A classically trained actor who already had some impressive credits to his name, including the 1939 classic Gone With the Wind, Reeves was reluctant to take on the role because in televisions early days, it was considered to be a rather undignified medium that was far inferior to film. As far as Reeves was concerned, one has to wonder if he had any regrets. Ruled as a. Following the path so many women have taken throughout Hollywood history, Reeves turned to directing, producing, and writing when he couldnt get the roles he wanted. 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. Catalog; For You; Globe. I know he enjoyed the role, but he used to say, 'Here I am, wasting my life. Advertisement. Many studios were slowing down their production schedules, however, and some production units had shut down completely. He kept his private life discreet, including a romantic relationship with Toni Mannix, wife of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer general manager Eddie Mannix. Leonore Lemmon was, by all accounts, a bit of a hell-raiser. Photo Illustration by Luis G. Rendon/The Daily Beast/GettyThe death of the original Superman is one of those American mysteries that may never fully add up. Like an optical illusion, from one angle the details clearly show a man who, in a moment of distress, made a tragic decision. George Reeves Real name: George Keefer Brewer, George Bessolo. Waymarkly is the premiere Waymarking app for iOS. She sounded very disturbed and was hyperventilating as she rasped, The boy is dead. Rather than being seen as the hunky superhero who had proven himself as a leading man, Reeves was worried that the role would forever make him the kids beloved Superman in the eyes of the world and of casting directors. Photo by ABC Photo Archives/ABC via Getty ImagesPhyllis Coates and George Reeves in The Adventures of Superman. The people in the house were quite intoxicated and weren't much help to the investigation even waiting over 30 minutes before calling the police. >> George Reeves's death, and there are very interesting questions >> supporting the various theories. Reeves blood alcohol content that night was .27 percent. They found George Reeves upstairs on his bed, with a Luger between his feet and a bullet hole in his head. 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. In 1960, Reeves was awarded a star on Hollywood's Walk of Fame on Hollywood Boulevard for his contributions to the TV industry. [31] However, Reeves and his partner failed to find financing, and the film was never made. On the night of his death, George had several friends over. Honorary pallbearers included Alan Ladd and Gig Young. 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. 1. On June 16, 1959, Reeves died from a single gunshot wound in the bedroom of his Benedict Canyon home. Reeves head and hands showed no signs of gunshot residue or powder burns. 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. George Reeves' home in Benedict Canyon On June 16, 1959, Lenore Lemmon served dinner at around 6:30 p.m. at Reeves' Benedict Canyon home. Character actor Ben Welden had acted with Reeves in the Warner Bros. days and frequently guest-starred on Superman. [36] According to Crane (who was not present), Bill Bliss had told Millicent Trent after the shot rang out, while Bliss was having a drink, that Leonore Lemmon came downstairs and said, Tell them I was down here, tell them I was down here![37], A number of questionable physical findings were reported by investigators and others: No fingerprints were recovered from the gun. Reeves himself was also severely under the influence, with a blood alcohol level of .27 and, because the actor had long enjoyed playing with unloaded weapons, it was thought possible he accidentally shot himself while doing so. The home is currently a private residence but photos can be easily taken from the street. 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 . While this may have been the final act for George Reeves Superman, it was the first act in what would become one of the biggest mysteries surrounding the role. 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. Able to leap tall buildings in a single bound! Reeves, who took his acting career seriously and had parts in Gone with the Wind and From here to Eternity, always had mixed feelings about his fame as Superman. More sinister still, did Eddie Mannix, a man whose job it was to make Hollywood scandals go away, pull some of his underworld strings and hire a hitman to erase the man who had so grievously upset his wife? Reeves was drafted into the U.S. Army in early 1943. And they call me Superman!). 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. Copyright (c) 2023 Groundspeak, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Was Lemmon with Reeves when he shot himself? Director Allen Coulter Writer Paul Bernbaum Stars Adrien Brody Ben Affleck Diane Lane See production, box office & company info Watch on STARZ with Prime Video Channels More watch options Add to Watchlist Added by 25.7K users The brown-shingled bungalow, which was built in 1947, boasts 2 bedrooms, 3 baths, and 1,717 square feet. Whatever the case may be, no charges were ever filed and Reeves death remains one of the most talked about Hollywood scandals to this day. The house where actor George Reeves, TV's "Superman," was found dead of a gunshot wound on June 16, 1959. 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. The events surrounding his death have been the subject of much conjecture ever since. Then check out 48 photos that capture vintage Hollywood. He was able to play against type and starred as a villainous gold hunter in a Johnny Weismuller Jungle Jim film. One variation on this theory is that Reeves accidentally shot himself playing a game of Russian Roulette. 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. Around 1, two friends came by for a visit. His fears were not unfounded, as he had been out of work for two years by the time of his death in 1959. He looked forward to working with So Proudly We Hail! Reeves was dressed in one of his characters Clark Kent suits for the funeral, which took place two weeks later, on June 30th, 1959. In reality, George Reeves life was a far cry from that of his heroic television counterpart. Para obtener ms informacin sobre cmo utilizamos tus datos personales, consulta nuestra Poltica de privacidad y Poltica de cookies. Her devastation at been rejected by her boy had pushed her to the ultimate reprisal. In 1957, the producers considered a theatrical film Superman and the Secret Planet. It was a bullet to the head. The report made by the Los Angeles Police states, "[Reeves was] depressed because he couldn't get the sort of parts he wanted." Why had Lemmon waited for so long - 45 minutes or so, to call the police? 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. The planned revival of Superman was apparently a small lifeline. He died in June of 1959, not 1958. After all, it was she who had made the early morning phone call to Coates, before anyone outside of Reeves home could have known about his death. This part directly led to his being contracted to Warner Brothers. George Reeves death home- Beverly Hills, CA - Infamous Crime Scenes on Waymarking.com. George Bessolo Reeves lived in a modest house in Benedict Canyon in Los Angeles, California up until the time of his death on June 15, 1959. On 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 bedroom. One, Reeves committed suicide. By midnight on the night of June 16, 1959, only Lenore and writer Robert Condon were still at his house with him. While the authorities officially declared Reeves' death to be a suicide, not everyone was willing to accept that conclusion. If this was the case, then clearly he had not fired the gun himself, and another party was involved. If the Hollywood stories are to be believed, any death involving a girl and a gun is suspicious. According to Condon, Lemmon was in an combative mood that night, and had made somewhat of a scene in the restaurant. Witnesses in the house who behaved a little oddly but heard the whole thing. George went to bed at 12:30 AM. It was purchased for the actor at a cost of $12,000 by his longtime lover, MGM Vice-President E.J. In 1952, the struggling ABC Network purchased the show for national broadcast, which gave him greater visibility. They got home around 11 p.m. A couple hours later, Carol Van Ronkel and William Bliss stopped by for a drink. Effectively living an open marriage, Eddie tolerated, even liked Reeves, and himself maintained a younger mistress. In a wild turn of events, the alleged problem with this situation was not the affair itselfjilted husband Eddie had his own liaisons outside of the marriage and allegedly had no problem with his wifes relationship with Reeves. There were 104 episodes of The Adventures of Superman before the cancellation ax fell in 1958. He was dead from a single gunshot wound to his right temple. In 1959, however, negotiations began for a renewal of the series, with 26episodes scheduled to go into production. Reeves mother refused to believe her son had killed himself and hired famous Hollywood lawyer Jerry Giesler to investigate further. It was a minor role, but he and Fred Crane, both in brightly dyed red hair as "the Tarleton Twins," were in the film's opening scenes. George Reeves Born George Keefer Brewer in Woolstock, Iowa in 1914, the boy who would become Superman moved around a lot. Vacio and Neill accompanied him in duets.[30]. 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. gruesome and unsolved murder of the Black Dahlia. The Mysterious Death of Superman. 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. George Reeves was born George Keefer Brewer in Iowa in 1914five months into his parents' marriage. After Gone with the Wind was filmed, Reeves returned to the Pasadena Playhouse and was given the lead role in the play Pancho. Advertisement. Giesler called for a second autopsy. Sprawled naked on his bed, Reeves had been shot in the head after a late night party at his house. She also kept his shaving utensils and lotions, and even built an altar in the house with a crucifix, candles and an 11-by-14 photograph of Reeves. It is sometimes easy to get caught up in the mystery of George Reeves demise, the different theories and suspects. Jack Larson and Noel Neill both remembered Reeves as a noble Southern gentleman (even though he was from Iowa) with a sign on his dressing room door that said "Honest George, the people's friend". The 2006 film Hollywoodland, starring Ben Affleck as Reeves and Adrien Brody as a fictional investigator loosely based on actual detective Milo Speriglio, dramatizes the investigation of Reeves' death. George Reeves (born George Keefer . (Some sources contend that it may not have been looked for, as gunshot residue testing was not routinely performed in 1959). When the police did arrive, they found no sign . The coroner ruled it suicide. (Reeves and Crane both dyed their hair red to portray the Tarleton twins.) She was absolutely terrified of going to hell", Lozzi told the LA Times. Create a scavenger hunt using this waymark as the center point. 2 min read. According to Kashner and Schoenberger (A Talent for Genius), however, unanswered details about Reeves's demise shroud what in truth was foul play. That position was taken over by Frank . I don't know what happened to George. Everyone involved is now dead, and little or no evidence from the crime scene remains. The ex-girlfriend who couldn't let go Beginning in 1948, Reeves had a 10-year. The film won the Academy Award for Best Picture and gave Reeves the distinction of appearing in two "Best Picture" films. Bessolo actually died March 4, 1944, at age 51, when his adopted son was well into his movie career. Their suspicions werent entirely fueled by grief and denialthe evidence was puzzling. According to biographer Jim Beaver, Reeves did not know for several years that Bessolo was still alive. Many felt that Reeves was tired of being known as Superman, and that he killed himself out of anguish. His passing even became the subject of the 2006 biographical docudrama Hollywoodland, in which Ben Affleck plays the Pasadena-bred television star. (1942), a war drama for Paramount Pictures. 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. It all seemed so simple. Is her confession credible? Faster than a speeding bullet! His work on the show would earn him fame as the Original Superman, even though that wasnt technically true. A noise echoed: See, hes opening the drawer to get the gun. Then a shot: I told you, hes shot himself.. Reeves himself believed Mannix was behind the succession of sinister events that dogged Reeves in the run up to his death, including silent midnight phonecalls and the kidnapping of his beloved Schnauzer Sam. Another Superman stage show was scheduled for July[32] with a planned stage tour of Australia. 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. I remember watching Superman on tv, George Reeves Kelloggs Corn Flakes CommercialFilmed in his Home, Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window), Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window), I blogged about during my Haunted Hollywood theme last year, 1579 Benedict Canyon Drive in Beverly Hills. No gunpowder residue was found on Reeves' hands. They married on September 22, 1940 in San Marino, California, at the Church of Our Savior. 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! 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 . '"'[35], The official story given by Lemmon to the police placed her in the living room with party guests at the time of the shooting, but hearsay statements from Fred Crane, Reeves' friend and colleague from Gone With The Wind, put Lemmon either inside or in direct proximity to Reeves' bedroom. I was depressed, and I accepted instantly that he had committed suicide, Larson told Unsolved Mysteries in 1995. TV legend George Reeves was killed by older lover he jilted for a sex kitten 2018-11-16 - . When his mother moved to California to be with her sister, it was said Reeves never saw his father again. Had the jilted older woman taken things one step too far and shot Reeves in a jealous rage? [18] He was assigned to the U.S. Army Air Forces and performed in the USAAF's Broadway show Winged Victory. Reeves was transferred to the Army Air Forces' First Motion Picture Unit, where he made training films. . That night she received a disturbing phone call. Reeves knew the show could potentially be popular, but it was almost because of that that he was reticent to take it on. It is located in a fairly modest area, even though the asking price in 1995 was $625,000. His personal life was not all red carpets and champagne. He left the bulk of his estate to Toni Mannix. Reeves was apparently scheduled to marry Lemmon on June 19 and then spend their honeymoon in Tijuana. (1942), a war drama for Paramount Pictures, which signed Reeves up for two films a year. Due to their advanced state of inebriation the party guests were not entirely coherent, but they all seemed to agree on the suicide story. He referred to the show that had made him famous as scraping the bottom of the barrel, and would burn the costume he called a monkey suit at the wrap of each season. Had she even pulled the trigger herself? Reeves usually had an open door policy, but not after midnight. It was to be his final feature film appearance. Reeves' will, dated 1956, bequeathed his entire estate to Toni Mannix, much to Lemmon's surprise and devastation. 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? The official verdict was that Reeves had committed suicide, the weight of his troubles having become too much for him to bear. [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. And George Reeves was not unable to find work, he was not broke, he was not a suicidal depressed person. [26] He was reportedly making $5,000 (about $50,000 in today's dollars) per week, but only while the show was in production (about eight weeks each year). 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. [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. If his death was suicide Reeves must have held the gun with his right hand, although this in itself is suspicious as the actor had injured his right hand in an automobile accident a few weeks prior to his death. Coates was amongst many of Reeves friends and co-stars who did not believe he would have killed himself. Reportedly, the police had not been called until at least a half an hour after his death. George Reeves' death was ruled a suicide, . In the documentary Look, Up in the Sky: The Amazing Story of Superman, Jack Larson said that when he first met Reeves, he told him that he enjoyed his performance in So Proudly We Hail! And did that scandal involve one of the most powerful men in the movie business, Toni Maddoxs husband Eddie? Twentieth Century-Fox loaned him to producer Alexander Korda to co-star with Merle Oberon in Lydia,[17] a box-office failure, after which he freelanced, looking to find work in westerns. The Los Angeles county coroner said its was a suicide, but family & friends say it was a love triangle murder. '"[29], Reeves, Noel Neill, Natividad Vaco, Gene LeBell, and a trio of musicians toured with a public-appearance show from 1957 onward. After the war, Reeves returned to Hollywood. Giesler had been paid a hefty sum, so why did he suddenly drop the case? He died instantly and fell backwards, his feet still hungover the bed and his back on the mattress. This theory goes that Lemmon was drunk and unhappy that night and shot her soon-to-be-husband. According to the Argus observer, "George Reeves, 45, was found dead in his upstairs bedroom of this house . Reeves death was quickly ruled a suicide, but some facts of the case appear to be murky at best. Even outside of the world of comic books, bullets sometimes do funny things, and that was certainly the case in the death of George Reeves. [33] Reeves had been made a "Kentucky Colonel" during a publicity trip in the South, and the sign on his dressing room door was replaced with a new one that read "Honest George, also known as Col. Reeves", created by the show's prop department. The home has not changed much since the mid-fifties. The actor had no burn marks on his hands or face - how had he shot himself in the head with a pistol without leaving powder burns? 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. Authorities ruled it a suicide, but was it? First, Reeves was found naked. Were Hollywood's police force keeping a lid on the truth to protect Tinseltown from another scandal? It was during this fallow period that he was approached about playing the role that would come to define his life. THE ADVENTURES OF SUPERMAN (1951-1957) - unknown actor (left) with George Reeves as "Superman." Whilst highly speculative, some corroboration to this comes from Reeves own Lois Lane, actress Phyllis Coates. Just over a year after the war started, Reeves was called up. A shot was heard. He starred in a number of two-reel short subjects and appeared in several B-pictures, including two with future president of the United States Ronald Reagan and three with James Cagney (Torrid Zone, The Fighting 69th, and The Strawberry Blonde). Its not like my George to do a thing like that, his mother told the press. Or perhaps Toni took matters into her own hands and simply had her husband cover it up. Would the actor, generally described as an ordinary, straightforward kind of guy, really have killed himself in a house full of guests, especially choosing to do so naked - highly unusual in suicides? 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. There were also fresh bruises on the body. All too often it is those closest to someone who takes their own life who can least understand it. Shortly after, she began her affair with Reeves, who at 10 years her junior, she referred to as the boy. Their relationship was full of booze and bickering. A long Broadway run followed, before a national tour and a movie version. [13] The Bessolo marriage lasted 15 years, ending in divorce, with the couple separating while Reeves was away visiting relatives. They had no children and divorced 10 years later.[16]. The story told by those there that night is full of holes, the evidence perplexing and poorly handled. But unable to find work, perhaps George felt he had little choice but to return to a part that clearly caused him much anguish. Inside the Mysterious Death of George Reeves, the Original Superman GREAT AMERICAN SCANDALS On June 16, 1959, George Reeves, who was the first to make the superhero an icon when he played. 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. September6, 1892 was the daughter of George Christian Lescher and Eliza Jane McKenzie, she died in a Pasadena hospital on June 18, 1964. George Bessolo Reeves lived in a modest house in Benedict Canyon in Los Angeles, California up until the time of his death on June 15, 1959. Finally, a single shot rang out. [19][20][21], Discharged at the war's end, Reeves returned to Hollywood. While he returned unscathed, he struggled from that point forward to get his career back on track. Except for the second season, the Superman schedule was brief (13 shows shot two per week, a total of seven weeks out of a year), but all had a "30-day clause", which meant that the producers could demand their exclusive services for a new season on four weeks' notice. Other evidence that casts doubt on this scenario is the lack of burn marks on Reeves back. 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 . His death was officially classified as. After two seasons, Reeves was dissatisfied with his salary and the show's one-dimensional role. Hes going upstairs to shoot himself, began her callous recital after Reeves left the room. Superman actor George Reeves is beloved for his portrayal of the character, and this is an in-depth look back at his life and tragic death. "According to Lemmon, the only people in the house that night, in addition to George and herself, were Carol Von Ronkle, William Bliss, and writer Robert Condon. CleverJourneys: American Crime Chronicles Two Los Angeles police officers arrived at 1579 Benedict Canyon at almost 3 a.m., June 16, 1959. Was the star of 50s TV show The Adventures of Superman murdered? The Superman cast members had restrictive contracts preventing them from taking other work that might interfere with the series. Reeves also enjoyed playing with an unloaded gun. [38] The bullet that killed Reeves was recovered from the bedroom ceiling, and the spent shell casing was found under his body. Loved the commercial..how cool! 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. Father George Thomas Reeves. This was before news of Reeves death had gotten out, and it always remained a mystery to Coates how Mannix could have known Reeves was murdered unless she was party to it. Reeves new girlfriend, who had since moved in, was a New York socialite named Leonore Lemmon, with whom he was rumored to be engaged. Larson had suffered a similar career downturn to Reeves after series was cancelled, and like his Superman co-star had struggled to break free of the typecasting associated with such an iconic role. Newspapers and wire-service reports quoted LAPD Sergeant V.A. Reeves was then transferred to the Army Air Forces' First Motion Picture Unit, where he made training films. 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. However, Superman producers offered him a salary increase, and he returned to the series. The official verdict was that Reeves had committed suicide, the weight of his troubles having become too much for him to bear. However, these were never investigated and Giesler strangely refused to work on the case any longer. Tall and chisel jawed, Reeves was the perfect choice to play the all American hero in the syndicated television show the Adventures of Superman. Superman birth place and death house (George Reeves) 50,169 views Dec 23, 2016 Like Dislike Share Save LandumC goes there 147K subscribers George Reeves (Superman) birth location and the. Toni, a former showgirl and starlet in the early talkies, married MGM studios enforcer Eddie Mannix in 1951. The half-hour films were shot on tight schedules; at least two shows were made every six days. It was an open secret in the business that Reeves had been conducting a long term affair with Toni Mannix, the wife of notorious Hollywood fixer and MGM vice president Eddie Mannix.