Monday. 10.11.04 7:40 am
'Superman' Christopher Reeve Dies at 52
18 minutes ago Movies - AP
By JIM FITZGERALD, Associated Press Writer
MOUNT KISCO, N.Y. - Actor Christopher Reeve, who soared through the air and leapt tall buildings as "Superman," turned personal tragedy into a public crusade, becoming the nation's most recognizable spokesman for spinal cord research — from a wheelchair. Reeve went into cardiac arrest Saturday while at his Pound Ridge home, then fell into a coma and died Sunday at a hospital surrounded by his family, his publicist said. He was 52.
His advocacy for stem cell research helped it emerge as a major campaign issue between President Bush (news - web sites) and his Democratic opponent, John Kerry (news - web sites). His name was even mentioned by Kerry during the second presidential debate Friday evening.
Reeve, left paralyzed from the neck down after a riding accident and who pushed for funding to help others like himself, was hospitalized the following day. In the last week Reeve had developed a serious systemic infection from a pressure wound, a common complication for people living with paralysis.
Dana Reeve, Christopher's wife, thanked her husband's personal staff of nurses and aides, "as well as the millions of fans from around the world who have supported and loved my husband over the years."
Reeve's life changed completely after he broke his neck in May 1995 when he was thrown from his horse during an equestrian competition in Culpeper, Va.
Enduring months of therapy to allow him to breathe for longer and longer periods without a respirator, Reeve emerged to lobby Congress for better insurance protection against catastrophic injury and to move an Academy Award audience to tears with a call for more films about social issues.
"Hollywood needs to do more," he said in the March 1996 Oscar awards appearance. "Let's continue to take risks. Let's tackle the issues. In many ways our film community can do it better than anyone else. There is no challenge, artistic or otherwise, that we can't meet."
He returned to directing, and even returned to acting in a 1998 production of "Rear Window," a modern update of the Hitchcock thriller about a man in a wheelchair who becomes convinced a neighbor has been murdered. Reeve won a Screen Actors Guild (news - web sites) award for best actor.
"I was worried that only acting with my voice and my face, I might not be able to communicate effectively enough to tell the story," Reeve said. "But I was surprised to find that if I really concentrated, and just let the thoughts happen, that they would read on my face. With so many close-ups, I knew that my every thought would count."
In 2000, Reeve was able to move his index finger, and a specialized workout regimen made his legs and arms stronger. He also regained sensation in other parts of his body. He vowed to walk again.
"I refuse to allow a disability to determine how I live my life. I don't mean to be reckless, but setting a goal that seems a bit daunting actually is very helpful toward recovery," Reeve said.
Before the accident, his athletic, 6-foot-4-inch frame and love of adventure made him a natural, if largely unknown, choice for the title role in the first "Superman" movie in 1978. He insisted on performing his own stunts.
Although he reprised the role three times, Reeve often worried about being typecast as an action hero.
Though he owed his fame to it, Reeve made a concerted effort to, as he often put it, "escape the cape." He played an embittered, crippled Vietnam veteran in the 1980 Broadway play "Fifth of July," a lovestruck time-traveler in the 1980 movie "Somewhere in Time," and an aspiring playwright in the 1982 suspense thriller "Deathtrap."
More recent films included John Carpenter's "Village of the Damned," and the HBO movies "Above Suspicion" and "In the Gloaming," which he directed. Among his other film credits are "The Remains of the Day," "The Aviator," and "Morning Glory."
Reeve was born Sept. 25, 1952, in New York City, son of a novelist and a newspaper reporter. About the age of 10, he made his first stage appearance — in Gilbert and Sullivan's "The Yeoman of the Guard" at McCarter Theater in Princeton, N.J.
After graduating from Cornell University in 1974, he landed a part as coldhearted bigamist Ben Harper (news) on the television soap opera "Love of Life." He also performed frequently on stage, winning his first Broadway role as the grandson of a character played by Katharine Hepburn (news) in "A Matter of Gravity."
Reeve's first movie role was a minor one in the submarine disaster movie "Gray Lady Down," released in 1978. "Superman" soon followed. Reeve was selected for the title role from among about 200 aspirants.
Active in many sports, Reeve owned several horses and competed in equestrian events regularly. Witnesses to the 1995 accident said Reeve's horse had cleared two of 15 fences during the jumping event and stopped abruptly at the third, flinging the actor headlong to the ground. Doctors said he fractured the top two vertebrae in his neck and damaged his spinal cord.
While filming "Superman" in London, Reeve met modeling agency co-founder Gae Exton, and the two began a relationship that lasted several years. The couple had two sons, but were never wed.
Reeve later married Dana Morosini; they had one son, Will, 11. Reeve also is survived by his mother, Barbara Johnson; his father, Franklin Reeve; his brother, Benjamin Reeve; and his two children from his relationship with Exton, Matthew, 25, and Alexandra, 21.
No plans for a funeral were immediately announced.
A few months after the accident, he told interviewer Barbara Walters that he considered suicide in the first dark days after he was injured. But he quickly overcame such thoughts when he saw his children.
"I could see how much they needed me and wanted me... and how lucky we all are and that my brain is on straight."
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The Basics
1. First name:Margaret
2. Middle name: Anne
3. Last name: if you don't know it....oh well!
4. Nickname(s): Mags Maggie Bitch Evil Twin Diva Gypsy
5. Screen names: (aim)amricangypsygirl allamericangypsygirl (y!im)
6. Gender: Female
7. Age: 23
8. Type of Music: pretty much everything but heavy metal and techno
9. Birthdate:March 11th
10.Birthplace: Pittsburgh PA
11.Zodiac sign: Pisces
12.Current location: Salem Ohio
13.Live with: My Boyfriend Toby My daughter Kahli and my son Ricky
14.Last School Attended: Langley High School
15.Grade/Year(if in college): none available
16.Graduation date/year: June 1999
17.GPA: 3.8
18.Height: 5'4.75"
19.Hair color: Deep Burgandy w/ Cranberry sorta highlights. Looks kinda purple.
20.Highlights/dyed: Friday for the first time
21.Hair length: Layered to my shoulderblades
22.Eye color: Hazel
23.Contacts/glasses:Supposed to wear glasses but don't cos I need a new pair...
24.Freckles: a few on my face
25.Birthmark(s): I have a brown one on my right arm,
26.Scar(s): left hand numerous on legs....
27.Type(s) of clothes you wear: Whatever is most comfortable for me. I prefer jeans and a shirt really.
28.Cologne/Perfume you wear: natural scents like fresia or lavander
29.Deodorant you use:Dove
Family Life
30.Mom's name:Jean
31.Dad's name: Joe
33.Closest family member: Don't have one
34.Family member you could live without: Can I make a list and Post it later?
35.Last family member you've seen:My daughter just asking me for a popsicle
36.Oldest: Me
37.Youngest: Frank (he's the only one)
38.Family member who lives the farthest away: Grandpap Brooks Carrie Ash and Em...
39.Fondest memory: Watching my kids play together
40.Memory you miss the most: Anything to do with my nephew Joey
41.Family member you wish the mafia would kill: I wouldn't say kill...that's a lil' harsh, Have a list for this one too...
42.Worst memory: My aunt Cris dying in 1999
43.What you did yesterday: Went to a Bar-B-Que at Cassies other than that nothing.
44.What you did so far today:Got up, Made breakfast, Got online, Took the kids outside for a bit.
When is the:
46.Last person you talked to online: Will
47.Last movie you've seen: Shrek
48.Last song you heard on the radio: What happens in mexico
49.Last CD you played: I don't listen to CD's Last song I've heard was My Confession (Etheracide)
50.Last thing you said out loud: In a minute
51.Last time you showered: yesterday
52.Last book you read: Secret Garden
54.Last time you sang: NOW....
55.Last time you danced: a little bit ago
56.Last thing you ate/drank: maple sausage patties and eggs
Believe it or Not
57.Aliens: Skeptical - I don't doubt they are there, I just prefer to think they aren't lol.
58.Angels: I don't know if I would say angels, but I do believe in spirits...if that makes any sense
59.Demons:same as above...good and bad spirits
60.Heaven & Hell: I believe your soul goes through phases while you are dying and thereon after. After that I guess you can choose where you want to go. IMO we are in hell with this Government.<~~ I agree, I wouldn't necessarily say it's heaven and hell
61.God: I believe that there is a higher power, but I wouldn't say that I believe in the God that the bible talks about
62.Your friends: depends on the friend, certain ones definately. Mims, Wendie, Christopher-Michael, Toby, Cassie
Friendships
64.Best friends:Mims, Wendie and Toby
65.Last friend you talked to: Mims just now
66.Funniest: Does My brother count?
67.Silliest: See Above
68.Loudest: Tim
70.Stupidest: Kelly.... I have a really long list of reasons why...
71.Sweetest: Mims... She just is.
72.Weirdest: trust me they are all weird in their own ways
73.Best at keeping secrets: Mims and Wendie
74.Most hyper: Bobbie Jo
75.Most annoying: Cassie (Smyth not Baker)
76.Friend you miss most: Mims
77.Friend you've known the longest: Mims
78.Friend you haven't known long: Wendie
Word Association
79.Bill Clinton: America was good
80.Lollipops: ORal Fixation
81.Whipped Cream: Strawberries!
82.Dreams: Made to strive for
83.Love: Good and Bad
84.South Park: Kenny!
85.Guys: trouble
86.Girls: cat fight
87.Death: hurts
88.Bubble gum: yuck
89.Water: thirst
90.Ice Cream: yummy
91.Oil: Spill
92.Phone: annoying
93.Food: steak
94.Kiss: my ass?
95.Pretzels: Nacho cheese
96.Britney Spears: Toxic
97.School: I wanna go back
98.Floppy: Breasts
99.Shoes:Skechers
Have you ever?
100.Been on a plane: Yes
101.Cried in public: Yes but I don't like to so it's been a while.
102.Climbed a tree: yes
103.Gotten in a physical fight: Yes
104.Drank alcohol: Yes
105.Fell asleep in a movie theater: Yes
106.Driven a car: Once I wrecked it... well knocked off the liscenes plate....
107.Been arrested: not yet?
108.Broken curfew: of course...then my parents gave up!
109.Been pulled over when driving: nope
110.Farted in public: Haha
111.Met a celebrity: I have met quite a few actually
112.Skipped school: I think I skipped school more than I attended school
113.Went to a pro sports game: tons...
114.Met the president: Clinton in front of his office building in NYC
115.Been scared to get shot:Umm yeah duh... I lived in harlem for 4 yrs!
116. moke a cigarette: nope
117.Gotten a cavity: Yes
118.Done any drugs: nope
119.Shopped at Abercrombie & Fitch: NEVER!
119 1/2.Shopped at HotTopic: Torrid
120.Gone skinny-dipping: Yes
Favorites
121.Food: Steak or anything grilled
122.Drink: Lemonade or Livewire
123.TV show: But I would have to say OCC
124.Movie: lately... Pirates
125.CD: My burned ones
126.Song: I have a lot of those
127.Color: cool colors....blues, purples and greens
128.Day of the week: Anyday I can watch the kids play outside... Or cuddle up with my baby...
129.Month: Don't really have a favorite month.
130.Number: 3
132.Favorite Car: I dunno.... I have a bunch
133.Cookie: Oreo
134.Toothpaste: Colgate
135.Ice Cream: Cookies and Cream
137.Candy bar: Almond Hershies
138.TV channel: TLC
139.Radio station: K-105
140.Artist/band: I have tons, but my top 3 would have to be Evanessance, Poison, The Cure
141.Shampoo/conditioner: Tressume
143.Website: either nuTang or my webpage
144.Word: Mom
145.Emotion: happiness
146.Place: in the arms of my man
147.Subject: Psychology and any art class
148.Kind of candle: candles...hmmmm black cherry
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