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. Reeve was selected for the title role from among about 200 aspirants.Īctive in many sports, Reeve owned several horses and competed in equestrian events regularly.
#Above suspicion 1995 paralyzed movie#
Reeve's first movie role was a minor one in the submarine disaster movie "Gray Lady Down," released in 1978. 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.Īfter 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." 25, 1952, in New York City, son of a novelist and a newspaper reporter. Among his other film credits are "The Remains of the Day," "The Aviator," and "Morning Glory." More recent films included John Carpenter's "Village of the Damned," and the HBO movies "Above Suspicion" and "In the Gloaming," which he directed. 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." He insisted on performing his own stunts.Īlthough he reprised the role three times, Reeve often worried about being typecast as an action hero. I don't mean to be reckless, but setting a goal that seems a bit daunting actually is very helpful toward recovery," Reeve said.īefore 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. "I refuse to allow a disability to determine how I live my life. He also regained sensation in other parts of his body. In 2000, Reeve was able to move his index finger, and a specialized workout regimen made his legs and arms stronger. With so many close-ups, I knew that my every thought would count."
"But I was surprised to find that if I really concentrated, and just let the thoughts happen, that they would read on my face. "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. Reeve won a Screen Actors Guild (news - web sites) award for best actor.
#Above suspicion 1995 paralyzed update#
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. There is no challenge, artistic or otherwise, that we can't meet." In many ways our film community can do it better than anyone else. "Hollywood needs to do more," he said in the March 1996 Oscar awards appearance. 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.Įnduring 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. In the last week Reeve had developed a serious systemic infection from a pressure wound, a common complication for people living with paralysis.ĭana 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, 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. His name was even mentioned by Kerry during the second presidential debate Friday evening. 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). 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. 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. 'Superman' Christoper Reeve Dies at 52 'Superman' Christoper Reeve Dies at 52īy JIM FITZGERALD, Associated Press Writer
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