Giesler had been paid a hefty sum, so why did he suddenly drop the case? No gunpowder residue was found on Reeves' hands. [40], Reeves' mother thought the ruling premature and peremptory, and retained attorney Jerry Giesler to petition for a reinvestigation of the case as a possible homicide. The series went on the air the following year, and Reeves was amazed at becoming a national celebrity. Coates was amongst many of Reeves friends and co-stars who did not believe he would have killed himself. Had the jilted older woman taken things one step too far and shot Reeves in a jealous rage? The gun fell to his feet and the shell was found underneath him. George Reeves was born George Keefer Brewer in Iowa in 1914five months into his parents' marriage. Death Of George Reeves Source: Biography. Finally, theres the fiancee. The house where actor George Reeves, TV's "Superman," was found dead of a gunshot wound on June 16, 1959. '"'[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. Father George Thomas Reeves. Despite these suspicions, the Los Angeles Police Department officially ruled the death a suicide, on little more than a cursory investigation. The Mysterious Death of Superman. Advertisement. Los Angeles Police Department Death Report, June 26, 1959. Able to leap tall buildings in a single bound! He was born in Woolstock, Iowa but eventually moved to Galesburg, Illinois after his parents separated. EXPLOSIVE new forensic evidence reveals Superman actor George Reeves didn't commit suicide he was murdered and a GLOBE investigation has uncovered the sordid truth behind the "perfect crime" and sinister cover-up of nearly 60 years! A detective examines the mysterious death of George Reeves, the star of the television series Adventures of Superman (1952). More powerful than a locomotive! And that was the scene that was set on June 15, 1959. Eddie Mannix wasnt just a heavy in Hollywood, he was also rumored to have mob connections. If anything, it seemed like Reeves career was on the up. George was dressed in a gray Clark Kent Suit from the tv show and his body was taken to Gates/Kingsley/Gates on Sepulveda. Reeves and Toni Mannix split in 1958 and Reeves announced his engagement to society playgirl Leonore Lemmon. Embattled New York Rep. George Santos said Thursday that he is "fully cooperating" with the House Ethics Committee, which is . He was also engaged to Leonore Lemmon, a New York showgirl. Eddies exploits in covering up the sleazy underbelly of Hollywood were legendary. Finally, a single shot rang out. He got angry at them for being very loud. Reeves's father married Helen Schultz in 1925. Whilst highly speculative, some corroboration to this comes from Reeves own Lois Lane, actress Phyllis Coates. Robert Condon, a writer interested in writing a biography on George, stayed in the house. George Reeves may not be the first actor that springs to mind when you think of Superman, but the star's untimely death put him at the centre of a conspiracy theory malestrom.. Reeves was actually . 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. On the night of his death, George had several friends over. He was lucky to escape with head injuries that required him to take powerful painkillers right up until the night he died. In the 1950s the actor, George Reeves was best known for his portrayal of Superman in the television series, Adventures of Superman. 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. It was purchased for the actor at a cost of $12,000 by his longtime lover, MGM Vice-President E.J. Peterson as saying: "Miss Lemmon blurted, 'He's probably going to go shoot himself.' Reeves died at the age of 45, from a gunshot wound to the head. They got home around 11 p.m. A couple hours later, Carol Van Ronkel and William Bliss stopped by for a drink. 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 . (1956), in which Reeves wore a beard and mustache. To unravel the murky fate of TVs first superhero we must return to the early hours of June 16, 1959. However, many studios were slowing down their production schedules, and some production units had shut down completely. Like so many men of his generation, the war derailed his life plans. He served as national chairman for the Myasthenia Gravis Foundation in 1955. No photos of the body were taken and the crime scene was not properly searched or dusted for prints. He performed on live television anthology programs, as well as on radio. Location: California, United States Date Posted: 1/12/2010 6:55:33 PM Other evidence that casts doubt on this scenario is the lack of burn marks on Reeves back. The findings of a second autopsy, conducted at Giesler's request, were the same as the first, except for a series of bruises of unknown origin about the head and body. I don't know what happened to George. [17] He was drafted in early 1943. 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. When Officers Johnson and Korby entered the . You can watch George Reeves Kelloggs Corn Flakes commercial by clicking above. Like an optical illusion, from one angle the details clearly show a man who, in a moment of distress, made a tragic decision. Why had Lemmon waited for so long - 45 minutes or so, to call the police? On June 15, George and Leonore had gone out to a rather boozy dinner, to celebrate the upcoming marriage. Reeves was apparently scheduled to marry Lemmon on June 19 and then spend their honeymoon in Tijuana. He died instantly and fell backwards, his feet still hungover the bed and his back on the mattress. Was the coroner's verdict right after all? However, these were never investigated and Giesler strangely refused to work on the case any longer. Witnesses in the house who behaved a little oddly but heard the whole thing. He appeared in a pair of outdoor thrillers with Ralph Byrd and in a Sam Katzman-produced serial, The Adventures of Sir Galahad. However, it was obvious that many parts of the investigation were not performed as they should have been. 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. June 16, 1959. Who all was in the house that night? By mid 1959, contracts were signed, costumes refitted, and new teleplay writers assigned. Reeves death was quickly ruled a suicide, but some facts of the case appear to be murky at best. I know he enjoyed the role, but he used to say, 'Here I am, wasting my life. He complained to friends, columnists, and his mother of his financial problems. Reeves was 38 when he first cloaked his rugged all-American looks that were more Clark Kent than strange visitor from another planet in a caped costume. Further to this, a later search of the bedroom found two extra bullet holes. 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. SUPERMAN MURDER SOLVED! . 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. Theyd take one look at me and say it was impossible.. Sandrich felt that Reeves had the potential to become a major star, but unfortunately died while Reeves was still in uniform. The story told by those there that night is full of holes, the evidence perplexing and poorly handled. The . The producers looked elsewhere for a new star.[25]. No one is entirely certain who was even at the house that night. The official cause of death for Reeves was ruled a suicide. In the early morning of June 16, 1959, George was found dead . Kent then rushed offstage to return as Superman, who came to the rescue and fought with the bad guy. First, Reeves was found naked. 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. Reeves was extremely intoxicated when he died, and also pumped full of painkillers to treat the injuries he received in his recent car accident. See real George Reeves photos, and pics of the real Eddie Mannix, Toni Mannix, Leonore Lemmon and others. 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. Reeves died of a gunshot wound to the head in the upstairs bedroom of his home at 1579 Benedict Canyon Drive[34] in Benedict Canyon between 1:30 and 2:00a.m. on June 16, 1959, according to the Los Angeles Police Department report. And was Eddie, a man suspected of killing his first wife Bernice Fitzmaurice, behind the bullet to the head that ended the actors life? 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. The Great Mystery Of George Reeves' Death On June 16, 1959, the actor died in his own bedroom when he was only 45 years old from a shot to the head. She died in 1989. After all these years, what happened that night at 1579 Benedict Canyon remains obscure and controversial. [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. Newspapers and wire-service reports quoted LAPD Sergeant V.A. They had even planned to marry if Eddie were to die. [14], While studying acting at the Pasadena Playhouse, Reeves met his future wife, Ellanora Needles, granddaughter of circus magnate John Robinson. I told you, hes shot himself., When the cops arrived on the scene, Lemmon told them she had been only kidding when she made her strange remarks. A photo of a smiling Reeves and the sign appears in Gary Grossman's book about the show. In 1959, however, negotiations began for a renewal of the series, with 26episodes scheduled to go into production. Hes going upstairs to shoot himself, she allegedly said. The official ruling was suicide. Learn about George Reeves death and the true story behind the Hollywoodland movie starring Ben Affleck as TV's Superman. 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. After his death, it was revealed that he left everything to Toni, which could have been an oversight given he and Lemmon had only been together six months, or it could have been a big middle finger. In typical fashion, Reeves and Lemmon went out for a boozy night on the town. 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. Reeves knew the show could potentially be popular, but it was almost because of that that he was reticent to take it on. 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. He performed on live television anthology programs, as well as on radio, and then returned to Hollywood in 1951 for a role in a Fritz Lang film, Rancho Notorious.[22]. Perhaps fueled by a disbelief that the Man of Steel could ever take his own life, speculation and theories have abounded for more than 50 years that Lemmon, Mannix, her husband or even a hitman were responsible for the death of Superman. Si no quieres que nosotros ni nuestros socios utilicemos cookies y datos personales para estos propsitos adicionales, haz clic en Rechazar todo. 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. Lenore was allegedly upset at the way he was handling the situation. [31] However, Reeves and his partner failed to find financing, and the film was never made. 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. (Some sources contend that it may not have been looked for, as gunshot residue testing was not routinely performed in 1959). 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? His personal life was not all red carpets and champagne. It is located in a fairly modest area, even though the asking price in 1995 was $625,000. 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. Or was the culprit his new girlfriend, the volatile and temperamental Lemmon, who had argued with Reeves the night of his death about the late night party she was having whilst he tried to sleep off his own night of heavy drinking? A month later, having uncovered no evidence contradicting the official finding, Giesler announced that he was satisfied that the gunshot wound had been self-inflicted and withdrew.[41][39]. 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 were in the film's opening scene. Another rumor was that a car was heard speeding away from the house as well. They found George Reeves upstairs on his bed, with a Luger between his feet and a bullet hole in his head. This part directly led to his being contracted to Warner Brothers. Even if the actor had not placed the gun to his head at point blank range, as is usual in suicides, it should have left some obvious marks on his forehead. Their relationship was full of booze and bickering. ", Death of Superman may not have been a suicide, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=George_Reeves&oldid=1139854102, Credited erroneously onscreen as playing Brent Tarleton (see above), This page was last edited on 17 February 2023, at 06:25. Due to their advanced state of inebriation the party guests were not entirely coherent, but they all seemed to agree on the suicide story. [38] The bullet that killed Reeves was recovered from the bedroom ceiling, and the spent shell casing was found under his body. Not the comic book character, of course, but the man who personified the "real" Superman for an entire generation of television fans. The film suggests three possible scenarios: accidental shooting by Lemmon, murder by an unnamed hitman under orders from Eddie Mannix, and suicide. More adept with withering, foul mouthed put downs, violence was not really her style. "Actress to Wed." Philadelphia Inquirer, September 18, 1940. Meanwhile, DC Comics was planning a television adaptation of its most famous character. Those guests were neighbour Carol Van Ronkel, her lover Robert Condon, and another neighbour, William Bliss. The Superman cast members had restrictive contracts preventing them from taking other work that might interfere with the series. However, a number of suspicious details about the case have long piqued the interest of gossip mongers and armchair detective alike. Around 1, two friends came by for a visit. They decided that he was fooling around, not realizing the gun was loaded. 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! The Day Superman Died, George Reeves Death House 6,369 views Feb 16, 2019 159 Dislike Share Save Michael Thompson's Hidden In Plain Sight 688 subscribers In this video I visit the house where. The film won the Academy Award for Best Picture and gave Reeves the distinction of appearing in two "Best Picture" films. There were also fresh bruises on the body. After, they returned home and continued drinking. After hearing a gunshot, they waited 45 minutes before calling the police. 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. The characters involved range from colorful to drunk to suspicious, having by now taken any secrets they may be hiding to their gravesIn . Show more. 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. However, rumors suspect that there was foul play involved in his passing. Entering the house from the street side, you walk into the living room. 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 His death was officially classified as. He was 40 years old and wanted to quit and move on with his career. The Mysterious Death of Superman George Reeves It wasn't Kryptonite that killed Superman. George Reeves former residence is rather small, especially by Hollywood standards. Lemmon had called them after she and her party guests had found Reeves dead in his bedroom. George lived at 1579 Benedict Canyon Drive, in the Beverly Hills area. 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. [18] He was assigned to the U.S. Army Air Forces and performed in the USAAF's Broadway show Winged Victory. The official verdict was that Reeves had committed suicide, the weight of his troubles having become too much for him to bear. 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.
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