Vacio and Neill accompanied him in duets.[30]. The brown-shingled bungalow, which was built in 1947, boasts 2 bedrooms, 3 baths, and 1,717 square feet. They had even planned to marry if Eddie were to die. Gene LeBell was there at George's house the morning before George died, training George. George Reeves (born George Keefer . The mystery surrounding the death of George Reeves, the original Man of Steel. But his business manager and mother, among others, said that while it was true he was disappointed in the way things were going, his feelings werent strong enough to explain a suicide. Whilst its true the actor had a habit of playing dangerous games with his gun, naked in bed at 1am does not seem a very likely time for macabre party tricks. Both would later commit suicide . After, they returned home and continued drinking. Like so many men of his generation, the war derailed his life plans. Whatever the case may be, no charges were ever filed and Reeves death remains one of the most talked about Hollywood scandals to this day. 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. Lemmon and Reeves had a stormy relationship but, at least according to her, were engaged to be married. George Bessolo Reeves lived in a modest house in Benedict Canyon in Los Angeles, California up until the time of his death on June 15, 1959. He won critical acclaim for the role and garnered considerable publicity. A shot was heard. There was a real man behind the superhero, whose tragic early death will likely forever be a mystery. George Reeves' Ghost. Reeves knew the show could potentially be popular, but it was almost because of that that he was reticent to take it on. The roles just werent coming his way. Upstairs, they found the homeowner naked and sprawled across his bed. After Gone with the Wind was filmed, Reeves returned to the Pasadena Playhouse and was given the lead role in the play Pancho. George Reeves Real name: George Keefer Brewer, George Bessolo. (1956), in which Reeves wore a beard and mustache. Tall and chisel jawed, Reeves was the perfect choice to play the all American hero in the syndicated television show the Adventures of Superman. 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. The story told by those there that night is full of holes, the evidence perplexing and poorly handled. The coroner ruled it suicide. There's a general belief that Toni Mannix bought the house, but his name He was able to play against type and starred as a villainous gold hunter in a Johnny Weissmuller Jungle Jim film. He performed on live television anthology programs, as well as on radio. Gina Dimuro is a New York-based writer and translator. Jack Larson, who died at 87 on Sunday, was a gifted writer and gay man whose talents and personal struggles were overshadowed by his role as . 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. All too often it is those closest to someone who takes their own life who can least understand it. For instance, Lemmon and her friends pulled a Conrad Murray by failing to call the police until about thirty minutes after discovering the body, and each seemed to have a differing account of the evening due to their inebriated states. On June 15, George and Leonore had gone out to a rather boozy dinner, to celebrate the upcoming marriage. September6, 1892 was the daughter of George Christian Lescher and Eliza Jane McKenzie, she died in a Pasadena hospital on June 18, 1964. Contraversy continues. George Reeves was dead. George Reeves was born George Keefer Brewer in Iowa in 1914five months into his parents' marriage. Two people who might have had strong motives were Toni and Eddie Mannix. Witnesses in the house who behaved a little oddly but heard the whole thing. The official finding was suicide, but some believe that he was murdered or the victim of an accidental shooting. Character: . We have always known that house guest Robert Condon, Carol Van Ronkel and William Bliss were there. The Mysterious Death of Superman. . 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. Giesler had been paid a hefty sum, so why did he suddenly drop the case? She sounded very disturbed and was hyperventilating as she rasped, The boy is dead. 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. Giesler called for a second autopsy. The suicidal can become very adept at hiding their inner turmoil from their loved ones. He was inundated with menacing silent phone calls at all hours of the morning and someone even abducted his beloved dog Sam. The year before Reeves death he abruptly ended his relationship with Mannix, leaving her for the younger New York socialite Leonore Lemmon. Later in life, she become a somewhat tragic figure, bloated and consumed by alcoholism, Leonore would give many different accounts of the events of that night, often contradicting herself and denying things she was commonly reported to have said and done. A gentle man in real life, given to moods, he was despondent because "everyone thought of him as Superman, not as an actor" and now that the show was no longer shooting, he couldn't get a job. Photo by ABC Photo Archives/ABC via Getty ImagesPhyllis Coates and George Reeves in The Adventures of Superman. Faster than a speeding bullet! 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. See real George Reeves photos, and pics of the real Eddie Mannix, Toni Mannix, Leonore Lemmon and others. Had Reeves really shot himself three times? In 1953, Reeves played a minor character, Sergeant Maylon Stark, in From Here to Eternity. While the authorities officially declared Reeves' death to be a suicide, not everyone was willing to accept that conclusion. George Reeves, 45, TV's indestructible "Man of Steel," Superman, was dead by his own hand and the flowing cloak would flow no more. These roles did little to advance Reeves's career, and his contract with Warners was dissolved by mutual consent. It was to be his final feature film appearance. 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). Reeves and Sherman impressed the casting director by performing seven pages of script in a single take without pause. Its Superman! The iconic intro blazed into American households on Sept. 19, 1952. His relatives believed he was murdered, and disputed the official ruling of suicide. Bessolo actually died March 4, 1944, at age 51, when his adopted son was well into his movie career. 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. Had the jilted older woman taken things one step too far and shot Reeves in a jealous rage? His work on the show would earn him fame as the Original Superman, even though that wasnt technically true. 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. In the early morning of June 16, 1959, George was found dead . Released from his Warners contract, he signed a contract at Twentieth Century-Fox but was released after only a handful of films. However, many studios were slowing down their production schedules, and some production units had shut down completely. . The half-hour films were shot on tight schedules; at least two shows were made every six days. Televisions beloved Superman was dead at the tender age of 45. George went to bed at 12:30 AM. They divorced 10 years later and had no children. Had Reeves gotten cold feet about their supposed wedding, or been caught on the phone to Toni Mannix? He directed the final 13 episodes of the series, and told the Evening Star that he was enthused about doing more.. Reeves was dressed in one of his characters Clark Kent suits for the funeral, which took place two weeks later, on June 30th, 1959. The Great Mystery Of George Reeves' Death On June 16, 1959, the actor died in his own bedroom when he was only 45 years old from a shot to the head. Ruled as a. Dubious witness statements and the examination of the crime scene by the Los Angeles Police led to the official inquiry conclusion that the death of Reeves's was suicide. Why had Lemmon waited for so long - 45 minutes or so, to call the police? The costume Reeves donned as Superman on TV. He is best known for portraying Superman in the television series Adventures of Superman (19521958). Reeves reportedly never saw his father again. [1][2], His death at age 45 from a gunshot remains controversial. The Superman cast members had restrictive contracts preventing them from taking other work that might interfere with the series. Kent then rushed offstage to return as Superman, who came to the rescue and fought with the bad guy. Was the star of 50s TV show The Adventures of Superman murdered? The world was shocked to learn that famed Superman actor, George Reeves, had been found dead in his home of an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound. Other evidence that casts doubt on this scenario is the lack of burn marks on Reeves back. The official verdict was that Reeves had committed suicide, the weight of his troubles having become too much for him to bear. He Grew Up Thinking He Was Italian. Flickr CommonsThe costume Reeves donned as Superman on TV. Climbing Back Up Almost immediately after the case was closed, questions about the truth began to arise. Reeves would later recall the impact Sandrich's death had on his career. Immediately after completing it, Reeves and the crew began production of the first season's episodes, all shot over 13 weeks in the summer of 1951. Reeves himself was convinced it was Mannix behind a string of strange incidents that had befallen him in the aftermath of their breakup. The main reason Reeves was said to have committed suicide was depression over his declining fortunes as an actor. 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 . Copyright (c) 2023 Groundspeak, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 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. Was he responsible, on behalf of his wronged wife, for the misfortunes that had befallen Reeves in the run up to his death? Amazingly, George Reeves shot part of a Kelloggs Corn Flakes commercial (the cereal company was the sponsor of Adventures of Superman) inside of his actual Benedict Canyon home. The home is currently a private residence but photos can be easily taken from the street. The gun fell to his feet and the shell was found underneath him. A few minutes later a shot was heard and the foursome ran upstairs. 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 (born George Keefer Brewer in 1914) began his Hollywood career in a variety of bit parts in the late 1930s, including a small role in the epic film Gone with the Wind, and worked . Had the actor been placed on the bed some time after he was shot? The characters involved range from colorful to drunk to suspicious, having by now taken any secrets they may be hiding to their gravesIn . Reeves's career as Superman had begun with Superman and the Mole Men, a film intended both as a B-picture and as the pilot for the TV series. Shortly after their arrival, Reeves came downstairs to hang out with the group and then once again retired to his room at around 1:20. He complained to friends, columnists, and his mother of his financial problems. He freelanced, appearing in five Hopalong Cassidy westerns before director Mark Sandrich cast Reeves as Lieutenant John Summers opposite Claudette Colbert in So Proudly We Hail! 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. Jim Beaver is just as convinced that George's death was a suicide, as was reported in the newspapers of the day. This part directly led to his being contracted to Warner Brothers. To the right is the den and through the living room to the left you find the stairs leading to the guest room and adjoining bathroom which overlook the street. Those guests were neighbour Carol Van Ronkel, her lover Robert Condon, and another neighbour, William Bliss. After the war, Reeves returned to Hollywood. But all was not well behind the scenes in Metropolis. George Reeves' Former Home 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. On the night of June 16, 1959, George Reeves was found dead in his bedroom from a gunshot wound to the head in his Benedict Canyon home, while his fiance Lemmon was downstairs hosting a party. At around 2am that morning, two police officers arrived at 1579 Benedict Canyon, Los Angeles, the house Reeves had been living at with his new fiance Leonore Lemmon during the previous few months. Death 06/10/1945 - Rebaul N.G. [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. 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. Three shots were fired in the room: two on the floor and one in Reeves' head. The ballistics looked all wrong too. She also hired private investigators to investigate his death. At around1 am, William Bliss and Carol Van Ronkel came by for an impromptu meeting. Following the path so many women have taken throughout Hollywood history, Reeves turned to directing, producing, and writing when he couldnt get the roles he wanted. Those windows overlook the backyard and there is a garage under the guest bedroom. George Reeves Born George Keefer Brewer in Woolstock, Iowa in 1914, the boy who would become Superman moved around a lot. George was dressed in a gray Clark Kent Suit from the tv show and his body was taken to Gates/Kingsley/Gates on Sepulveda. But even more importantly, The Adventures of Superman was marketed mostly towards a younger audience. 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. [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. Reeves, however, earned additional income from personal appearances. Besides, the gun was not a revolver and it was quite evident whether it was chambered or not. The story told by those there that night is full of holes, the evidence perplexing and poorly handled. Had Reeves, drunk, unhappy and smarting at another argument with his new girlfriend Leonore Lemmon, pulled the trigger on his Luger whilst plumbing some dark trough of self pity? According to partygoers, one of the guests raced upstairs to find Reeves lying across his bed, the life snuffed out of him by a bullet in the head. If anything, it seemed like Reeves career was on the up. Twentieth Century-Fox loaned him to producer Alexander Korda to co-star with Merle Oberon in Lydia,[17] a box-office failure, after which he freelanced, looking to find work in westerns. 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. Reeves head and hands showed no signs of gunshot residue or powder burns. Character actor Ben Welden had acted with Reeves in the Warner Bros. days and frequently guest-starred on Superman. As more and more time passed between acting jobs paying less and less, Reeves was reduced to appearing in a low-budget serial produced by Sam Katzman, The Adventures of Sir Galahad, and taking a second job digging cesspools. He is best known for portraying Superman in the television series Adventures of Superman (1952-1958). A SHOT rang out. The issue was that Reeves eventually broke Tonis heart when he called it off to begin a relationship with the woman who would become his fiancee, Lenore Lemmon. The actors were poorly paid, and even after Reeves received a raise after trying and failing to leave the show after three seasons, he found himself struggling for money, unable to get the roles he really wanted, and taxed for time given the all-consuming nature of his Superman commitments.

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