Story of Superman - Chistopher Reeves

Christopher Reeve was born on September 25, 1952, in New York. He studied at Cornell University, while at the same time working as a professional actor. In his final year of Cornell, he and Robin Williams, who became a life-long friend, were selected to study at the Julliard School of Performing Arts.

When it became financially difficult for him to continue his studies, Reeve took a role in the soap opera Love of Life. In 1976, he dropped out of Julliard to take a role in the Broadway play, A Matter of Gravity, starring Katharine Hepburn. Reeve since appeared in many feature films, TV movies and some 150 plays. He also hosted many specials and documentaries. Some of his better-known films include, Somewhere in Time (1980), Deathtrap (1982), The Bostonians (1984), The Remains of the Day (1993), and Above Suspicion (1995).

In addition to his early stage work, Reeve appeared in The Marriage of Figaro in New York, Summer and Smoke with Christine Lahti in Los Angeles, and he toured with Love Letters in several major cities. He also starred in a well-received production of The Aspern Papers in London's West End with Vanessa Redgrave and Dame Wendy Hiller. He liked to spend summers at the Williamstown Theater Festival.

He established himself early as a Juilliard-trained stage actor before portraying Superman/Kal-El/Clark Kent in four films, from 1978 to 1987.

He made three sequels to Superman, and, in an interview he once said that when he asked Sean Connery how to avoid being typecast, Connery answered, "First you have to be good enough that they ask you to play it again and again."

In May, 1995, Reeve was thrown from his horse during a riding event, and, landing on his head, broke the top two vertebrae in his spine. Left paralyzed from the neck down, Reeve became an active advocate for bringing greater public awareness to the needs of those with spinal cord injuries. He and his wife created a fundraising foundation called the Christopher and Dana Reeve Foundation to raise research money and provide grants to local agencies that focus on quality of life for the disabled. He was also an outspoken advocate for the need for stem cell research.

Despite his injury, Reeve continued to work, both as an actor and as a director, winning accolades for his role in a TV production of Alfred Hitchcock's Rear Window, and acclaim for his directorial debut of the HBO-film In the Gloaming. His autobiography, Still Me, was a bestseller, and he won a Grammy for his spoken album, of the same title.

Reeve died of heart failure on October 10, 2004, after being treated for a systemic infection that resulted from a pressure sore, a common affliction for people living with paralysis.

Reeves became a symbol of positive attitude, persistance and courage

source: wikipedia.com, answers.com