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. The half-hour films were shot on tight schedules; at least two shows were made every six days. He was dead from a single gunshot wound to his right temple. Its a bird! 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. Reeves is interred at Mountain View Cemetery and Mausoleum in Altadena, California. While the authorities officially declared Reeves' death to be a suicide, not everyone was willing to accept that conclusion. . 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? 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. The gun fell to his feet and the shell was found underneath him. George lived at 1579 Benedict Canyon Drive, in the Beverly Hills area. The subsequent police report seem to accept the whole story at face value. George Reeves Home - Beverly Hills, CA - Superman Super Site The police arrived within the hour. She and Eddie had used his underworld connections to have Reeves killed. Stalk It: George Reeves former home is located at 1579 Benedict Canyon Drive in Beverly Hills. 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. >> George Reeves's death, and there are very interesting questions >> supporting the various theories. The book was published as 'The Archie Moore Story, as told to Bob Condon'. Toni Mannix - Wikipedia In the home of actor George Reeves, people frantically handed somebody else their martini glass and then tried to wake the naked couple in bed, though the police wouldn't be called for nearly an hour.Earlier that evening, Reeves and his fiance had gotten into an argument at a restaurant or two and, despite planning to wed in only four days' time, Reeves reportedly wanted . 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. Giesler had been paid a hefty sum, so why did he suddenly drop the case? 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. On the night of his death, George had several friends over. It was a bullet to the head. According to Kashner and Schoenberger (A Talent for Genius), however, unanswered details about Reeves's demise shroud what in truth was foul play. 1579 Benedict Canyon Dr, Beverly Hills, CA 90210. He was lucky to escape with head injuries that required him to take powerful painkillers right up until the night he died. Its a plane! 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. (1942), a war drama for Paramount Pictures, which signed Reeves up for two films a year. TV legend George Reeves was killed by older lover he jilted for a sex kitten 2018-11-16 - . Everyone involved is now dead, and little or no evidence from the crime scene remains. Carol lived in the neighborhood. Actors Alan Ladd and Gig Young were reportedly skeptical of the official determination. 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. George Azer Reeves 1914-1945 - Ancestry September6, 1892 was the daughter of George Christian Lescher and Eliza Jane McKenzie, she died in a Pasadena hospital on June 18, 1964. [17] He was drafted in early 1943. Reeves worried he would be typecast as a childrens actor. If you are lucky enough, the homeowners may allow you to tour the home's grounds and possibly the interior as well. Other evidence that casts doubt on this scenario is the lack of burn marks on Reeves back. Authorities ruled it a suicide, but was it? Reeves was dressed in one of his characters Clark Kent suits for the funeral, which took place two weeks later, on June 30th, 1959. If this was the case, then clearly he had not fired the gun himself, and another party was involved. 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. Tell them I was down here!. And they call me Superman!). 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]. Nevertheless, the end of his iconic role reportedly hit him hard and at 45, typecast, unemployed and overweight, he found himself reduced to appearing in commercials and celebrity boxing matches. 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. 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. Quick Description: The actor George Reeves house where TV's "Superman," was found dead of a head gunshot wound on June 16, 1959. 2 min read. I know he enjoyed the role, but he used to say, 'Here I am, wasting my life. They decided that he was fooling around, not realizing the gun was loaded. All three bullets had been fired from the weapon found at Reeves' feet, though all witnesses agreed they heard only one gunshot, and there was no sign of forced entry or other physical evidence that a second person was in the room. Their suspicions werent entirely fueled by grief and denialthe evidence was puzzling. According to partygoers, one of the guests raced upstairs to find Reeves lying across his bed, the life snuffed out of him by a bullet in the head. 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. There were 104 episodes of The Adventures of Superman before the cancellation ax fell in 1958. According to biographer Jim Beaver, Reeves did not know for several years that Bessolo was still alive. According to Larson, Reeves said that if Mark Sandrich had not died, he would not be there in "this monkey suit". Even after almost a half-century, the mystery surrounding the untimely death of actor George Reeves remained such a potent and fascinating piece of Hollywood legend - it had been the subject of countless articles, books, and one film, the neo-noir "Hollywoodland" (2006) - that one could easily forget that the man himself as well as his long time acting career prior to his demise. . The roles just werent coming his way. Had Reeves, drunk, unhappy and smarting at another argument with his new girlfriend Leonore Lemmon, pulled the trigger on his Luger whilst plumbing some dark trough of self pity? Reeves found himself unemployable. [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. Catalog; For You; Globe. George Reeves (TV's "Superman") at - The Hollywood Garage - Facebook All was not well behind the scenes in Metropolis. [13] His Gone with the Wind screen credit reflects the change. 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. In 1927, Frank Bessolo adopted George at aged 13, as his own son, and the boy took on his stepfather's last name, becoming George Bessolo. It was a minor role, but he and Fred Crane were in the film's opening scene. In June of 1959, things started to look up for George. Lemmon stayed awake and about thirty minutes later three friends dropped by for a visit. The planned revival of Superman was apparently a small lifeline. 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. A detective examines the mysterious death of George Reeves, the star of the television series Adventures of Superman (1952). George Reeves: The Strange, Lonely Death of TV's Superman Multiple gunshot suicides are rare, so if these shots were contemporary to Reeves death, it seems unlikely he was the shooter. 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. Attempting to showcase his versatility, Reeves sang on the Tony Bennett show in August 1956. Wikimedia CommonsReeves played opposite Vivien Leigh as one of the Tarleton twins in Gone With the Wind. Para obtener ms informacin sobre cmo utilizamos tus datos personales, consulta nuestra Poltica de privacidad y Poltica de cookies. Bessolo actually died March 4, 1944, at age 51, when his adopted son was well into his movie career. (Reeves and Crane both dyed their hair red to portray the Tarleton twins.) A photo of a smiling Reeves and the sign appears in Gary Grossman's book about the show. Haunted Salem George Reeves' Ghost In the 1950s the actor, Was Superman star George Reeves a suicide or murder victim? Had she even pulled the trigger herself? 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? George Santos faces ethics investigation from special House committee No scandals were too big to be neutralised by Eddie, from covering-up Clark Gable accidently killing actress Tosca Roulien, to tracking down and buying up every copy of a porn film starring Joan Crawford. His personal life was not all red carpets and champagne. 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). Location: California, United States Date Posted: 1/12/2010 6:55:33 PM [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. Sprawled naked on his bed, Reeves had been shot in the head after a late night party at his house. The report made by the Los Angeles Police states, "[Reeves was] depressed because he couldn't get the sort of parts he wanted." He was born in Woolstock, Iowa but eventually moved to Galesburg, Illinois after his parents separated. According to Condon, Lemmon was in an combative mood that night, and had made somewhat of a scene in the restaurant. Flickr CommonsThe costume Reeves donned as Superman on TV. 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. But the strange death of Superman is not a parlour game. "Actress to Wed." Philadelphia Inquirer, September 18, 1940. Leonore Lemmon was, by all accounts, a bit of a hell-raiser. 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. [17] Reeves fit the rugged requirements of the roles, and, with his retentive memory for dialogue, he did well under rushed production conditions. His passing even became the subject of the 2006 biographical docudrama Hollywoodland, in which Ben Affleck plays the Pasadena-bred television star. (1956), in which Reeves wore a beard and mustache. The Suspicious Death of George Reeves Trace Evidence According to Jim Nolts fabulous Superman-themed The Adventures Continue website, the house has remained largely unchanged since the time Reeves lived there over fifty years ago. It is sometimes easy to get caught up in the mystery of George Reeves demise, the different theories and suspects. After hearing a gunshot, they waited 45 minutes before calling the police. Copyright (c) 2023 Groundspeak, Inc. All Rights Reserved. They decided that he had not committed suicide. however to this day there is an air of mystery surrounding Reeves' death. He directed the final 13 episodes of the series, and told the Evening Star that he was enthused about doing more.. Besides, she was married to the most dangerous man in Hollywood, who had a formidable reputation for been able to make problems disappear. Effectively living an open marriage, Eddie tolerated, even liked Reeves, and himself maintained a younger mistress. Hes going upstairs to shoot himself, she allegedly said. How he came to meet this grisly end is a story as disputed and controversial today as it was when the scandal rocked Hollywood at the height of the actor's fame. It was during this fallow period that he was approached about playing the role that would come to define his life. The Ghost of George Reeves - Medium At approximately 1:20 AM, Reeves excused himself, and went upstairs to bed. Gina Dimuro is a New York-based writer and translator. George Reeves Death, Hollywoodland Movie - Pics of Toni Mannix, Eddie While Reeves was depressed at the time of his death, there were oddities at the crime scene. In actual fact The Adventures of Superman was due to return in 1960, with a higher pay packet for Reeves and the promise that he would be able to direct more of the episodes, something he had enjoyed doing on the last three shows of the previous season. Reeves would frequently bemoan the role he felt so trapped in, with particular disdain reserved for the crude and repetitive scripts that often required little more of him than to turn up at the end and have the villains bullets bounce off his chest. Vacio and Neill accompanied him in duets.[30]. However, it was obvious that many parts of the investigation were not performed as they should have been. George Reeves Real name: George Keefer Brewer, George Bessolo. Or perhaps Toni took matters into her own hands and simply had her husband cover it up. He had affection for his young fans, and took his role-model status seriously. The Iowa-born actor got his big break when he was hired to play one of Scarlett OHaras suitors in 1939s Gone with the Wind. Reeves mother hired a high-powered lawyer to get the case reopened, but he quickly dropped his new client for reasons unknown. 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. After, they returned home and continued drinking. gruesome and unsolved murder of the Black Dahlia. Those guests were neighbour Carol Van Ronkel, her lover Robert Condon, and another neighbour, William Bliss. Many photos shown in various magazines in the past indicated that George's bedroom windows could be seen from the street. And that was the scene that was set on June 15, 1959. Tragic Facts About George Reeves, The Reluctant Superhero - Factinate Reeves was apparently scheduled to marry Lemmon on June 19 and then spend their honeymoon in Tijuana. Perhaps he came a little too close to the truth. After the war, Reeves returned to Hollywood. 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. 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. Show more. 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 events surrounding his death have been the subject of much conjecture ever since. Separated from his wife (their divorce became final in 1950), Reeves moved to New York City in 1949. Reeves worked tirelessly with Toni Mannix to raise money to fight myasthenia gravis. Two, Eddie Mannix killed the actor in revenge for upsetting his wife. In June 2021, an episode of the internet series BuzzFeed Unsolved discussed the death of Reeves and possible theories. Reeves was transferred to the Army Air Forces' First Motion Picture Unit, where he made training films. Had the jilted older woman taken things one step too far and shot Reeves in a jealous rage? George Reeves: "Superman" may have been murdered (June 16, 1959) 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. In the 1950s the actor, George Reeves was best known for his portrayal of Superman in the television series, Adventures of Superman. Tac -- George Reeves' Home The second half of the show was Reeves out of costume as himself, singing and accompanying himself on the guitar. Reeves then apologized, and the group sat around talking. 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. George Reeves - Biography - IMDb Toni Lanier Mannix (born Camille Bernice Froomess; February 19, 1906 - September 2, 1983) was an American actress and dancer in early motion pictures filmed with soundtracks, known as "talkies".Going by the name Toni Lanier, she became known in Hollywood circles for her extramarital relationship with future husband MGM studio head Eddie Mannix, who was married at the time to Bernice Fitzmaurice. Contraversy continues. This part directly led to his being contracted to Warner Brothers. Eddies exploits in covering up the sleazy underbelly of Hollywood were legendary. Why Anton Drexler Was More Responsible For The Nazi Party Than Adolf Hitler, The Gruesome Murders Of Andrei Chikatilo Russia's "Red Ripper", What Stephen Hawking Thinks Threatens Humankind The Most, 27 Raw Images Of When Punk Ruled New York, Join The All That's Interesting Weekly Dispatch, Photo by ABC Photo Archives/ABC via Getty Images, Reeves played opposite Vivien Leigh as one of the Tarleton twins in. To the left in the photo is a den. [17] Warner changed his professional name to George Reeves. How do we create a person's profile? Piecing Together The Circumstances Of George Reeves - TheFashionBall During the second season, Reeves appeared in a short film for the Treasury Department entitled Stamp Day for Superman, in which he caught the villains and told children why they should invest in government savings stamps. Inside the Mysterious Death of George Reeves, the Original Superman On the night of June 15th, 1959, Reeves and Lemmon went out to dinner and the two reportedly drank a great deal. However, Reeves mother, Helen Bessolo, was convinced that her son had been murdered. Just over a year after the war started, Reeves was called up. If they were fired earlier, then at the very least its evidence somebody in the house had a somewhat cavalier attitude to firearms. Reeves spoke out about these difficulties in a 1958 Evening Star article frankly titled No Work for Superman. When asked why he took the role, he said simply, I was hungry. But after six years, he was having a hard time pushing his career forward. According to the statements given to the police (statements that were no doubt slurred), Reeves came down to ask them to be quiet, they convinced him to stay for a drink, and then he stomped his way back upstairs. 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. Cuando utilizas nuestros sitios y aplicaciones, usamos. He Grew Up Thinking He Was Italian. Lenore was allegedly upset at the way he was handling the situation. The argument had carried over back to the house, Lemmon apparently upset by the suspicion that Reeves had been talking to previous girlfriend Toni Mannix. The Mysterious Death of Superman. Is there any truth in the persistent rumours that Reeves was murdered? Hollywood comic, Lou Lubin, is on right. But there were a few details that didnt quite make sense. George Reeves - RUSC Old Time Radio Jack Larson, who died at 87 on Sunday, was a gifted writer and gay man whose talents and personal struggles were overshadowed by his role as . "An element of mystery" Reeves' death may have been ruled a suicide, but not everyone believed it. His fears were not unfounded, as he had been out of work for two years by the time of his death in 1959. Reeves was born five months into their marriage[9] and the couple separated soon after Reeves's birth. George Reeves Superman Death | Snopes.com She also had a reputation as a gold digger, having married twice before for money. Reeves initially had no autopsy and his body was swifted embalmed. Jim Beaver is just as convinced that George's death was a suicide, as was reported in the newspapers of the day. George Reeves3 Theories About The Death of Superman. He starred in a number of two-reel short subjects and appeared in several B-pictures, including two with Ronald Reagan and three with James Cagney (Torrid Zone, The Fighting 69th, and The Strawberry Blonde). Look! Reeves established his own production company and conceived a TV adventure series called Port of Entry, which would be shot on location in Hawaii and Mexico. 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. They married on September 22, 1940 in San Marino, California, at the Church of Our Savior. November 5, 2022. in Arts, Culture, News. Alcohol, narcotics and depression are a red light warning sign for suicide, and with little other evidence available to them to suggest otherwise, its not hard to see why the Police came to this conclusion. Years later, William Bliss, one of the party guests who had originally told police Leonore Lemmon was downstairs with them when the shot was heard, changed his story. The woman on the other end of the line was a woman named Toni Mannix. While studying acting at the Pasadena Playhouse, Reeves met his future wife, Ellanora Needles. And then there were the bruising and other marks on Reevess body. CleverJourneys: American Crime Chronicles Two Los Angeles police officers arrived at 1579 Benedict Canyon at almost 3 a.m., June 16, 1959. Nosotros, Yahoo, somos parte de la familia de marcas de Yahoo. The film suggests three possible scenarios: accidental shooting by Lemmon, murder by an unnamed hitman under orders from Eddie Mannix, and suicide. Around 1, two friends came by for a visit. George was dressed in a gray Clark Kent Suit from the tv show and his body was taken to Gates/Kingsley/Gates on Sepulveda. A long Broadway run followed, before a national tour and a movie version. And how had the fatal bullet ended up in the ceiling whilst the shell rested underneath his body? The first half of the show was a Superman sketch in which Reeves and Neill performed with LeBell as a villain called "Mr. Kryptonite" who captured Lois Lane.