She was absolutely terrified of going to hell", Lozzi told the LA Times. What happened next is mired in controversy, but according to the police interviews with the witnesses, a short moment later a shot was heard and the man who had become famous for been impervious to gunfire had, ironically, ended his life with a bullet to the head. Was Lemmon with Reeves when he shot himself? Hollywood Kryptonite: The Bulldog, the Lady, and the Death of Superman 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 . Quick Description: The actor George Reeves house where TV's "Superman," was found dead of a head gunshot wound on June 16, 1959. A funeral was held on Wednesday, June 30. It was to be his final feature film appearance. The death of the original Superman is one of those American mysteries that may never fully add up. The ex-girlfriend who couldn't let go Beginning in 1948, Reeves had a 10-year. In June 1951, Reeves was offered the role of Superman in a new television series[23] titled Adventures of Superman. [19][20][21], Discharged at the war's end, Reeves returned to Hollywood. All too often it is those closest to someone who takes their own life who can least understand it. George Reeves was dead. Reeves mother refused to believe her son had killed himself and hired famous Hollywood lawyer Jerry Giesler to investigate further. 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. And then there were the bruising and other marks on Reevess body. 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! But it wasnt just Reeves career that was going through a dramatic turn. Two people who might have had strong motives were Toni and Eddie Mannix. Had the jilted older woman taken things one step too far and shot Reeves in a jealous rage? Sandrich felt that Reeves had the potential to become a major star, but unfortunately died while Reeves was still in uniform. Worst of all occurred on April 8th, when Reeves lost control of his Jaguar and careered into a cement pillar near his home in Benedict Canyon. Lenore was allegedly upset at the way he was handling the situation. [1][2], His death at age 45 from a gunshot remains controversial. It was a minor role, but he and Fred Crane were in the film's opening scene. He appeared in a pair of outdoor thrillers with Ralph Byrd and in a Sam Katzman-produced serial, The Adventures of Sir Galahad. He was found dead in his bedroom at 1:59 a.m. on June 16, 1959 in his modest home in Los Angeles' Benedict Canyon. George Reeves died of a gunshot wound to his head in the upstairs bedroom at his home in Benedict Canyon. No gunpowder residue was found on Reeves' hands. The night of Reevess death, the actor was at home with his fiance Lenore Lemmon, along with the writer Robert Condon, who had been staying with them. She continued, 'He's opening a drawer to get the gun.' While studying acting at the Pasadena Playhouse, Reeves met his future wife, Ellanora Needles. And how had the fatal bullet ended up in the ceiling whilst the shell rested underneath his body? George Santos faces ethics investigation from special House committee Or perhaps Toni took matters into her own hands and simply had her husband cover it up. He was inundated with menacing silent phone calls at all hours of the morning and someone even abducted his beloved dog Sam. Others suggested that Eddie Mannix, rumored to have Mafia ties, ordered Reeves killed.[43]. Contraversy continues. Great article tho. Between the first and second seasons of Superman, Reeves got sporadic acting assignments in one-shot TV anthology programs and in two feature films, Forever Female (1953) and Fritz Lang's The Blue Gardenia (1953), but by the time the series was airing nationwide, Reeves found himself so associated with Superman and Clark Kent that it was difficult for him to find other roles. Photo by ABC Photo Archives/ABC via Getty ImagesPhyllis Coates and George Reeves in The Adventures of Superman. On the night of his death the pair had gone for dinner with writer Richard Condon, who was staying with the couple whilst he worked on a biography of Archie Moore, the prizefighter Reeves had been due to fight in a celebrity boxing match later that year. Reeves returned to Hollywood in 1951 for a role in a Fritz Lang film, Rancho Notorious. Los Angeles Police Department Death Report, June 26, 1959. [15] They married on September 22, 1940, in San Gabriel, California, at the Church of Our Savior. Meanwhile, DC Comics was planning a television adaptation of its most famous character. Reeves died at the age of 45, from a gunshot wound to the head. 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. Forty-five minutes later, the police were called. Sprawled naked on his bed, Reeves had been shot in the head after a late night party at his house. 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. She sounded very disturbed and was hyperventilating as she rasped, The boy is dead. 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 . According to biographer Jim Beaver, Reeves did not know for several years that Bessolo was still alive. Coates was amongst many of Reeves friends and co-stars who did not believe he would have killed himself. He freelanced, appearing in five Hopalong Cassidy westerns before director Mark Sandrich cast Reeves as Lieutenant John Summers opposite Claudette Colbert in So Proudly We Hail! Had she even pulled the trigger herself? Tac -- George Reeves' Home Reeves worried he would be typecast as a childrens actor. The Day Superman Died, George Reeves Death House - YouTube [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. Jim Beaver is just as convinced that George's death was a suicide, as was reported in the newspapers of the day. There was no doubt that he had enjoyed a few libations that evening, but even drunk it stretches the imagination that someone would strip before committing suicide. 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. 'Superman' Actor George Reeves' Angry Ex Tormented Him and His George Reeves, whose work as TV's Man of Steel would set the Superman screen standard for decades, died in his Benedict Canyon home from a gunshot to the head. Death 06/10/1945 - Rebaul N.G. She had prepared the meal for Reeves and guest Robert Condon, a writer who was there to do an article on Reeves and his upcoming bout with Archie Moore. Who killed Superman? The sinister true story behind the death of George : The Return of Black Adam. Embattled New York Rep. George Santos said Thursday that he is "fully cooperating" with the House Ethics Committee, which is . And they call me Superman!). Regardless of the plausibility of these theories, its likely that the identity of whoever fired the bullet that killed the Man of Steel will remain a mystery. Was Superman star George Reeves a suicide or murder victim? Inside the Mysterious Death of George Reeves, the Original - yahoo.com Reeves was born five months into their marriage (the reason Reeves's mother subsequently claimed a false April birth date for her son, something he was unaware of until . [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. . 11 Homes That Are Haunted By Dead Celebrities - Business Insider [31] However, Reeves and his partner failed to find financing, and the film was never made. Leonore Lemmon fled to New York right after Reeves died--but first emptied his house of liquor bottles and $4,000 in traveler's checks. Is her confession credible? 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. (1942), a war drama for Paramount Pictures, which signed Reeves up for two films a year. The coroner had ruled the forty-five year old actor's death a suicide, brought about by despondency over a failing career and too much alcohol. 1579 Benedict Canyon Dr, Beverly Hills, CA 90210. Born George Keefer Brewer in 1914 in Woolstock, Iowa to Helen Lescher and Don C. Brewer, young George would grow up in Ashland, Kentucky and later in Pasadena California where his sister also lived. Your definitive source to filming locations and all things Hollywood! The characters involved range from colorful to drunk to suspicious, having by now taken any secrets they may be hiding to their gravesIn . Between the start of production on Gone With the Wind and its release 12months later, several films on his Warner contract were made and released, making Gone With the Wind his first film role, but his fifth film release. Army. Had Reeves really shot himself three times? Whilst highly speculative, some corroboration to this comes from Reeves own Lois Lane, actress Phyllis Coates. George Reeves - Wikipedia A script was commissioned from David Chantler, who had written many of the TV scripts. however to this day there is an air of mystery surrounding Reeves' death. Show more. Inexplicably, the shell casing was found underneath Reeves body. The issues wasnt just career frustration. Many, though, believed the investigation had been rushed and this may have been a case of homicide. mostrar anuncios y contenido personalizados basados en perfiles de inters; medir la efectividad de los anuncios y el contenido personalizados, y. desarrollar y mejorar nuestros productos y servicios. 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. In 1952, the struggling ABC Network purchased the show for national broadcast, which gave him greater visibility. Why had Lemmon waited for so long - 45 minutes or so, to call the police? Vacio and Neill accompanied him in duets.[30]. Character actor Ben Welden had acted with Reeves in the Warner Bros. days and frequently guest-starred on Superman. While Reeves was depressed at the time of his death, there were oddities at the crime scene. All of the conspiracy theories surrounding Reevess death would eventually be played out on the big screen in 2006s Hollywoodland, but they boil down to three scenarios. From 1952 to 1958 he starred in 104 episodes, but by the late 50s it had declined in popularity and it was put into hiatus after its sixth season. (Some sources contend that it may not have been looked for, as gunshot residue testing was not routinely performed in 1959). George Reeves - Unsolved Mysteries Clearly she had the motive, and through her ruthless and well connected husband she certainly had the means. The issue was that Reeves eventually broke Tonis heart when he called it off to begin a relationship with the woman who would become his fiancee, Lenore Lemmon. director Mark Sandrich. 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. Those guests were neighbour Carol Van Ronkel, her lover Robert Condon, and another neighbour, William Bliss. Henderson, Jan Alan, Speeding Bullet, M. Bifulco, 1999; Helen Roberta Lescher Brewer Bessolo (18921964) - Born in Galesburg, Knox County, Illinois, US. A noise was heard upstairs. Wikimedia CommonsReeves played opposite Vivien Leigh as one of the Tarleton twins in Gone With the Wind. 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. . George Reeves as Superman CASE DETAILS The gun had no fingerprints on it Early one morning in June of 1959, Los Angeles police raced to a high priced Hollywood Hills home. After the war, Reeves returned to Hollywood. How Did George Reeves Die? - Historic True Crime Reeves fit the rugged requirements of the roles and, with his retentive memory for dialogue, he did well under rushed production conditions. September6, 1892 was the daughter of George Christian Lescher and Eliza Jane McKenzie, she died in a Pasadena hospital on June 18, 1964. Shortly after they arrived, Reeves came downstairs to find out what the commotion was. Advertisement. Was it true she was heard to say He is going to shoot himself, after Reeves had left the party to go back to bed? Like so many men of his generation, the war derailed his life plans. According to publicist Edward Lozzi, who had befriended Toni during her last years as a widow in Beverly Hills, what she had done weighed heavily on the now elderly Mannix. Over six years and 104 episodes, the actor smiled broadly in pictures, fists planted on hips in the famous Superman power pose, and made appearances to promote the hit television show, including a guest spot in costume on I Love Lucy. 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. George Reeves (TV's "Superman") at - The Hollywood Garage - Facebook He had a string of B-list movies after that, and was slowly working his way up to leading man status when bombs dropped on Pearl Harbor. Tell them I was down here!. Next, read about the gruesome and unsolved murder of the Black Dahlia. George Reeves mother Helen Bessolo never accepted the official verdict and hired private investigators to to reopen the investigation into his death. Si no quieres que nosotros ni nuestros socios utilicemos cookies y datos personales para estos propsitos adicionales, haz clic en Rechazar todo. The Dark Side Of George Reeves' Superman - Grunge.com