Revision 8169796 of "George Reeves" on simplewiki

{{Infobox person
| name        = George Reeves 
| image       = Stamp Day for Superman (cropped).jpg
| alt         = 
| caption     = 
| birth_name  = George Keefer Brewer 
| birth_date  = {{Birth date|1914|1|5}} 
| birth_place = [[Woolstock, Iowa]], [[United States|U.S.]]
| death_date  = {{death date|1959|6|16}} (aged 45) 
| death_place = [[Los Angeles]], [[California]], U.S. 
| nationality = [[United States|American]]
| death_cause = [[gun]]shot
| other_names = 
| known_for   = 
| occupation  = Actor
}}
'''George Reeves''' (January 5, 1914 – June 16, 1959) was an [[Americans|American]] [[actor]].

== Biography ==
Reeves was born with the name of George Keefer Brewer in [[Woolstock, Iowa|Woolstock]], [[Iowa]], [[U.S.]], son of Don Brewer and Helen Lescher. He moved to California at a young age with his mother Helen. Reeves started acting in high school and then continued to serve on student productions. In 1943, 17 months after the attack on Pearl Harbor, Reeves enrolled in aviation until the end of [[World War II]], putting his acting career on hold. 

After a successful career, Reeves died on June 16, 1959. However, the manner of death is controversial. He was officially found to have committed [[suicide]], but some people think he was murdered or a shooting victim.<ref>{{cite web|work=[[The Guardian]]|title=Who killed Superman?|date=November 17, 2006|url=https://www.theguardian.com/film/2006/nov/18/features.weekend1}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|date=August 20, 2006|work=[[The New York Times]]|title=The (Tinsel) Town That Ate Superman|first=Kristopher|last=Tapley|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2006/08/20/movies/20tapl.html?pagewanted=print}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.franksreelreviews.com/shorttakes/supermanreeves.htm|title=The Death of George Reeves – The Original Superman|publisher=Franksreelreviews.com|date=April 16, 2010|access-date=August 13, 2010}}</ref><ref>Henderson, Jan Alan, Speeding Bullet, M. Bifulco, 1999; {{ISBN|0-9619596-4-9}}</ref>

== Career ==
He began his career playing small roles in [[Short subject|short movies]] and movies as Ride, Cowboy, Ride (1939 short). In the classic movie starring [[Clark Gable]], Gone with the Wind (1939), Reeves played of role Stuart Tarleton. In the 1940 Reeves continued to make appearances in movies such as Blood and Sand (1941) with [[Tyrone Power]], So Proudly We Hail! (1943), Winged Victory (1944), Samson and Delilah (1949), and the Western starring by [[William Boyd]] Border Patrol (1943), Colt Comrades (1943), Bar 20 (1943). George Reeves got his first starring role in 1948 movie Jungle Goddess (1948), as Mike Patton, an explorer rescuing a young woman who has been kidnapped by an African tribe. He also accompanied [[Johnny Weissmuller]] in the Tarzan saga Jungle Jim (1948).

In the 1950s Reeves starred in several movies including Rancho Notorious (1952) with [[Marlene Dietrich]] - [[Arthur Kennedy]] and directed by [[Fritz Lang]], Bugles in the Afternoon (1952) with [[Ray Milland]], The Blue Gardenia (1953) by [[Fritz Lang]], and without being listed in the credits had a role in [[Fred Zinnemann]] movie, From Here to Eternity (1953) with [[Burt Lancaster]], Reeves as Sgt. Maylon Stark.

== Superman ==
He started work in television in 1948, and in 1952 he was hired to play the double character of Superman and Clark Kent in Adventures of Superman. The series was a success without precedent in American television and made Reeves famous. George Reeves played Superman for 102 episodes broadcast between 1952 and 1958.

== Television work ==
Reeves had guest appearances in television series such as ''Kraft Television Theatre'' (1949-1952), ''Believe It or Not'' (1950), ''The Ford Television Theatre'' (1952), ''Fireside Theatre'' (1952), and ''I Love Lucy'' (1957) playing Superman.

==References==
{{reflist}}

==Other websites==
* {{IMDb name|1660}}
* {{tv.com person|79537}}
* {{tcmdb name|59286}}
* {{Find a Grave|1284}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Reeves, George}}
[[Category:1914 births]]
[[Category:1959 deaths]]
[[Category:Actors from Iowa]]
[[Category:Actors who committed suicide]]
[[Category:American movie actors]]
[[Category:American television actors]]
[[Category:Suicides by firearm in the United States]]