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Christopher Reeve fought well.
Real-Life Fighter Christopher Reeve Dies
Mon Oct 11,10:08 PM ET Entertainment - AP Gossip/Celebrity
By JIM FITZGERALD, Associated Press Writer
MOUNT KISCO, N.Y. - Christopher Reeve, the chiseled, strapping "Superman" of celluloid who became another kind of hero as a force for spinal cord research after a devastating horse-riding accident, has died at 52.
Reeve, a quadriplegic for the last nine years of his life who vowed that he would one day walk again, died Sunday of complications from an infection caused by a bedsore.
His wife, actress Dana Reeve, issued a statement thanking "the millions of fans from around the world who have supported and loved my husband over the years." His mother, Barbara Johnson, told the syndicated TV show "The Insider": "I'm glad that he is free of all those tubes."
"The world has lost a tremendous activist and artist, and an inspiration for people worldwide. I have lost a great friend," said actor and comedian Robin Williams.
After winning worldwide fame as Superman in four films from 1978 to 1987 and struggling to "escape the cape" with later roles, Reeve suddenly became the face of spinal cord injury after his May 1995 riding accident.
The injury left him without the use of his arms or legs; he could not breathe without a ventilator. He was still dealing with the horror of his injury six months later when he decided how he would spend the rest of his life.
"No one was specifically saying, `You could lead the charge on spinal cord disorders,' but hearing from certain people helped me formulate the idea,'" Reeve wrote in his 1998 memoir, "Still Me." "I have the opportunity now to make sense of this accident. I believe that it's what you do after a disaster that can give it meaning."
He used his Hollywood fame to win attention and funding for scientific study of disabilities like his and to lobby for looser restrictions on stem-cell research.
"I consider myself a spokesman for people who can't call the president or a senator or testify before Congress," Reeve said in a 1998 interview with The Associated Press.
Maggie Goldberg, spokeswoman for the Christopher Reeve Paralysis Foundation, said: "Christopher took his celebrity and turned it into a legacy."
"I'm only sorry that he won't be around anymore to benefit from it," said Henry Steifel, 39, of New York City, a quadriplegic since a car accident at 17. "He wasn't there just to lend a name; he was there to lead, to step out and challenge the accepted dogma of the time that a paralysis cure was unattainable."
In 2000, Reeve gained the ability to move his index finger, and a specialized workout regimen made his legs and arms stronger. Repeated electrical stimulation of the muscles gave him sporadic sensation in other parts of his body.
He did walk once — in a TV ad, set in the future, shown during the 2000 Super Bowl. Some were fooled by the special effects into thinking Reeve had been cured. Reeve insisted the scene was "something that can actually happen."
He may have known that his stated goal of walking was fading for him, however. In the current issue of Reader's Digest, he said, "I'm beginning to fight issues of aging as well as long-term paralysis."
Reeve, born in New York City in 1952, landed a part on the soap opera "Love of Life" in 1974. His first Broadway role was as Katharine Hepburn (news)'s grandson in "A Matter of Gravity," and his first movie role was in the 1978 submarine movie "Gray Lady Down."
Then came "Superman," fame and wealth.
After the sequels, the 6-foot-4 Reeve played a crippled Vietnam veteran in "Fifth of July" on Broadway, a lovestruck time-traveler in the movie "Somewhere in Time," and an aspiring playwright in the thriller "Deathtrap."
In 1993 he appeared with Anthony Hopkins and Emma Thompson in the critically praised "The Remains of the Day."
"I felt the best opportunities of my career still lay ahead," Reeve wrote.
But then came the accident in Culpeper, Va. He considered suicide, he wrote, but his wife told him: "I'll be with you for the long haul, no matter what. You're still you. And I love you."
Three years later, he said he didn't "go nuts" thinking about his once-active life.
"On a breezy day I'll look at the wind in the trees and realize what a great day it would be to be sailing in Maine," he told The AP as he looked out a window of his home. "Or I look at the puffy clouds and think, `I'd love to be gliding again.' And sometimes I'll say that to somebody nearby. ... And then I'll let it go."
Reeve did some directing and even returned to acting in a 1998 production of "Rear Window," an update of the Hitchcock thriller. He won a Screen Actors Guild (news - web sites) award for best actor in a TV movie or miniseries.
Recently, Reeve returned to the comic-book story that made him famous. He made several guest appearances on the WB series "Smallville" as Dr. Swann, a scientist who gave the teenage Clark Kent insight into his future as Superman.
"He was just tireless. It was just unbelievable to witness," said Al Gough, an executive producer of "Smallville."
Besides his wife, Reeve is survived by their son, Will, 12; two children from a relationship with Gae Exton, Matthew, 25, and Alexandra, 21; his mother; his father, Franklin Reeve; and a brother, Benjamin Reeve.
Funeral plans were not complete. His foundation said there were plans for a small family service and then a big gathering in New York City sometime in the next two weeks.
A link to the yahoo news article because they have the photos and slide shows and such, for as long as it stays up.
(I heard someone at work say Robin Williams was paying his medical bills for the past couple of years.)
Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry, who called Reeve a friend, led the tributes to the actor and campaigner for funding for stem cell research.
"He was an inspiration to all of us and gave hope to millions of Americans who are counting on the life-saving cures that science and research can provide," said Mr Kerry.
"He met every challenge with a courage and character that broke new ground in this struggle," he added.
...
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."
His publicist, Wesley Combs, told the BBC: "He inspired people in ways I think were surprising to some, but obvious to others, but he was a courageous individual who lived by the mantra 'nothing is impossible'
"He had a unique optimism, he had a true belief at looking at the best part of a situation. He did not look at is as being an obstacle, he looked at is as a challenge."
...
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."
...
"The one true superman has been taken from us but your red cape will fly again."
--Steve Harley
Real-Life Fighter Christopher Reeve Dies
Mon Oct 11,10:08 PM ET Entertainment - AP Gossip/Celebrity
By JIM FITZGERALD, Associated Press Writer
MOUNT KISCO, N.Y. - Christopher Reeve, the chiseled, strapping "Superman" of celluloid who became another kind of hero as a force for spinal cord research after a devastating horse-riding accident, has died at 52.
Reeve, a quadriplegic for the last nine years of his life who vowed that he would one day walk again, died Sunday of complications from an infection caused by a bedsore.
His wife, actress Dana Reeve, issued a statement thanking "the millions of fans from around the world who have supported and loved my husband over the years." His mother, Barbara Johnson, told the syndicated TV show "The Insider": "I'm glad that he is free of all those tubes."
"The world has lost a tremendous activist and artist, and an inspiration for people worldwide. I have lost a great friend," said actor and comedian Robin Williams.
After winning worldwide fame as Superman in four films from 1978 to 1987 and struggling to "escape the cape" with later roles, Reeve suddenly became the face of spinal cord injury after his May 1995 riding accident.
The injury left him without the use of his arms or legs; he could not breathe without a ventilator. He was still dealing with the horror of his injury six months later when he decided how he would spend the rest of his life.
"No one was specifically saying, `You could lead the charge on spinal cord disorders,' but hearing from certain people helped me formulate the idea,'" Reeve wrote in his 1998 memoir, "Still Me." "I have the opportunity now to make sense of this accident. I believe that it's what you do after a disaster that can give it meaning."
He used his Hollywood fame to win attention and funding for scientific study of disabilities like his and to lobby for looser restrictions on stem-cell research.
"I consider myself a spokesman for people who can't call the president or a senator or testify before Congress," Reeve said in a 1998 interview with The Associated Press.
Maggie Goldberg, spokeswoman for the Christopher Reeve Paralysis Foundation, said: "Christopher took his celebrity and turned it into a legacy."
"I'm only sorry that he won't be around anymore to benefit from it," said Henry Steifel, 39, of New York City, a quadriplegic since a car accident at 17. "He wasn't there just to lend a name; he was there to lead, to step out and challenge the accepted dogma of the time that a paralysis cure was unattainable."
In 2000, Reeve gained the ability to move his index finger, and a specialized workout regimen made his legs and arms stronger. Repeated electrical stimulation of the muscles gave him sporadic sensation in other parts of his body.
He did walk once — in a TV ad, set in the future, shown during the 2000 Super Bowl. Some were fooled by the special effects into thinking Reeve had been cured. Reeve insisted the scene was "something that can actually happen."
He may have known that his stated goal of walking was fading for him, however. In the current issue of Reader's Digest, he said, "I'm beginning to fight issues of aging as well as long-term paralysis."
Reeve, born in New York City in 1952, landed a part on the soap opera "Love of Life" in 1974. His first Broadway role was as Katharine Hepburn (news)'s grandson in "A Matter of Gravity," and his first movie role was in the 1978 submarine movie "Gray Lady Down."
Then came "Superman," fame and wealth.
After the sequels, the 6-foot-4 Reeve played a crippled Vietnam veteran in "Fifth of July" on Broadway, a lovestruck time-traveler in the movie "Somewhere in Time," and an aspiring playwright in the thriller "Deathtrap."
In 1993 he appeared with Anthony Hopkins and Emma Thompson in the critically praised "The Remains of the Day."
"I felt the best opportunities of my career still lay ahead," Reeve wrote.
But then came the accident in Culpeper, Va. He considered suicide, he wrote, but his wife told him: "I'll be with you for the long haul, no matter what. You're still you. And I love you."
Three years later, he said he didn't "go nuts" thinking about his once-active life.
"On a breezy day I'll look at the wind in the trees and realize what a great day it would be to be sailing in Maine," he told The AP as he looked out a window of his home. "Or I look at the puffy clouds and think, `I'd love to be gliding again.' And sometimes I'll say that to somebody nearby. ... And then I'll let it go."
Reeve did some directing and even returned to acting in a 1998 production of "Rear Window," an update of the Hitchcock thriller. He won a Screen Actors Guild (news - web sites) award for best actor in a TV movie or miniseries.
Recently, Reeve returned to the comic-book story that made him famous. He made several guest appearances on the WB series "Smallville" as Dr. Swann, a scientist who gave the teenage Clark Kent insight into his future as Superman.
"He was just tireless. It was just unbelievable to witness," said Al Gough, an executive producer of "Smallville."
Besides his wife, Reeve is survived by their son, Will, 12; two children from a relationship with Gae Exton, Matthew, 25, and Alexandra, 21; his mother; his father, Franklin Reeve; and a brother, Benjamin Reeve.
Funeral plans were not complete. His foundation said there were plans for a small family service and then a big gathering in New York City sometime in the next two weeks.
A link to the yahoo news article because they have the photos and slide shows and such, for as long as it stays up.
(I heard someone at work say Robin Williams was paying his medical bills for the past couple of years.)
Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry, who called Reeve a friend, led the tributes to the actor and campaigner for funding for stem cell research.
"He was an inspiration to all of us and gave hope to millions of Americans who are counting on the life-saving cures that science and research can provide," said Mr Kerry.
"He met every challenge with a courage and character that broke new ground in this struggle," he added.
...
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."
His publicist, Wesley Combs, told the BBC: "He inspired people in ways I think were surprising to some, but obvious to others, but he was a courageous individual who lived by the mantra 'nothing is impossible'
"He had a unique optimism, he had a true belief at looking at the best part of a situation. He did not look at is as being an obstacle, he looked at is as a challenge."
...
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."
...
"The one true superman has been taken from us but your red cape will fly again."
--Steve Harley