The brown-shingled bungalow, which was built in 1947, boasts 2 bedrooms, 3 baths, and 1,717 square feet. 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. At his funeral, he was laid to rest in the same suit that he wore on the TV show as "Clark Kent." She also had a reputation as a gold digger, having married twice before for money. . According to Larson, Reeves also said he would feel better about the role if he knew he had any adult fans but never learned that Adventures of Superman had adult fans even during its original broadcast run.[17]. You can watch George Reeves Kelloggs Corn Flakes commercial by clicking above. But even more importantly, The Adventures of Superman was marketed mostly towards a younger audience. On 16 June 1959, George Reeves retired to his bed at 12, after going out for dinner with his fianc, Leonore. 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. 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. He was able to play against type and starred as a villainous gold hunter in a Johnny Weissmuller Jungle Jim film. They had no children and divorced 10 years later.[16]. A noise was heard upstairs. Coates had become a mutual friend of both her Superman co-star and Tony Mannix. However, these were never investigated and Giesler strangely refused to work on the case any longer. Their relationship was full of booze and bickering. The Mysterious Death of Superman. Had the jilted older woman taken things one step too far and shot Reeves in a jealous rage? Another rumor was that a car was heard speeding away from the house as well. Learn about George Reeves death and the true story behind the Hollywoodland movie starring Ben Affleck as TV's Superman. 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. George's fiancee Lenore Lemmon claims that in . But unable to find work, perhaps George felt he had little choice but to return to a part that clearly caused him much anguish. While he and Lemmon were supposed to get married only a few days after his death, Lemmon allegedly had soured on him after she realized the older Superman wasnt quite the loaded Hollywood player she thought he was. 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. Is her confession credible? 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. 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. ", Death of Superman may not have been a suicide, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=George_Reeves&oldid=1139854102, Credited erroneously onscreen as playing Brent Tarleton (see above), This page was last edited on 17 February 2023, at 06:25. On June 15, George and Leonore had gone out to a rather boozy dinner, to celebrate the upcoming marriage. When his mother moved to California to be with her sister, it was said Reeves never saw his father again. 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. Many believe that the ghostly appearances by the actor lend credence to the idea that he was murdered. Around one in the morning they were joined by two of the neighbors, at which point Reeves, who had already been in bed, stomped downstairs to yell at his guests. While Reeves may have been famous for being Superman, the role wasnt making him a whole lot of money. SUPERMAN MURDER SOLVED! 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. All was not well behind the scenes in Metropolis. Since a 9mm Luger generally ejects its shells to the right, it's hard to conceive what position the actor must have been in when he fired for it to have ended up underneath him. He complained to friends, columnists, and his mother of his financial problems. The issues wasnt just career frustration. 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 . On June 16, 1959, Reeves died from a single gunshot wound in the bedroom of his Benedict Canyon home. [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. The official finding was suicide, but some believe that he was murdered or the victim of an accidental shooting. 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. 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. Everyone involved is now dead, and little or no evidence from the crime scene remains. [17] He avoided smoking cigarettes where children could see him and eventually quit smoking. Nobody wanted me to work at all. He was cremated in Ohio, and ashes given to his mother, who then died in 1964. George Reeves' death was ruled a suicide, . However, many studios were slowing down their production schedules, and some production units had shut down completely. Nosotros, Yahoo, somos parte de la familia de marcas de Yahoo. She sounded very disturbed and was hyperventilating as she rasped, The boy is dead. Her devastation at been rejected by her boy had pushed her to the ultimate reprisal. See real George Reeves photos, and pics of the real Eddie Mannix, Toni Mannix, Leonore Lemmon and others. Reeves wrote the pilot script himself. Quick Description: The actor George Reeves house where TV's "Superman," was found dead of a head gunshot wound on June 16, 1959. According to biographer Jim Beaver, Reeves did not know for several years that Bessolo was still alive. 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. No charges were ever brought against anyone in connection to the case. Is there any truth in the persistent rumours that Reeves was murdered? When they returned home, they continued to kick back the alcohol until around 12:30 p.m., at which point Reeves retired to his bedroom. 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. U.S. World War II Army Enlistment Records 19381946, dated March24, 1943, Speeding Bullet, 2nd Ed, by Jan Alan Henderson, p. 151. He was initially reluctant to take the role because, like many actors of his time, he considered television unimportant and believed few would see his work. There were also fresh bruises on the body. Giesler called for a second autopsy. It all seemed so simple. Para obtener ms informacin sobre cmo utilizamos tus datos personales, consulta nuestra Poltica de privacidad y Poltica de cookies. He was dead from a single gunshot wound to his right temple. And did that scandal involve one of the most powerful men in the movie business, Toni Maddoxs husband Eddie? And then there were the bruising and other marks on Reevess body. Leonore Lemmon was, by all accounts, a bit of a hell-raiser. But she was also suffering from alzheimer's at the time of her death, and may have confused fact with the many fictions that had long circulated about the death of her former lover. Mannix, who had ties to the mob, had him whacked due to the affair. And so, almost forty years later, we are left wondering. The coroner ruled it suicide. But the scandalous and suspicious way he met his death in 1959 could not have been further removed from his role as the Man of Steel. Many studios were slowing down their production schedules, however, and some production units had shut down completely. Reeves mother refused to believe her son had killed himself and hired famous Hollywood lawyer Jerry Giesler to investigate further. She had talked to him days before, and, according to her, he was in a splendid state of mind. She had the body exhumed, and a second autopsy was performed. Forty-five minutes later, the police were called. 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. At this time, Reeves and his mother moved from Iowa to Ashland, Kentucky, to stay with relatives for a time[10] and then to her home of Galesburg, Illinois.[11]. Reeves was apparently scheduled to marry Lemmon on June 19 and then spend their honeymoon in Tijuana. 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. When Officers Johnson and Korby entered the . Reeves death was quickly ruled a suicide, but some facts of the case appear to be murky at best. Hes going upstairs to shoot himself, she allegedly said. According to the autopsy report, Reeves had taken his .30 caliber German Luger pistol, placed it near his right temple and pulled the trigger. Superman had been cancelled and Reeves had struggled to find the serious work he craved. According to Larson, Reeves said that if Mark Sandrich had not died, he would not be there in "this monkey suit". His personal life took a turn for the worse a long-term affair with another man's common-law wife ended badly; he finally filed a restraining order against her. September6, 1892 was the daughter of George Christian Lescher and Eliza Jane McKenzie, she died in a Pasadena hospital on June 18, 1964. The house where George lived is fairly modest for the area, but the asking price in 1995 was $625,000. [17] Warner changed his professional name to George Reeves. [17] His friend Teddi Sherman introduced him to her father, producer Harry Sherman, who asked Reeves to do a screen test with Teddi for the Hopalong Cassidy films. (1956), in which Reeves wore a beard and mustache. Up in the sky! His work on the show would earn him fame as the Original Superman, even though that wasnt technically true. wow..thats a great articleby the way, Ive read those article in other site about his deathit is written that a ghostly phenomena has been reported at the former Reeves house ever since his death? 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. Reeves' friend Rory Calhoun told a reporter "No one in Hollywood believed the suicide story." 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. [17] Reeves fit the rugged requirements of the roles, and, with his retentive memory for dialogue, he did well under rushed production conditions. 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. He performed on live television anthology programs, as well as on radio. Jim Beaver is just as convinced that George's death was a suicide, as was reported in the newspapers of the day. The producers looked elsewhere for a new star.[25]. 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. Witnesses in the house who behaved a little oddly but heard the whole thing. Miss Lemmon then made the statement, He is going to shoot himself. Shortly, they heard a dresser drawer being opened upstairs, and Miss Lemmon commented, He is getting the gun out now, and he is going to shoot himself. Moments later, a shot was heard, and they ran upstairs to see what happened. Embattled New York Rep. George Santos said Thursday that he is "fully cooperating" with the House Ethics Committee, which is . Lemmon stayed awake and about thirty minutes later three friends dropped by for a visit. This includes accusations of murder directed at his fiance and ex-girlfriend. After the war, Reeves returned to Hollywood. And they call me Superman!). George Reeves died of a gunshot wound to his head in the upstairs bedroom at his home in Benedict Canyon. Reeves new girlfriend, who had since moved in, was a New York socialite named Leonore Lemmon, with whom he was rumored to be engaged. Eddies exploits in covering up the sleazy underbelly of Hollywood were legendary. The police did not treat the house as a crime scene, and Lemmon was able to return shortly after they had left, have the bloody sheets washed, retrieve $4000 in travellers cheques and leave Los Angeles for New York, never to return again, not even for Reeves funeral. 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. "Actress to Wed." Philadelphia Inquirer, September 18, 1940. George Reeves death home- Beverly Hills, CA - Infamous Crime Scenes on Waymarking.com. Reeves and Leonore Lemmon. [17] He was drafted in early 1943. George Reeves may not be the first actor that springs to mind when you think of Superman, but the star's untimely death put him at the centre of a conspiracy theory malestrom.. Reeves was actually . 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. I was depressed, and I accepted instantly that he had committed suicide, Larson told Unsolved Mysteries in 1995. If Mannix was trying to extinguish the Man of Steel, its unlikely she pulled the trigger that night at 1579 Benedict Canyon. The stairs turn and continue upward to the bedroom where George slept. Its too late for this nonsense. Leonore asked, Is this a joke or a shoot? meaning was he kidding around, or what? Reeves and Sherman impressed the casting director by performing seven pages of script in a single take without pause. The producers wouldnt give me a job. 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. Show more. Was the star of 50s TV show The Adventures of Superman murdered? 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. The show was a smashing success, drawing huge audiences each episode. 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. Fellow actors Gig Young and Alan Ladd publicly doubted that Reeves took his own life. 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. 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. Loved the commercial..how cool! He is best known for portraying Superman in the television series Adventures of Superman (19521958). Whilst highly speculative, some corroboration to this comes from Reeves own Lois Lane, actress Phyllis Coates. [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. 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]. But it wasnt just Reeves career that was going through a dramatic turn. November 5, 2022. in Arts, Culture, News. This theory centres around the mysterious WIlliam Bliss, a stranger to both Reeves and Leonore Lemmon, whose presence in the house that night has never been adequately explained. No one is entirely certain who was even at the house that night. 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. But all was not well behind the scenes in Metropolis. Historical Person Search Search Search Results Results George Azer Reeves (1914 - 1945) Try FREE for 14 days Try FREE for 14 days. [19][20][21], Discharged at the war's end, Reeves returned to Hollywood. The police ruled the death a suicide, but by the time Reevesobituary was published in the Los Angeles Times, the newspaper already noted there was an element of mystery.. The Day Superman Died, George Reeves Death House 6,369 views Feb 16, 2019 159 Dislike Share Save Michael Thompson's Hidden In Plain Sight 688 subscribers In this video I visit the house where. According to Kashner and Schoenberger (A Talent for Genius), however, unanswered details about Reeves's demise shroud what in truth was foul play. The report made by the Los Angeles Police states, "[Reeves was] depressed because he couldn't get the sort of parts he wanted." The police also appeared to be behaving in a careless manner. The death of the original Superman is one of those American mysteries that may never fully add up. George Reeves Real name: George Keefer Brewer, George Bessolo. Reeves was extremely intoxicated when he died, and also pumped full of painkillers to treat the injuries he received in his recent car accident. Everyone involved decided that it had been a suicide. George Reeves mother Helen Bessolo never accepted the official verdict and hired private investigators to to reopen the investigation into his death. Two people who might have had strong motives were Toni and Eddie Mannix. Others suggested that Eddie Mannix, rumored to have Mafia ties, ordered Reeves killed.[43]. They married on September 22, 1940 in San Marino, California, at the Church of Our Savior. Why had Lemmon waited for so long - 45 minutes or so, to call the police? 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 police also found two gunshot holes in the carpet as well as the one in the ceiling that they traced to the wound in Reevess head, yet the witnesses claimed to have only heard one shot that night. Not the comic book character, of course, but the man who personified the "real" Superman for an entire generation of television fans. : The Return of Black Adam. However, Superman producers offered him a salary increase, and he returned to the series. That position was taken over by Frank . There were 104 episodes of The Adventures of Superman before the cancellation ax fell in 1958. [27], His good friend Bill Walsh, a producer at Disney Studios, gave Reeves a prominent role in Westward Ho the Wagons! George lived at 1579 Benedict Canyon Drive, in the Beverly Hills area. More powerful than a locomotive! The half-hour films were shot on tight schedules; at least two shows were made every six days. Perhaps the toxic mixture of alcohol and painkillers had led to a fatal misjudgment? 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. proporcionarte nuestros sitios y aplicaciones; autenticar usuarios, aplicar medidas de seguridad y evitar el spam y los abusos, y. medir el uso que haces de nuestros sitios y aplicaciones. This is the house, and home, that Superman actor George Reeves lived and died in. Shortly after, she began her affair with Reeves, who at 10 years her junior, she referred to as the boy. His personal life was not all red carpets and champagne. 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. [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. Conversely, not everyone who is depressed about their career takes their own life. And that was the scene that was set on June 15, 1959. 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. A photo of a smiling Reeves and the sign appears in Gary Grossman's book about the show. I know he enjoyed the role, but he used to say, 'Here I am, wasting my life. 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. "An element of mystery" Reeves' death may have been ruled a suicide, but not everyone believed it. [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.