This Biographic was written by James C. J.
Today, superhero movies dominate the box office. Whether you love them, hate them, grew up with them, read the comics, had the action figures, or dressed up as them at one point or another, they’re a part of the culture. But it all had to start somewhere.
Christopher Reeve made history when he starred in the 1978 classic Superman, becoming part of the first major blockbuster superhero movie and creating the blueprint for future superhero movies, thereby defining a generation. Until Reeve donned the cape, few believed a superhero movie could succeed critically, financially, and in enhancing the reputation of those involved. But from the moment Superman premiered, those who doubted were shut down.
The story of Christopher Reeve goes far beyond Metropolis, the cape, and the glasses. His story is layered with the complexity of who he wanted to be and who he ultimately became. The breaks he got, and the hits he took. His life didn’t turn out the way he likely hoped it would, but it was a remarkable life nonetheless. It was nothing short of super.
Early Years
Christopher Reeve was born in New York City on September 25, 1952. Reeve was born into a wealthy and somewhat influential family. His mother, Barbara Pitney Lamb, served as an associate editor, and his father, Franklin D’Olier Reeve, was a teacher, poet, and novelist. In 1956, when Christopher was four, his parents split, and his mother moved to Princeton, New Jersey, with Christopher and his younger brother, Benjamin. A few years after the divorce, Barbara remarried an investment banker. His father also remarried, and as a result of his parents’ second marriages, he grew to have numerous half-siblings and step-siblings. His relationship with his father would become strained, as Reeve put it, “Frankin’s love for his children always seemed tied to performance.” As a result of trying to earn his father’s love, Reeve often put himself under immense pressure to act older than he really was. This troubled relationship would exist for most of Reeve’s life.
In Princeton, New Jersey, Reeve attended Nassau Street School before going to Princeton Day School. As a student, he excelled in almost every way. He was gifted academically and athletically; he played numerous sports, including baseball, soccer, hockey, and tennis. Socially, he found making friends easy. However, he also discovered that he was gifted creatively in playing the piano, singing in the choir, and acting. In 1962, at the age of 9, Christopher Reeve began showing an interest in acting when he was cast in the first of many school plays. By the time he reached 15, he was sold, spending a summer apprenticeship in Williamstown, Massachusetts, at the Williamstown Theatre Festival. From a young age, it was clear that Christopher Reeve was an impressive young man who would grow up to become something important, like many in his family before him.
The University Promise
If it were up to Christopher Reeve, he’d have started acting professionally as soon as he possibly could. He wanted to return to New York City and be part of the stage scene, but his mother and stepfather convinced him otherwise. They wanted him to go to university first, and so he made them a promise: he’d go to school and act in the summer. So, in 1970, despite being accepted into prestigious schools such as Carnegie, Northwestern, Columbia, Brown, he ultimately chose Cornell due to its distance from NYC. He knew himself well, and the temptation of the city was something he needed to steer clear of. At Cornell, Reeve went on to major in English and Music Theory. Naturally, he also joined Cornell’s theater department, where he acted in numerous school plays during his time there.
Not even a year into University, a chance at a professional acting career found him when Stark Hesseltine, a NYC agent, sent Reeve a letter. Hesseltine was responsible for discovering Robert Redford and had represented talent that would become major Hollywood stars, including Susan Sarandon and Michael Douglas. The letter was what you’d expect. Hesseltine had seen Reeve perform and wanted to represent him. Reeves, wishing to leave university and enter the world of acting, met with Hesseltine but was surprised when he backed his parents and the promise Reeve had made to finish university first. So, they came up with an agreement: once a month, Reeve would come to the city and meet with casting agents and producers for work that was scheduled for summer vacation.
From the get-go, Reeve was finding success with casting agents, but the problem was that he constantly had to turn down work due to the schedules not aligning with college. It wasn’t as if he didn’t work at all. He had a few good gigs here and there, but he wanted more.
Christopher struggled to put the genie back in the bottle, and before his third year of college, he took a three-month leave of absence to explore the theatre scene in Europe, including Glasgow and Paris. Thanks to learning French since the third grade, he was able to immerse himself without issue.
Back home from his European adventures, Reeve could no longer deny who he wanted to be. So, he convinced the theater director and the dean of the College of Arts and Sciences that as a theater major, he’d achieve more at Juilliard. They agreed, and with it he went to Juilliard, where his first year there would count as his senior year for Cornell. Just because they signed off didn’t mean it was a done deal. He still needed to audition, and in 1973, he did just that against 2000 other applicants. Reeve was one of two students selected for Juilliard’s Advanced Program, the other being Robin Williams. The two would go on to become lifelong friends.
After graduating from Cornell, Reeve intended to continue at Juilliard and see it to its end, but he would learn a lesson from show business that derailed that plan.
A Difficult Start
While Reeve would go on to have an incredible career, it probably didn’t start exactly how he’d hoped it would. In 1974, Reeve went on to audition for Love of Life, a soap opera. He needed to pay the tuition fees for Juillard, and initially, he was promised that the schedule could work around his school schedule. Unfortunately, Reeve’s character became increasingly popular. So, they began steadily increasing his screen time, and when he objected, they came back with the excuse that the schedule promise wasn’t in writing. As a result, Reeve was forced to leave Juilliard to fulfill his contract with CBS. It wasn’t what he might have wanted, but it was a lesson he learned early on: get promises in writing.
Between filming of Love of Life, he continued taking acting classes and performing in various theater productions in New York City. His biggest stage effort in his early career would be acting alongside Katherine Hepburn in the Broadway production of A Matter of Gravity in late 1975. Hepburn had seen Reeve’s audition and cast him herself as her character’s grandson. At the time of the Broadway show, he was still working on Love of Life. He barely slept and didn’t eat properly, and one particularly grueling moment in his schedule resulted in him collapsing on stage during a performance right after he got his first line out. The doctor who treated him told him to eat properly to avoid such an incident from happening again. He remained in the show for nine months and became close to Hepburn during this time.
Beyond the stage, Reeve also learned to fly in his early 20s. Before becoming the caped superhero he’d become, he’d actually amassed over 2,500 hours of flight time. When contemplating roles, he’d often go flying to clear his head.
One of the things he thought about while up in the air was his work on Love of Life. Despite his misgivings about working on the show, he knew it was helping him prepare for acting in front of a camera, and that would prove valuable in the not-too-distant future. That future he dreamed of was coming faster than he knew.
In 1976, when the show relocated to Los Angeles, Reeve chose not to accompany it, much to Hepburn’s disappointment. That same year, in July, his contract on Love of Life was up, so he took the opportunity and left the show. He was ready for a new challenge in his career: the movies.
It’s a Bird, It’s a Plane
Following his exit from A Matter of Gravity and Love of Life, Christopher Reeve left New York City for Los Angeles, setting his sights on Hollywood and a chance to be in the movies. It was June 1976, and Stark arranged for his client to be represented by the small, yet prestigious agency Bresler, Wolf, Cota & Livingston. All were enthusiastic about working with Reeve, eager to help him become the next Hollywood star.
After initially turning down a few roles, he eventually signed on for a small role in the 1978 film Gray Lady Down. Reeve was not only disappointed with the film but also unhappy about the kind of work he was being offered. He packed his bags and headed back to New York City and the theater, where he felt most comfortable. However, in January 1977, he received a call from Stark about a potential role in a major studio picture. That film was Superman.
Considering how iconic and beloved Reeve would become for playing Clark Kent/Superman, it might be surprising to know that getting that initial meeting for the role was a challenge. The casting director for Superman, Lynn Stalmaster, had been putting Reeve’s picture and resume on top of the pile numerous times, but each time, producers threw it out. If it wasn’t for Stalmaster’s keen ability to see the right fit for the role and her persistent pleading, there might not be much of a story to tell. Instead, she eventually convinced the director, Richard Donner, and the producer, Ilya Salkind, to meet with Reeve. The first meeting was at the Sherry-Netherland Hotel on Fifth Avenue, as Reeve stated, “if the meeting had been in another part of town, I wouldn’t have gone. Everything about the project seemed so unlikely,” But he went, and he met with Donner and Salkind, and the next day he received a three-hundred-page script for two Superman movies. If he wasn’t sold before reading, he was definitely sold immediately afterwards. Reeve was shocked to learn that these weren’t corny sci-fi movies or even comic book films; they were pieces of American mythology with a blend of heroics and humour that captivated him.
The producers wanted him to get to London for a screen test. He was informed that some of the early casting decisions had already been made, like Brando as Jor-El and Gene Hackman as Lex Luthor. One thing that Reeve wanted to bring to the films that made him the obvious choice was his vision for portraying the titular hero. Men by the late 70s were no longer confined to a brash or masculine image they’d been relegated to before on screen and in real life. Now, they were able to show gentleness and vulnerability.
For two months, Reeves underwent intensive training to bulk up for the role. At the start of the process, he was 6-foot-4 with a slim physique weighing 187 pounds. By the end of his training, he’d added 30.8 pounds of muscle to his thin frame thanks to a combination of cardio, weightlifting, eating, and 90 minutes on the trampoline daily.
When the movie premiered in December 1978, it was clear that everyone loved it, from die-hard Superman fans and critics to everyday people. At 24, Reeves would be the youngest actor ever to portray Superman, a distinction that remains true to this day. To say the film changed his life would be an understatement. Superman went on to gross $300 million, which, adjusted for inflation, is equivalent to approximately $1.5 billion in today’s dollars. With a sequel on the way, it was only up from here for Christopher Reeve. Unfortunately, the shooting of Superman II would be far more problematic than the first.
Donner, who’d directed the first film and was meant to complete the second, left mid-production after growing tensions with the producers bubbled over. Brando was cut from the film after he sued the producers for not giving him his promised cut of the first film’s profits. Richard Lester was brought in to take over the direction of the film. The cast and crew did not appreciate the replacement of Donner, but the film continued, and despite the turmoil, it was released and became a success both critically and commercially. The following two sequels, Superman III and Superman IV: Quest for Peace, were released in 1983 and 1987, respectively. Unlike the first two films, which were both critically panned and continued to decline at the box office, with the last film earning $36.7 million. Reeve blamed producers for the issues with Superman III, as they cast Richard Pryor after he’d raved about the movie. Ultimately, this changed what the movie was intended to be, creating a more gag-heavy film that was so unserious it was painful. Reeve hated Quest for Peace so much that he avoided talking about it altogether.
The franchise that started strong, launched a career, and was a box office behemoth was reduced to nothing by the release of Quest for Peace. Even Reeve acknowledged the drop in quality between the two halves of his Superman franchise, with him claiming the second one as his favorite of the four films. He credited Donner for making the movie what it was, as he’d gotten far enough into production that it was effectively his movie, even if he didn’t get the credit. Reeve wondered what else was out there beyond Metropolis and the cape. Could audiences love Christopher Reeve as much as they did Clark Kent?
Christopher Reeve loved playing Superman and was grateful for the fame it brought; however, despite that, he still had ambitions of acting in serious movies, ones that allowed him to showcase his classical training. Blockbuster fame meant every casting director in Hollywood wanted Reeve to become the next action star. He found some success in films like Somewhere in Time, The Bostonians, Death Trap, and Noises Off, among others, but it wasn’t the same fame that came with the cape once upon a time.
Superman’s Love Life
During the early years of Christopher’s career, Reeve found something he wasn’t looking for off-screen: love and a family. In truth, Reeve had always had a checkered past with romance. It started when he was sixteen. He was dating a 23-year-old before they split when he claimed he began feeling “something about it didn’t feel right.” His next relationship was much longer and far more impactful. His 10-year-long relationship with Gae Exton made Christopher Reeve a father with two kids, Matthew, born in 1979, and Alexandra, born in 1983. Reeve and Exton called it quits in February 1986 amicably, with joint custody of their children.
By 1990, he found love again with Dana Morosini, an actress and singer. The two were living together, but she wasn’t interested in repeating the type of relationship Reeve had with Exton; she wanted to get married. This was when Reeve had to face his kryptonite: marriage. The scars of his parents’ marriage made the idea of it all far more daunting than it was for Morosini. As a result, the two nearly broke up, forcing Reeve to either let Dana walk out of his life or face his demons. Reeve went on to attend therapy to work through his fears, and thankfully, it was a success, leading to him finally proposing. Christopher and Dana married in April 1992 and went on to have their son, William, together on June 7, 1992.
Another love of Christopher’s life was horse riding, something he fell for as a result of a film he worked on. It was in 1985, while filming Anna Karenina, Reeve realized the film had scenes where he’d be riding a horse. He wanted it to look as real as possible. To achieve that, he needed to be real, so he learned to ride a horse. Of course, he was allergic to horses, but to handle his allergy, he injected himself every day with antihistamines for months. Following Anna Karenina, Reeve found himself increasingly interested in the sport and continued training throughout the 80s at Martha’s Vineyard. By 1989, he’d begun competing, and in time, his allergies disappeared altogether. Reeve’s love of horses and horseback riding continued into the 90s when he purchased Buck, a 12-year-old thoroughbred, while filming the 1995 film Village of the Damned. Reeve and his wife, Dana, bonded over their love of the sport and would often go horse riding together. Unfortunately, something they loved so dearly would cost their family greatly.
The Fallen Hero
On May 27, 1995, Christopher Reeve went off to compete in an equestrian competition in Culpeper, Virginia. During the competition, his horse made a refusal, stopping abruptly and throwing Reeve, who landed on his neck, resulting in a spinal cord injury. Initially, the situation looked dire. Reeve flatlined multiple times. For a while, it looked like he wouldn’t survive the day.
On June 1, Christopher Reeve woke up in intensive care at the University of Virginia. He was lying in traction, a heavy metal ball suspended behind his head attached to a metal frame, secured by screws in each of his temples. He’d broken his neck mere centimeters below his brain stem. His chances of survival? 50/50 at best. He was informed that even if he were to survive the surgery, which had never been done before, his life would never be the same. He’d be paralyzed from the shoulders down, unable to breathe on his own, listening to the sound of a ventilator pumping oxygen into his lungs through a hole in his neck for the rest of his days. Initially, Reeve was not accepting of his fate, believing it to be an unacceptable life. He knew this meant he’d need constant help with daily basic necessities, his role as a father and husband would be severely compromised, and to him it was “selfish and unfair to remain alive.” For Christopher, a survivor, it was hard to accept. He played Superman, but he wasn’t Superman.
He remained in the ICU for a month, unable to move, trapped by his own thoughts. It was a dark and emotional time for him as he contemplated life and death, wondering which he wanted more. Reeve was lucky to get some of the best treatment possible from gifted neurosurgeon Dr. John Jane, who reattached the base of his skull to his spinal column with titanium, wire, and bone grafted from his hip. He slowly regained movement in his neck and face. There were signs that Reeve would regain some capabilities below the shoulders, such as the use of his right arm, which raised his spirits.
For a while, Reeve had wanted to end it all, and his wife had asked for two years, and if he still wanted to after all that time, they’d find a way together. But thanks to the love of his family, including his father, whom he’d been estranged from, his friends like Robin Williams, who even helped pay for some of his medical bills, and millions of strangers, Christopher eventually found a way to go on with his life.
Despite requiring around-the-clock care for the remainder of his life, he was far more positive than he’d ever been before. To cope with the tragedy, Reeve remained busy through activism, founding the Christopher Reeve Foundation, writing, public speaking, and filming in whatever capacity possible, while also making the most of his time with his family. His most notable television guest spot was as Dr. Virgil Swann in Smallville.
He began writing during these years, producing his biography Still Me, which was released in 1998 and subsequently won a Grammy for the audiobook. The title was inspired by his wife Dana, who said to Christopher, “You’re still you, and I love you.” In 1997, his film and directorial debut, In the Gloamin, was a major critical success, earning five Emmy nominations. This wasn’t the life he had envisioned, but he eventually found peace again in the life he had.
Fighting To Stay Alive
Christopher Reeve had been experiencing health issues long before his accident in 1995. But the accident had caused some of his earlier issues to reappear stronger than ever. When he was 16, he was diagnosed with alopecia areata. The accident had caused it to be far worse than it had ever been before, resulting in him needing medication, which he had a severe reaction to, causing him to lose all of his body hair.
In 1993, while scouting film locations in Kenya, Reeve contracted malaria. It was discovered in 1995, when he was at the Kessler Rehabilitation Center in June, recovering from his horseback riding accident, that he hadn’t ever fully recovered from the malaria.
He was dealing with learning how to be alive again under strenuous circumstances while battling an onslaught of health problems. He was diagnosed with mastocytosis, a rare condition, which made him vulnerable to anaphylaxis. He went on an experimental drug, which was believed to limit spinal cord damage, but it nearly killed him. His heart stopped, and after being injected with epinephrine, it restarted, and he eventually stabilized.
The accident caused numerous medical issues beyond being paralyzed. From 1996 to 1997, he was in the hospital a lot, dealing with pneumonia, a collapsed lung, blood clots, and recurring dysreflexia. Things only got worse when he wasn’t placed in his wheelchair correctly, leading him to fall and break his left arm, resulting in him getting a titanium rod to stabilize him. In 1997, a small ulcer on his ankle became infected, reaching the bone and almost resulting in amputation.
By 2004, he’d endured a great deal of strife. His body was spent. In early October, he was being treated for a pressure ulcer, which turned septic. On October 9, after receiving an antibiotic for the infection, he went into cardiac arrest and fell into a coma. He was rushed to the hospital, but 18 hours later, on October 10, at the age of 52 years old, Christopher Reeve succumbed and was gone.
After successfully navigating so many different medical minefields, Reeve was taken down by a bad reaction to an antibiotic. His body was no longer capable of fighting. Superman was dead, and with it, the world mourned the loss of a hero.
Life After Superman
A year and a half after his death, Dana Reeve passed away from lung cancer on March 6, 2006, at the age of 44. She was running the Christopher Reeve Foundation until her death, and after it was renamed the Christopher and Dana Reeve Foundation, with their children serving on the board.
In 2009, the Christopher and Dana Reeve Paralysis Act was signed into law by President Obama, aiming to advance research on paralysis, enhance rehabilitation, and improve the quality of life for individuals living with physical disabilities and paralysis.
Christopher Reeve is best known for portraying the first and arguably greatest Superman. But his contribution to the world goes far beyond Metropolis. After a terrible accident, he continued to live his life and advocated for research to treat paralysis. One of the doctors who treated Reeve stated, “Before [Reeve], there was really no hope. If you had a spinal cord injury like his, there was not much that could be done, but he’s changed all that; he’s demonstrated that there is hope and that there are things that can be done.”
In the end, he was a hero in the most unlikely of ways. A legacy far transcending the big screen, earning him the title of “Superman.”
