RIP Christopher Reeve (1 Viewer)

[David Galindo]

Wow. How random. Jeez...

I dont think Ive ever seen Superman all the way through, and I think its a good time to. RIP Reeves :frowning: We'll miss ya.

 

[Bill Williams]

I first heard about it this morning as I was driving to work. Paul Harvey announced it, and you'd have thought a sledgehammer had hit me in the gut. I was in shock, and I still am.

When I was 12 years old, I told my 7th grade teacher Suzanne Davis, whom I had a crush on, that I hoped to be, as the song "Down Under" goes, "six foot four and full of muscles," and I showed her a picture of Chris as Superman. For me, as for many of us here on HTF and on Digital Bits, "Superman" was one of the iconic films, if not THE iconic film, of our youth. Even into college, when a group of six- and seven-year-old boys wanted to go see "Robocop", I wanted to see "Superman IV". And as if by magic or wish fulfillment or something, I became six foot four, muscular, and very healthy and athletic. Some women I dated said I looked quite a bit like Chris.

When my dad began his downhill spiral from strokes and Parkinson's disease, the only thing I could identify with was what Chris was enduring with his paralysis. It gave me something I could relate to. In March 2002, only three weeks after my dad passed away, I very nearly had the opportunity of going up to the University of Mississippi to see Chris. He made a special appearance there at the university's annual Charity Bowl football game to accept an $85,000 donation to his paralysis foundation from the fraternities who'd raised the money for spinal cord research. They'd even given Chris a #38 jersey with his name on it, in honor and memory of Chucky Mullins, who had also been a paralyzed quadriplegic and an Ole Miss student. Chucky didn't live very long, about a year or two after his accident. But I wasn't able to go to Ole Miss. I had to go to Albuquerque to attend a K-12 videoconference as part of my job training.

I should have gone to Ole Miss instead.

Right now I'm just heartsick beyond words. :frowning:

 

[Voon Jiet]

My sincere condolences to the Reeve family on their loss. I am deeply affected by this news, as Chris Reeve was my hero when I was a kid, and in many ways, he still is. He is a true inspiration to us all.

He will always be Superman in my eyes.

R.I.P. Christopher Reeve

PS: It just occured to me that one the space of this year, we have lost Chris Reeve and Marlon Brando, who played Kar-El and Jor-El respectively in Superman: The Movie.

 

[Simon Massey]

I echo the sentiments expressed here. I always thought he would walk again. He was an inspiration in film and in real life..

Like Harrison Ford will always be Indiana Jones, Christopher Reeve will forever be Superman and is the standard by which all other Supermans will be judged. I cannot imagine anyone topping him.

RIP.

 

[Robert Powers]

Mr Reeve has always been my favorite celebrity. Every since I was in high school I have had people come up to me and tell me that I looked like him. I remember about nine years ago when someone told me that and then the next day he had his terrible accident. I was so sad to hear that. A couple of years ago I dressed up like "Superman" for a Halloween party. I felt like I was "Superman" because Mr Reeve was such an inspiring person and a wonderful actor.

It is so sad that he didn't get to walk again before he died but he sure has accomplished so much in his life even after the accident. He has given other victims of paralysis so much hope since he has attributed so much to the stem cell research.

He will never be replaced. He was a super man!!!

 

[Britton]

There's a USA Today newspaper holder that I walk by every weekday morning on my way to class, and that's how I found out this bad news. I just stood there staring at the front page for a few couple of minutes with this dour look on my face. In practically every picture taken of me in the early 80s I'm wearing a Superman outfit or a Superman shirt. I've watched Superman and Superman 2 countless times in my 23 years on planet Earth. Christoper Reeve defined the role of Superman and no one is ever going to live up to it. Unfortunately, I'm not so familiar with the other work he did.

We can all know for sure though that he never gave up the fight to try and walk again. May we all be so lucky to go out with half the dignity and class he did.

 

[Zen Butler]

Vince, that was very sweet. That symbol says it all. This has an eerie sadness. Heartbreaking.

RIP

 

[Lin Weiwen]

My childhood hero.
My inspirational figure in adulthood.

Saddening this news may be but I think that Reeve has regained his powers and freedom now. He is walking now.

And he flies too... high above the heavens...across the curvature of the Earth...towards the rising sun in the horizon..Just like the closing scene of SUPERMAN.

And he smiles and looks down upon us from high above.

Because he knows all is well when Superman is around.

All is well.


Reeve, you will be sorely missed. You will always be Superman in my heart. The ONE and ONLY Superman. No other future imposters or contenders of the Superman role can snatch that away from you. You are THE Man of Steel in film and in real life. You are the inspiration for all of us.

Rest in peace.

You will always be with us. In our hearts. In our minds.

 

[William-V]

Like many, I am speechless. I can't believe it, but I can feel the tears coming on for someone I never did meet. This just reaffirms, for me, what I always felt about Christopher Reeve. He was someone who inspired me so much as a child... and then even more so as an adult. He went from playing a great hero on the screen to becoming a truly great hero in real life and an inspiration to the world. He brought the part of Superman to life truer than any other actor... because he put a part of himself into that character.

 

[Ron-P]

Very sad. The world has lost a great actor and person.

Even though he was best remembered as Superman, his best roll for me was that of Richard Collier in Somewhere in Time. Infact, it was that movie where I found my daughter's first name, Elise.

 

[Nick Graham]

One of my childhood heroes gone. Just a while back I was watching the Clark/Superman fight from Supes III (the only good scene in that movie), with the same grin on my face I had when I first saw it well over a decade ago.

A couple of nights ago I was flipping by Sci Fi and saw him on screen. It was John Carpenter's guilty pleasure remake of Village of the Damned. Even in something so blatantly cheesy, Reeve is great in it, not phoning it in as most actors would in such a B movie shlockfest. My prayers are with his family.
On a lighter note, has anyone questioned Mark Pillow?

 

[Nathan Eddy]

This is indeed depressing news. I don't understand how someone of his means dies of a bed sore ("pressure wound"). I know that these things can be serious, but I just don't understand how it happened. Isn't this something that can be prevented with proper care?

Ultimately, I suppose, it was Christopher Reeve living his life to the fullest that resulted in his death nearly a decade later--his accident during a dangerous sport. He lived his life with courage and an enthusiastic love of life. His determination and iron will were an inspiration to us all. You will be missed, Christopher Reeve.

 

[Chris Lockwood]

> I saw this on another forum where Drudge was the only reporter to report this and hoped he was wrong...

It was on his radio show, but the reporter was someone who called in. He first put it on his site like "there is a report that... ", not that it was verified.

 

[Lynda-Marie]

R.I.P. to someone who was not only a talented actor, but a passionate, eloquent advocate for the handicapped.

I still think he had a lot of class for his kind heart, especially since someone suggested that the horse he fell from be put down. The horse, a favorite of Christopher's was spared at Chris's direct request, since he did not feel the animal was at fault.

 

[Shawn_McD]

This sucks...

 

[Lynda-Marie]

When I sustained my own spinal cord injury in May 2002, one of the first things they did in rehab was show me the picture of one that was quite advanced. I still look like a Mexican jumping bean from time to time!

When you are sitting down, Nathan, you may not notice it consciously, but you shift around in your seat to make yourself comfortable. The same applies when you sleep. Why? Because your body needs to move so that the skin and muscle, which are pressed to the bone, needs fresh blood supply.

In the case of paralysis victims, we do not necessarily have either the nerve sensation [discomfort or pain] that warns us it is time to move, and many either cannot move themselves, or have someone to help us do it.

Unlike Christopher, mine was a lower level and far less serious spinal cord injury. I have some nerve sensation, and I can move myself.

BUT, pressure sores can be pernicious and hard to predict and or spot, so it is not a case of neglect either on the part of Chris himself, his family or his caregivers.

As for his means, I remember one time reading that he wanted to be euthanized so that he would not be a financial burden on his family. His old Juliard classmate and very good friend, Robin Williams, stepped in and told Chris that he would see to it that the medical bills were covered. That may be the reason he lobbied so passionately for better insurance coverage for catastrophic injuries.

I just hope that his message continues even without his physical presence. Chris was a giant in many, many ways.

 

[Nathan Eddy]

Lynda-Marie, my heart goes out to you, as well as to Reeve's family. I hope my comments didn't seem insensitive. I'm just depressed and outraged by this news. Thanks for explaining how tricky these wounds can be to prevent. There are to many of us--including me--who take our good health for granted and have no idea how precarious it is. I had a wreck on my mountain bike over the weekend, and I'm pretty beat up from it. Listening to this news, I was thinking about how easily I could have been paralyzed from my tumble (I flew over the handle bars, hit the ground and rolled quite a distance, injuring both my legs, hands, and shoulder). Luckily, I tucked and rolled with it, but I could have easily landed wrong. Anyway, I was thinking about how Chris injured himself doing something he loved, and how it could happen to me, and I suppose it just makes the issue of mortality a little bit closer, a little bit more real. Some part of me doesn't want to believe it can be that easy to lose so much.

 

[Rhett_Y]

RIP......

Sad news indeed.....Sad news....

R~

 

[Seth Paxton]

A very tough week for the entertainment industry. I think the Reeves situation is the worst of all not because of his iconic role but because of his iconic struggles after the injury.

I'm sure everyone can relate to the strength that was required for the family to survive and endure after the accident. There is a feeling of failure when the person doesn't make it "back", especially with teases like the finger movement a few years ago. As long as he was alive it just seemed possible that there would come a day when he would be able to stand or something.

However, if I were speaking to his family I think I would point out that all that effort was more than worth it. The battle wasn't to get him walking again, even if that was what he focused on. The real victories were coming in daily doses, even on the bad days, when the family was able to work together and care for each other through bad times and good.

I think Reeve's initial reaction to be put out of everyone's financial/emotional misery is a normal reaction in that situation, but it forgets just how much you mean to the ones who love you and how important it is to them that you let them be there for you. People need something to love and care for just as much as they need to be loved.

Simply by accepting the fight to survive Reeves gave that to all his friends and family.

And reading this thread and the thousands of comments we will see and read in the coming days, I think its safe to say that Reeves could not even imagine how much his inspiration extended, even before the injury.

In many ways entertainment stars are as much our "representatives" in society as truly elected officials are. We support them financially when they create things or stand for things that we also believe in or take joy from, allowing us as a group to reinforce those interests and ideals in society.

When someone like Reeves passes away I think "we" really do lose someone important to us.

 

[Matt Butler]

:frowning:

RIP Superman. Godspeed.

I wonder how Richard Donner and Robin Williams are taking this? When I met Donner a few years ago he was doing a charity signing for Reeve foundation. He also has said in interviews that he believed Reeve would walk again.

I need to have a Janet Leigh and Chris Reeve marathon in their honor.