After, they returned home and continued drinking. mostrar anuncios y contenido personalizados basados en perfiles de inters; medir la efectividad de los anuncios y el contenido personalizados, y. desarrollar y mejorar nuestros productos y servicios. The mystery surrounding the death of George Reeves, the original Man of Steel. Lemmon stayed awake and about thirty minutes later three friends dropped by for a visit. The Superman cast members had restrictive contracts preventing them from taking other work that might interfere with the series. And how had the fatal bullet ended up in the ceiling whilst the shell rested underneath his body? How do we create a person's profile? A long Broadway run followed, before a national tour and a movie version. The house was bought in the early 1950's for $12,000. On June 16, 1959, Reeves died from a single gunshot wound in the bedroom of his Benedict Canyon home. Another rumor was that a car was heard speeding away from the house as well. I know he enjoyed the role, but he used to say, 'Here I am, wasting my life. George Reeves Superman Death | Snopes.com 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. Inside the Mysterious Death of George Reeves, the Original Superman In 1957, the producers considered a theatrical film Superman and the Secret Planet. But in a franchise that's seen its share of tragedy George Reeves's reported suicide, Christopher Reeve's spinal injury the woes of the actor who played Jimmy in the 1950s went underreported. Its impossible to ever know whats truly going on in someones head, especially on a night of heavy drinking, but it did seem that Reeves was taking steps to fix his situation. Multiple gunshot suicides are rare, so if these shots were contemporary to Reeves death, it seems unlikely he was the shooter. Two people who might have had strong motives were Toni and Eddie Mannix. Mannixs wife Toni Lanier, whom the actor had broken up with shorty before his death. After breaking up with his wife, Reeves had engaged in a three-year affair with actress Toni Mannix, who was married to a notorious fixer for MGM Studios. Who Killed George Reeves, the Original Superman - Facts Verse In June of 1959, things started to look up for George. 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. No scandals were too big to be neutralised by Eddie, from covering-up Clark Gable accidently killing actress Tosca Roulien, to tracking down and buying up every copy of a porn film starring Joan Crawford. Vacio and Neill accompanied him in duets.[30]. The official cause of death for Reeves was ruled a suicide. In the documentary Look, Up in the Sky: The Amazing Story of Superman, Jack Larson said that when he first met Reeves, he told him that he enjoyed his performance in So Proudly We Hail! Tall and chisel jawed, Reeves was the perfect choice to play the all American hero in the syndicated television show the Adventures of Superman. The Dark Side Of George Reeves' Superman - Grunge.com George Reeves Death, Hollywoodland Movie - Pics of Toni Mannix, Eddie On June 16, 1959, Reeves was found dead in his bedroom from a gunshot wound to the head. The Suspicious Death of George Reeves. For decades friends, family and strangers alike have speculated on his mental state and whether he was the type of person to commit suicide or not, but the truth is only George Reeves himself knew what was truly going on in his mind. Although the power of the studios was waning by the 1950s, its possible Eddie Mannix still wielded enough influence to fix George Reeves at his wifes behest. George Reeves from "Superman" had a mysterious death that saw him die from a single gunshot wound to the head. Reeves had options for making a living, but those options apparently all involved playing Superman againa role that he was not eager to reprise at age 45. The police also appeared to be behaving in a careless manner. Reeves, however, earned additional income from personal appearances. On June 16, 1959, actress Phyllis Coates was woken up around 4:30 a.m. by a very strange phone call. '"'[35], The official story given by Lemmon to the police placed her in the living room with party guests at the time of the shooting, but hearsay statements from Fred Crane, Reeves' friend and colleague from Gone With The Wind, put Lemmon either inside or in direct proximity to Reeves' bedroom. Climbing Back Up Almost immediately after the case was closed, questions about the truth began to arise. When Officers Johnson and Korby entered the . Cuando utilizas nuestros sitios y aplicaciones, usamos. Its a bird! In contemporary news articles, Lemmon attributed Reeves' alleged suicide to depression caused by his "failed career" and inability to find more work. The Ghost of George Reeves | Paul Kupperberg [17] Reeves appeared in five Hopalong Cassidy westerns before being cast as Lieutenant John Summers opposite Claudette Colbert in So Proudly We Hail! Seeing the neighbors, he told them, Get out. But she was also suffering from alzheimer's at the time of her death, and may have confused fact with the many fictions that had long circulated about the death of her former lover. If anyone could put the heat on Superman it was Eddie. A classically trained actor who already had some impressive credits to his name, including the 1939 classic Gone With the Wind, Reeves was reluctant to take on the role because in televisions early days, it was considered to be a rather undignified medium that was far inferior to film. If his death was suicide Reeves must have held the gun with his right hand, although this in itself is suspicious as the actor had injured his right hand in an automobile accident a few weeks prior to his death. A few minutes later a shot was heard and the foursome ran upstairs. The long Broadway run was followed by a national tour and a movie version. But this had no official status and could not overrule the coroner's verdict of suicide. If you are lucky enough, the homeowners may allow you to tour the home's grounds and possibly the interior as well. He died in June of 1959, not 1958. Gina Dimuro is a New York-based writer and translator. George Reeves' home in Benedict Canyon On June 16, 1959, Lenore Lemmon served dinner at around 6:30 p.m. at Reeves' Benedict Canyon home. Photo by ABC Photo Archives/ABC via Getty ImagesPhyllis Coates and George Reeves in The Adventures of Superman. The official verdict was that Reeves had committed suicide, the weight of his troubles having become too much for him to bear. June 16, 1959. Who all was in the house that night? First, Reeves was found naked. They had even planned to marry if Eddie were to die. Was he responsible, on behalf of his wronged wife, for the misfortunes that had befallen Reeves in the run up to his death? Reeves's film career began in 1939 when he was cast as Stuart Tarleton (albeit incorrectly listed in the film's credits as Brent Tarleton), one of Vivien Leigh's suitors in Gone with the Wind. Giesler called for a second autopsy. In the 1950s the actor, George Reeves was best known for his portrayal of Superman in the television series, Adventures of Superman. It was during this fallow period that he was approached about playing the role that would come to define his life. Superman birth place and death house (George Reeves) 50,169 views Dec 23, 2016 Like Dislike Share Save LandumC goes there 147K subscribers George Reeves (Superman) birth location and the. The sinister true story behind the death of George Reeves By Gaby Wood 13 March 2016 12:18pm Reeves, star of the Fifties TV show The Adventures of Superman, was shot in 1959. The coroner had ruled the forty-five year old actor's death a suicide, brought about by despondency over a failing career and too much alcohol. George Reeves' death was ruled a suicide, . George Reeves had a reasonably successful film career (including a small part in Gone with the Wind) when he took the role of Superman in Superman and the Mole Men, a feature film. But unable to find work, perhaps George felt he had little choice but to return to a part that clearly caused him much anguish. Coates had become a mutual friend of both her Superman co-star and Tony Mannix. They had no children and divorced 10 years later.[16]. Reeves would frequently bemoan the role he felt so trapped in, with particular disdain reserved for the crude and repetitive scripts that often required little more of him than to turn up at the end and have the villains bullets bounce off his chest. He got angry at them for being very loud. How Did George Reeves Die? - Historic True Crime George Reeves was born George Keefer Brewer in Woolstock, Iowa, the son of Don Brewer and Helen Lescher (his death certificate erroneously lists his birthplace as Kentucky). It was also widely believed that Toni, to whom Reeves bequeathed his entire estate, may have shot him in a jealous rage after hearing news of his engagement, or that her husband, E.J. He was found dead in his bedroom at 1:59 a.m. on June 16, 1959 in his modest home in Los Angeles' Benedict Canyon. Not the comic book character, of course, but the man who personified the "real" Superman for an entire generation of television fans. Its a plane! No charges were ever brought against anyone in connection to the case. Was the coroner's verdict right after all? Since a 9mm Luger generally ejects its shells to the right, it's hard to conceive what position the actor must have been in when he fired for it to have ended up underneath him. [28] He appeared as Superman on I Love Lucy (Episode #165, "Lucy and Superman") in 1957. Toni Lanier Mannix (born Camille Bernice Froomess; February 19, 1906 - September 2, 1983) was an American actress and dancer in early motion pictures filmed with soundtracks, known as "talkies".Going by the name Toni Lanier, she became known in Hollywood circles for her extramarital relationship with future husband MGM studio head Eddie Mannix, who was married at the time to Bernice Fitzmaurice. While the authorities officially declared Reeves' death to be a suicide, not everyone was willing to accept that conclusion. The argument had carried over back to the house, Lemmon apparently upset by the suspicion that Reeves had been talking to previous girlfriend Toni Mannix. How he came to meet this grisly end is a story as disputed and controversial today as it was when the scandal rocked Hollywood at the height of the actor's fame. 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? Alcohol, narcotics and depression are a red light warning sign for suicide, and with little other evidence available to them to suggest otherwise, its not hard to see why the Police came to this conclusion. 1959: Los Angeles police arrive at the home of 45-year-old actor George Reeves, famous for his role as TV's Superman, and find him naked and dead of a gunshot wound to the head. He had a string of B-list movies after that, and was slowly working his way up to leading man status when bombs dropped on Pearl Harbor. Was Lemmon with Reeves when he shot himself? While many of Reeves friends doubted the suicide verdict, Jack Larson, who played cub reporter Jimmy Olsen in the show, always accepted that his friend took his own life. Effectively living an open marriage, Eddie tolerated, even liked Reeves, and himself maintained a younger mistress. She had talked to him days before, and, according to her, he was in a splendid state of mind. She had the body exhumed, and a second autopsy was performed. According to the Argus observer, "George Reeves, 45, was found dead in his upstairs bedroom of this house . The film won the Academy Award for Best Picture and gave Reeves the distinction of appearing in two "Best Picture" films. Tragic Facts About George Reeves, The Reluctant Superhero - Factinate "According to Lemmon, the only people in the house that night, in addition to George and herself, were Carol Von Ronkle, William Bliss, and writer Robert Condon. Conspiracy theories abound and Reeves death has remained the stuff of Hollywood legend for over five decades since. The producers wouldnt give me a job. George Reeves - Biography - IMDb Another location that has long been woven into the fabric of Hollywood lore is George Reeves former Benedict Canyon bungalow, where in the early morning hours of June 16th, 1958 the Adventures of Superman star was found dead from a single gunshot wound to the head. George Reeves Born George Keefer Brewer in Woolstock, Iowa in 1914, the boy who would become Superman moved around a lot. As far as Reeves was concerned, one has to wonder if he had any regrets. The police ruled the death a suicide, but by the time Reevesobituary was published in the Los Angeles Times, the newspaper already noted there was an element of mystery.. Finally, a single shot rang out. A noise echoed: See, hes opening the drawer to get the gun. Then a shot: I told you, hes shot himself.. Shortly after they arrived, Reeves came downstairs to find out what the commotion was. When he returned, his mother told him his stepfather had committed suicide. Except for the second season, the Superman schedule was brief (13 shows shot two per week, a total of seven weeks out of a year), but all had a "30-day clause", which meant that the producers could demand their exclusive services for a new season on four weeks' notice. Hollywood comic, Lou Lubin, is on right. No photos of the body were taken and the crime scene was not properly searched or dusted for prints. Reeves fit the rugged requirements of the roles and, with his retentive memory for dialogue, he did well under rushed production conditions. Those windows overlook the backyard and there is a garage under the guest bedroom. The police also found two gunshot holes in the carpet as well as the one in the ceiling that they traced to the wound in Reevess head, yet the witnesses claimed to have only heard one shot that night. However, rumors suspect that there was foul play involved in his passing. 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. Following an investigation, officers of the Los Angeles Police Department ruled the death a suicide, likely prompted by Reeves' alleged depression over the fact that he was experiencing financial . Reeves and Toni Mannix split in 1958 and Reeves announced his engagement to society playgirl Leonore Lemmon. Had the jilted older woman taken things one step too far and shot Reeves in a jealous rage? June 16, 1959: George Reeves, Superman, Felled by Speeding Bullet But even more importantly, The Adventures of Superman was marketed mostly towards a younger audience. George Reeves (born George Keefer Brewer; January 5, 1914 - June 16, 1959) was an American actor. : The Return of Black Adam. 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. The 45-minute delay in getting help, in this scenario, was the time it took for her and her house guests to cover up the murder. [18] He was assigned to the U.S. Army Air Forces and performed in the USAAF's Broadway show Winged Victory. George Reeves Facts. Had the usually diligent actor neglected to maintain his prized Jaguar properly or was this, as some have suspected, a murder attempt by Toni Mannix? George Reeves' Former Home - IAMNOTASTALKER The characters involved range from colorful to drunk to suspicious, having by now taken any secrets . Their relationship was full of booze and bickering. Stalk It: George Reeves former home is located at 1579 Benedict Canyon Drive in Beverly Hills. Lois & Clark - The New Adventures of Superman, Superman/Shazam! Another Superman stage show was scheduled for July[32] with a planned stage tour of Australia. In the early morning hours of June 16, 1959, George Reeves, who was the first to make the superhero an icon when he played the titular role in the inaugural TV series, was found dead in his. 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. 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. In June 2021, an episode of the internet series BuzzFeed Unsolved discussed the death of Reeves and possible theories. Your definitive source to filming locations and all things Hollywood! [42] In 1985, he was posthumously named one of the honorees by DC Comics in the company's 50th anniversary publication Fifty Who Made DC Great. It is located in a fairly modest area, even though the asking price in 1995 was $625,000. Inside the Mysterious Death of George Reeves, the Original Superman The producers looked elsewhere for a new star.[25]. 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. Hes going upstairs to shoot himself, began her callous recital after Reeves left the room. Reeves was dressed in one of his characters Clark Kent suits for the funeral, which took place two weeks later, on June 30th, 1959. Many believe that the ghostly appearances by the actor lend credence to the idea that he was murdered. 'Superman' Actor George Reeves' Angry Ex Tormented Him and His Info Share. Present in the house at the time of the incident were Leonore Lemmon (who had been Reeves's fiancee at the time), William Bliss, writer Richard Condon, and Carol . Why had Lemmon waited for so long - 45 minutes or so, to call the police? to put his budding acting career on hold and enlist in the U.S. 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. They married on September 22, 1940 in San Marino, California, at the Church of Our Savior. Reeves was transferred to the Army Air Forces' First Motion Picture Unit, where he made training films. Copyright (c) 2023 Groundspeak, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Why Anton Drexler Was More Responsible For The Nazi Party Than Adolf Hitler, The Gruesome Murders Of Andrei Chikatilo Russia's "Red Ripper", What Stephen Hawking Thinks Threatens Humankind The Most, 27 Raw Images Of When Punk Ruled New York, Join The All That's Interesting Weekly Dispatch, Photo by ABC Photo Archives/ABC via Getty Images, Reeves played opposite Vivien Leigh as one of the Tarleton twins in. Superman was dead, and there were no heroes coming in to save the day. No gunpowder residue was found on Reeves' hands. The half-hour films were shot on tight schedules; at least two shows were made every six days. . The main reason Reeves was said to have committed suicide was depression over his declining fortunes as an actor. If he had really fallen backwards onto a freshly ejected shell case it should have been hot enough to have burnt his skin, yet no such marks were evident at the autopsy. When George Reeves, who had achieved international fame by playing Superman for five years on TV, was found dead by gunshot in 1959, the death was officially recorded as a suicide. According to Jim Nolts fabulous Superman-themed The Adventures Continue website, the house has remained largely unchanged since the time Reeves lived there over fifty years ago. Even if the actor had not placed the gun to his head at point blank range, as is usual in suicides, it should have left some obvious marks on his forehead. The Los Angeles county coroner said its was a suicide, but family & friends say it was a love triangle murder. She continued, 'He's opening a drawer to get the gun.' If anything, it seemed like Reeves career was on the up. Learn about George Reeves death and the true story behind the Hollywoodland movie starring Ben Affleck as TV's Superman. It is located in a fairly modest area, even though the asking price in 1995 was $625,000. [17] He was drafted in early 1943. After the war, Reeves returned to Hollywood. George Reeves - Interesting stories about famous people, biographies The home has not changed much since the mid-fifties. Photo by ABC Photo Archives/ABC via Getty Images Phyllis Coates and George Reeves in The Adventures of Superman. George Reeves: The Death of Superman | The Unredacted however to this day there is an air of mystery surrounding Reeves' death. Years later, William Bliss, one of the party guests who had originally told police Leonore Lemmon was downstairs with them when the shot was heard, changed his story. While the tragedy was unfolding, his fiance and three guests were carousing downstairs, his soon-to-be wife allegedly narrating the action going on above. NOT FASTER THAN A SPEEDING BULLET American Hauntings 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. Robert Condon, a writer interested in writing a biography on George, stayed in the house. [1][2], His death at age 45 from a gunshot remains controversial. For whatever reason, though, in my ten-plus years of living in Los Angeles, I had yet to stalk the former Supermans home. Hollywood was recovering from the war, but slowly, and Reeves wasnt the only actor trying to make up for lost time with renewed dedication to dreams that were still very much alive but suddenly even further out of reach. They divorced 10 years later and had no children. George went to bed at 12:30 AM. Location: California, United States Date Posted: 1/12/2010 6:55:33 PM George Reeves (born George Keefer Brewer; January 5, 1914 June 16, 1959) was an American actor. Many, though, believed the investigation had been rushed and this may have been a case of homicide. 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. Reeves mother hired a high-powered lawyer to get the case reopened, but he quickly dropped his new client for reasons unknown. Piecing Together The Circumstances Of George Reeves - TheFashionBall He had affection for his young fans, and took his role-model status seriously. Who shot TV's Superman? - Los Angeles Times Everyone involved is now dead, and little or no evidence from the crime scene remains. His fears were not unfounded, as he had been out of work for two years by the time of his death in 1959. This is however not the case as it it the guest bedroom that faces the street. I remember watching Superman on tv, George Reeves Kelloggs Corn Flakes CommercialFilmed in his Home, Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window), Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window), I blogged about during my Haunted Hollywood theme last year, 1579 Benedict Canyon Drive in Beverly Hills. When George Reeves died in 1959, the death was quickly considered to be one that was self-inflicted. In the early morning hours of June 16, 1959, George Reeves, who was the first to make the superhero an icon when he played the titular role in the inaugural TV series, was found dead in his bedroom, naked with a bullet through his head. At his funeral, he was laid to rest in the same suit that he wore on the TV show as "Clark Kent." Tell them I was down here!. And did that scandal involve one of the most powerful men in the movie business, Toni Maddoxs husband Eddie? Was Superman star George Reeves a suicide or murder victim? He is best known for portraying Superman in the television series Adventures of Superman (19521958). The night George Reeves died; who was in the house? - Lee Saylor Perhaps the toxic mixture of alcohol and painkillers had led to a fatal misjudgment? His body was later cremated and interred at the Mountain View Cemetery in Altadena, which I blogged about during my Haunted Hollywood theme last year. Around 1, two friends came by for a visit. Reeves, who took his acting career seriously and had parts in Gone with the Wind and From here to Eternity, always had mixed feelings about his fame as Superman. The Mysterious Death of Superman | What Lies Beyond They decided that he was fooling around, not realizing the gun was loaded. The death was quickly ruled a suicide, but several of those near and dear to the actor believed there was no way he would have killed himself. According to biographer Jim Beaver, Reeves did not know for several years that Bessolo was still alive. Reeves' friend Rory Calhoun told a reporter "No one in Hollywood believed the suicide story." Like so many men of his generation, the war derailed his life plans. After his death, it was revealed that he left everything to Toni, which could have been an oversight given he and Lemmon had only been together six months, or it could have been a big middle finger. [39] Despite the unanswered questions, Reeves' death was officially ruled a suicide, based on witness statements, physical evidence at the scene, and the autopsy report. But not even Lane could have imagined that the dead boy was none other than Superman George Reeves himself. George Reeves' Death Remains Shrouded In Mystery To This Day Waymarkly is the premiere Waymarking app for iOS. 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. (The punchline: Ricardo, do you mean to say that youve been married to her for 15 years? Lemmon and Reeves had a stormy relationship but, at least according to her, were engaged to be married. ", 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. On 16 June 1959, George Reeves retired to his bed at 12, after going out for dinner with his fianc, Leonore. 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. If they were fired earlier, then at the very least its evidence somebody in the house had a somewhat cavalier attitude to firearms. [14], While studying acting at the Pasadena Playhouse, Reeves met his future wife, Ellanora Needles, granddaughter of circus magnate John Robinson. George Reeves - Unsolved Mysteries Even outside of the world of comic books, bullets sometimes do funny things, and that was certainly the case in the death of George Reeves. [17] He avoided smoking cigarettes where children could see him and eventually quit smoking. Died in House - George Reeves, TV's "Superman" Suicide or | Facebook