In the early morning of June 16, 1959, George was found dead . Reeves spoke out about these difficulties in a 1958 Evening Star article frankly titled No Work for Superman. When asked why he took the role, he said simply, I was hungry. But after six years, he was having a hard time pushing his career forward. 'See thereI told you so! The official ruling was suicide. A few minutes later a shot was heard and the foursome ran upstairs. The second half of the show was Reeves out of costume as himself, singing and accompanying himself on the guitar. 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. Reeves, however, earned additional income from personal appearances. Fellow actors Gig Young and Alan Ladd publicly doubted that Reeves took his own life. Separated from his wife (their divorce became final in 1950), Reeves moved to New York City in 1949. 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. The Suspicious Death of George Reeves. Peterson as saying: "Miss Lemmon blurted, 'He's probably going to go shoot himself.' He died instantly and fell backwards, his feet still hungover the bed and his back on the mattress. 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. 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. After, they returned home and continued drinking. Those windows overlook the backyard and there is a garage under the guest bedroom. Show more. Talking to friend Millicent Trent, Bliss said Lemmon had actually rushed down the stairs after the gunshot and urged them to Tell them I was down here! Army. 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. [24] As for Port of Entry, Reeves was never able to gain financing for the project, and the show was never made. They had no children and divorced 10 years later.[16]. His dad left the family shortly after and his mother moved with her infant son to California. Lemmon moved into his house, and they were to be married on June 18. He was contracted to Warner Brothers at the time, and the actor's professional name became "George Reeves" and his GWTW screen credit reflects the change. Their relationship was full of booze and bickering. It was a bullet to the head. 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. Or was the culprit his new girlfriend, the volatile and temperamental Lemmon, who had argued with Reeves the night of his death about the late night party she was having whilst he tried to sleep off his own night of heavy drinking? The following is taken from the official autopsy report: Exactly what happened that night was never fully resolved, due to varying drunken accounts. 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). Its Superman! The iconic intro blazed into American households on Sept. 19, 1952. Some even say George Reeves appears at the foot of the bed every now and then, dressed as Superman. Reeves usually had an open door policy, but not after midnight. 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. He was working on creating a fulfilling career for himself. Other evidence that casts doubt on this scenario is the lack of burn marks on Reeves back. Death 06/10/1945 - Rebaul N.G. Jack Larson and Noel Neill both remembered Reeves as a noble Southern gentleman (even though he was from Iowa) with a sign on his dressing room door that said "Honest George, the people's friend". 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. 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. 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. Their suspicions werent entirely fueled by grief and denialthe evidence was puzzling. The issues wasnt just career frustration. The woman on the other end of the line was a woman named Toni Mannix. The official finding was suicide, but some believe that he was murdered or the victim of an accidental shooting. Reeves death was quickly ruled a suicide, but some facts of the case appear to be murky at best. Reeves new girlfriend, who had since moved in, was a New York socialite named Leonore Lemmon, with whom he was rumored to be engaged. 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. According to the statements given to the police (statements that were no doubt slurred), Reeves came down to ask them to be quiet, they convinced him to stay for a drink, and then he stomped his way back upstairs. November 5, 2022. in Arts, Culture, News. The Mannixs relationship was unusual even by the standards of Hollywood. Reeves fit the rugged requirements of the roles and, with his retentive memory for dialogue, he did well under rushed production conditions. [17] Warner changed his professional name to George Reeves. 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. When his mother moved to California to be with her sister, it was said Reeves never saw his father again. Had Reeves gotten cold feet about their supposed wedding, or been caught on the phone to Toni Mannix? Nosotros, Yahoo, somos parte de la familia de marcas de Yahoo. Eddie Mannix wasnt just a heavy in Hollywood, he was also rumored to have mob connections. Reeves was transferred to the Army Air Forces' First Motion Picture Unit, where he made training films. However, it was obvious that many parts of the investigation were not performed as they should have been. The report made by the Los Angeles Police states, "[Reeves was] depressed because he couldn't get the sort of parts he wanted." He served as national chairman for the Myasthenia Gravis Foundation in 1955. The costume Reeves donned as Superman on TV. 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. 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. There were also bruises on Reeves head and body. He looked forward to working with So Proudly We Hail! The characters involved range from colorful to drunk to suspicious, having by now taken any secrets they may be hiding to their gravesIn . Two, Eddie Mannix killed the actor in revenge for upsetting his wife. He had affection for his young fans, and took his role-model status seriously. The actor was discovered laying face up on his bed, naked, with a single gunshot wound to his right temple and a .30 caliber Luger on the floor in between his lifeless feet. The same cast was very quickly taken on for a television series, The Adventures of Superman, sponsored by Kellogg's cereal, which began airing late in 1952. According to the autopsy report, Reeves had taken his .30 caliber German Luger pistol, placed it near his right temple and pulled the trigger. He referred to the show that had made him famous as scraping the bottom of the barrel, and would burn the costume he called a monkey suit at the wrap of each season. 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). The official verdict was that Reeves had committed suicide, the weight of his troubles having become too much for him to bear. 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. Newspapers and wire-service reports quoted LAPD Sergeant V.A. At the beginning of his life, George Reeves was a Midwesterner by birth but, as he grew older, he made his way out to California with his mother. 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. On 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. Wikimedia CommonsReeves played opposite Vivien Leigh as one of the Tarleton twins in Gone With the Wind. It was during this fallow period that he was approached about playing the role that would come to define his life. Loved the commercial..how cool! 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. Why had Lemmon waited for so long - 45 minutes or so, to call the police? Leonore Lemmon became an alcoholic, got fat, suffered from Dementia and died in 1990. [17] Reeves appeared in five Hopalong Cassidy westerns before being cast as Lieutenant John Summers opposite Claudette Colbert in So Proudly We Hail! I told you, hes shot himself., When the cops arrived on the scene, Lemmon told them she had been only kidding when she made her strange remarks. Another rumor was that a car was heard speeding away from the house as well. The home has not changed much since the mid-fifties. Lemmon and writer Robert Condon, who was staying at the house, were more than happy to entertain the group, but Reeves was already in bed and was not pleased by the ruckus downstairs. George Reeves (born George Keefer . She sounded very disturbed and was hyperventilating as she rasped, The boy is dead. 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? After Gone with the Wind was filmed, Reeves returned to the Pasadena Playhouse and was given the lead role in the play Pancho. The year before Reeves death he abruptly ended his relationship with Mannix, leaving her for the younger New York socialite Leonore Lemmon. The story told by those there that night is full of holes, the evidence perplexing and poorly handled. However, rumors suspect that there was foul play involved in his passing. Upon hearing of George's demise, he went to the house and the . 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). The book was published as 'The Archie Moore Story, as told to Bob Condon'. However, many of his friends and colleagues believe the actor was murdered, his death the stormy culmination of a tangled love life. Was his role to distract the house guests and facilitate the entry of a hitman to do away with Reeves? [1][2][3][4][5][6], Reeves was born January 5, 1914,[7][8] as George Keefer Brewer in Woolstock, Iowa, the son of Donald Carl Brewer and Helen Lescher. Over the years, occupants of the house have been plagued by not only the sound of a single gunshot that echoes in the darkness, but strange lights, and even the apparition of George Reeves According to Kashner and Schoenberger (A Talent for Genius), however, unanswered details about Reeves's demise shroud what in truth was foul play. Create a scavenger hunt using this waymark as the center point. The night Superman died and an enduring mystery was born. 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. The police had never checked Reeves fingers for residue to see if he pulled the trigger nor did they count the number of bullets remaining in the gun. THE ADVENTURES OF SUPERMAN (1951-1957) - unknown actor (left) with George Reeves as "Superman." He was lucky to escape with head injuries that required him to take powerful painkillers right up until the night he died. Hes been murdered. This kind of phone call would not have been out of the ordinary for Lois Lane, the character Coates famously played on TV. For whatever reason, though, in my ten-plus years of living in Los Angeles, I had yet to stalk the former Supermans home. This prevented long-term work on major films with long schedules, stage plays that might lead to a lengthy run, or any other series work.[24]. After the war, Reeves returned to Hollywood. I don't know what happened to George. 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. He was dead from a single gunshot wound to his right temple. The Mysterious Death of Superman. The official cause of death for Reeves was ruled a suicide. As TVs original Superman, George Reeves was the ultimate hero to millions of children. He was getting work as a director, and he had agreed to do another season of Superman, in which he would also direct quite a few episodes of. Despite these suspicions, the Los Angeles Police Department officially ruled the death a suicide, on little more than a cursory investigation. There was a real man behind the superhero, whose tragic early death will likely forever be a mystery. George Reeves' death was ruled a suicide, . Cuando utilizas nuestros sitios y aplicaciones, usamos. . Mannix died in 1983 at the age of 77--her husband Eddie had died in 1963. But not even Lane could have imagined that the dead boy was none other than Superman George Reeves himself. Would the actor, generally described as an ordinary, straightforward kind of guy, really have killed himself in a house full of guests, especially choosing to do so naked - highly unusual in suicides? While Reeves may have been famous for being Superman, the role wasnt making him a whole lot of money. If Mannix was trying to extinguish the Man of Steel, its unlikely she pulled the trigger that night at 1579 Benedict Canyon. And they call me Superman!). Photo by ABC Photo Archives/ABC via Getty ImagesPhyllis Coates and George Reeves in The Adventures of Superman. He is best known for portraying Superman in the television series Adventures of Superman (19521958). Mobster Mickey Cohen once described Toni Mannix as the only person in Hollywood who had any balls. Conspiracy theories abound and Reeves death has remained the stuff of Hollywood legend for over five decades since. Lemmon says George Reeves committed suicide. The 2006 film Hollywoodland, starring Ben Affleck as Reeves and Adrien Brody as a fictional investigator loosely based on actual detective Milo Speriglio, dramatizes the investigation of Reeves' death. According to commentaries on the Adventures of Superman DVD sets, multiple scripts were filmed simultaneously to take advantage of the standing sets; for example, all the "Perry White's office" scenes for three or four episodes would be shot the same day and the various "apartment" scenes would be done consecutively. Walker's property became known as "Houdini's House." Shortly after Houdini died on Halloween . What raised eyebrows regarding Reeves' death is that he was found naked in his bedroom by his guests during a small gathering at 1:59 a.m.; his guests waited 45 minutes to call police; detectives found additional bullet holes in the floor of his bedroom; bruises were found on Reeves' body; shell casings were discovered in strange locations; and a Coates was amongst many of Reeves friends and co-stars who did not believe he would have killed himself. 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. Not the comic book character, of course, but the man who personified the "real" Superman for an entire generation of television fans. Leonore Lemmon was, by all accounts, a bit of a hell-raiser. This is the house, and home, that Superman actor George Reeves lived and died in. 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. Lemmon had called them after she and her party guests had found Reeves dead in his bedroom. 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. Then check out 48 photos that capture vintage Hollywood. 1. Nobody wanted me to work at all. Last edited on 17 February 2023, at 06:25, Look, Up in the Sky: The Amazing Story of Superman, Learn how and when to remove this template message, "The Death of George Reeves The Original Superman", "The Life and Tragic Death of 'Superman' Star George Reeves Plus the Actor in his Own Words", "7 super things you might not know about George Reeves", "11 Homes That Are Haunted by Dead Celebrities", "Was Superman star George Reeves a suicide or murder victim? The roles just werent coming his way. Tall and chisel jawed, Reeves was the perfect choice to play the all American hero in the syndicated television show the Adventures of Superman. And that was the scene that was set on June 15, 1959. gruesome and unsolved murder of the Black Dahlia. In the home of actor George Reeves, people frantically handed somebody else their martini glass and then tried to wake the naked couple in bed, though the police wouldn't be called for nearly an hour.Earlier that evening, Reeves and his fiance had gotten into an argument at a restaurant or two and, despite planning to wed in only four days' time, Reeves reportedly wanted . "Actress to Wed." Philadelphia Inquirer, September 18, 1940. 1579 Benedict Canyon Dr, Beverly Hills, CA 90210. According to biographer Jim Beaver, Reeves did not know for several years that Bessolo was still alive. At 45 and craving more serious work, the prospect of yet again trudging around the country in tights and cape, as children threw stones at him and teenagers challenged him to fights, may have become too much bare. [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. however to this day there is an air of mystery surrounding Reeves' death. 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. Mother Victoria Alice Mason. The husband of Reeves jilted lover was the infamous Eddie Mannix, a fixer at MGM during the golden age of studios, when his job was to make stars problems vanish. He performed on live television anthology programs, as well as on radio. [1][2], His death at age 45 from a gunshot remains controversial. 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. He was inundated with menacing silent phone calls at all hours of the morning and someone even abducted his beloved dog Sam. [28] He appeared as Superman on I Love Lucy (Episode #165, "Lucy and Superman") in 1957. 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 himself was convinced it was Mannix behind a string of strange incidents that had befallen him in the aftermath of their breakup. George Reeves from "Superman" had a mysterious death that saw him die from a single gunshot wound to the head. Reeves knew the show could potentially be popular, but it was almost because of that that he was reticent to take it on. George Reeves was depressed and whilst entertaining guests at his home he he inexplicably left the room, placed a pistol to his right temple and pulled the trigger. 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. Reeves began acting and singing in high school and continued performing on stage as a student at Pasadena Junior College. 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. Seeing the neighbors, he told them, Get out. He is best known for portraying Superman in the television series Adventures of Superman (1952-1958). He was 40 years old and wanted to quit and move on with his career. Reeves reportedly never saw his father again. The areas which appeared in the commercial include the den; the master bedroom (where the actor died); and the backyard. Perhaps he came a little too close to the truth. The film won the Academy Award for Best Picture and gave Reeves the distinction of appearing in two "Best Picture" films. Reeves then apologized, and the group sat around talking. Many studios were slowing down their production schedules, however, and some production units had shut down completely. George Reeves hit the television jackpot when he landed the dual role of Clark Kent/Superman in the television series The Adventures of Superman. Released from his Warners contract, he signed a contract at Twentieth Century-Fox but was released after only a handful of films. It is located in a fairly modest area, even though the asking price in 1995 was $625,000. '"[29], Reeves, Noel Neill, Natividad Vaco, Gene LeBell, and a trio of musicians toured with a public-appearance show from 1957 onward. George Reeves was dead. 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! He was also engaged to Leonore Lemmon, a New York showgirl. 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. Was he responsible, on behalf of his wronged wife, for the misfortunes that had befallen Reeves in the run up to his death? . According to legend, the house at 1579 Benedict Canyon Drive in Los Angeles where actor George Reeves died of a gunshot wound to the head early in the morning of June 16, 1959 is haunted. [17] He avoided smoking cigarettes where children could see him and eventually quit smoking. Attempting to showcase his versatility, Reeves sang on the Tony Bennett show in August 1956. Reeves was born five months into their marriage[9] and the couple separated soon after Reeves's birth. [15] They married on September 22, 1940, in San Gabriel, California, at the Church of Our Savior. Hes going upstairs to shoot himself, she allegedly said. Mannix, who had ties to the mob, had him whacked due to the affair. 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. George's fiancee Lenore Lemmon claims that in . Conversely, not everyone who is depressed about their career takes their own life. Besides, she was married to the most dangerous man in Hollywood, who had a formidable reputation for been able to make problems disappear. [18] He was assigned to the U.S. Army Air Forces and performed in the USAAF's Broadway show Winged Victory. Look! There she had met and married Frank Joseph Bessolo by 1927, according to that year's federal census. The police ruled his death a suicide, but rumors quickly surfaced that Reeves was. 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. A script was commissioned from David Chantler, who had written many of the TV scripts. Los Angeles Police Department Death Report, June 26, 1959. They divorced 10 years later and had no children. In the early hours of June 16, Mannix called Coates; she was hysterical and told her friend that Reeves had been murdered. The film suggests three possible scenarios: accidental shooting by Lemmon, murder by an unnamed hitman under orders from Eddie Mannix, and suicide. [27], His good friend Bill Walsh, a producer at Disney Studios, gave Reeves a prominent role in Westward Ho the Wagons!