly the interior as well. It seems the dark secret haunted her for the rest of her life. Many, though, believed the investigation had been rushed and this may have been a case of homicide. Later that year, he was assigned to the U.S. Army Air Forces and performed in the USAAF's Broadway show Winged Victory. Reeves was born five months into their marriage[9] and the couple separated soon after Reeves's birth. Hes going upstairs to shoot himself, she allegedly said. After all these years, what happened that night at 1579 Benedict Canyon remains obscure and controversial. The Death of George Reeves - the Original Superman - Reel Reviews Inside the Mysterious Death of George Reeves, the Original - yahoo.com Create a scavenger hunt using this waymark as the center point. He was able to play against type and starred as a villainous gold hunter in a Johnny Weismuller Jungle Jim film. But it was Reeves who brought the flying Man of Steel to widespread popularity, at least on the screen. The . The home has not changed much since the mid-fifties. First, Reeves was found naked. The house where actor George Reeves, TV's "Superman," was found dead of a gunshot wound on June 16, 1959. George Reeves died of a gunshot wound to his head in the upstairs bedroom at his home in Benedict Canyon. It was a minor role, but he and Fred Crane, both in brightly dyed red hair as "the Tarleton Twins," were in the film's opening scenes. Mannix was devastated by the rejection, made all the more humiliating for the fact Reeves had moved Lemmon into a house in Los Angeles she owned. Its a bird! Photo Illustration by Luis G. Rendon/The Daily Beast/GettyThe death of the original Superman is one of those American mysteries that may never fully add up. The Los Angeles county coroner said its was a suicide, but family & friends say it was a love triangle murder. George Reeves Facts. According to Condon, Lemmon was in an combative mood that night, and had made somewhat of a scene in the restaurant. Why had Lemmon waited for so long - 45 minutes or so, to call the police? He had affection for his young fans, and took his role-model status seriously. The Iowa-born actor got his big break when he was hired to play one of Scarlett OHaras suitors in 1939s Gone with the Wind. EXPLOSIVE new forensic evidence reveals Superman actor George Reeves didn't commit suicide he was murdered and a GLOBE investigation has uncovered the sordid truth behind the "perfect crime" and sinister cover-up of nearly 60 years! The police arrived within the hour. Reeves is interred at Mountain View Cemetery and Mausoleum in Altadena, California. Then check out 48 photos that capture vintage Hollywood. Besides, she was married to the most dangerous man in Hollywood, who had a formidable reputation for been able to make problems disappear. The story told by those there that night is full of holes, the evidence perplexing and poorly handled. TV 'Superman' George Reeves Still Haunts Home Where He Died In 1953, Reeves played a minor character, Sergeant Maylon Stark, in From Here to Eternity. Reeves's film career began in 1939 when he was cast as Stuart Tarleton (incorrectly listed in the film's credits as Brent Tarleton), one of Scarlett O'Hara's suitors in Gone with the Wind. George was dressed in a gray Clark Kent Suit from the tv show and his body was taken to Gates/Kingsley/Gates on Sepulveda. Despite these suspicions, the Los Angeles Police Department officially ruled the death a suicide, on little more than a cursory investigation. Ruled as a. The main reason Reeves was said to have committed suicide was depression over his declining fortunes as an actor. Reeves' friend Rory Calhoun told a reporter "No one in Hollywood believed the suicide story." Reeves initially had no autopsy and his body was swifted embalmed. Larson had suffered a similar career downturn to Reeves after series was cancelled, and like his Superman co-star had struggled to break free of the typecasting associated with such an iconic role. He starred in a number of two-reel short subjects and appeared in several B-pictures, including two with future president of the United States Ronald Reagan and three with James Cagney (Torrid Zone, The Fighting 69th, and The Strawberry Blonde).