We have always known that house guest Robert Condon, Carol Van Ronkel and William Bliss were there. 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. Fellow actors Gig Young and Alan Ladd publicly doubted that Reeves took his own life. George was dressed in a gray Clark Kent Suit from the tv show and his body was taken to Gates/Kingsley/Gates on Sepulveda. Gene LeBell was there at George's house the morning before George died, training George. That position was taken over by Frank . Had Reeves really shot himself three times? Gina Dimuro is a New York-based writer and translator. Clearly she had the motive, and through her ruthless and well connected husband she certainly had the means. What happened next is mired in controversy, but according to the police interviews with the witnesses, a short moment later a shot was heard and the man who had become famous for been impervious to gunfire had, ironically, ended his life with a bullet to the head. 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 was born five months into their marriage[9] and the couple separated soon after Reeves's birth. 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 . Separated from his wife (their divorce became final in 1950), Reeves moved to New York City in 1949. 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. and im so curious to know,is it true or not?cause if it is true..wow it is the scariest thing ive ever heard. 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]. Show more. 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 police also appeared to be behaving in a careless manner. 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. Reeves himself was convinced it was Mannix behind a string of strange incidents that had befallen him in the aftermath of their breakup. What raised eyebrows regarding Reeves' death is that he was found naked in his bedroom by his guests during a small gathering at 1:59 a.m.; his guests waited 45 minutes to call police; detectives found additional bullet holes in the floor of his bedroom; bruises were found on Reeves' body; shell casings were discovered in strange locations; and a 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. [17] Warner changed his professional name to George Reeves. 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. If this was the case, then clearly he had not fired the gun himself, and another party was involved. To the right is the den and through the living room to the left you find the stairs leading to the guest room and adjoining bathroom which overlook the street. But not even Lane could have imagined that the dead boy was none other than Superman George Reeves himself. Many believe that the ghostly appearances by the actor lend credence to the idea that he was murdered. 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 . 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. George Reeves Facts. George went to bed at 12:30 AM. 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. The house where actor George Reeves, TV's "Superman," was found dead of a gunshot wound on June 16, 1959. He Grew Up Thinking He Was Italian. The home is currently a private residence but photos can be easily taken from the street. At around1 am, William Bliss and Carol Van Ronkel came by for an impromptu meeting. After, they returned home and continued drinking. 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. See, hes opening the drawer to get the gun. Lemmon claimed. The . 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 . More adept with withering, foul mouthed put downs, violence was not really her style. Authorities ruled it a suicide, but was it? Info Share. Copyright (c) 2023 Groundspeak, Inc. All Rights Reserved. And that was the scene that was set on June 15, 1959. 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. The recent feature film, "Hollywoodland" is about this questionable death of a popular celebrity. [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. She and Eddie had used his underworld connections to have Reeves killed. The mystery surrounding the death of George Reeves, the original Man of Steel. George Reeves (born George Keefer Brewer; January 5, 1914 - June 16, 1959) was an American actor. 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. Its not like my George to do a thing like that, his mother told the press. George Reeves was born George Keefer Brewer in Iowa in 1914five months into his parents' marriage. And did that scandal involve one of the most powerful men in the movie business, Toni Maddoxs husband Eddie? George's fiancee Lenore Lemmon claims that in . That night she received a disturbing phone call. They decided that he was fooling around, not realizing the gun was loaded. Learn about George Reeves death and the true story behind the Hollywoodland movie starring Ben Affleck as TV's Superman. 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. 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. Attempting to showcase his versatility, Reeves sang on the Tony Bennett show in August 1956. 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? 1959: Los Angeles police arrive at the home of 45-year-old actor George Reeves, famous for his role as TV's Superman, and find him naked and dead of a gunshot wound to the head. 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. Miss Lemmon then made the statement, He is going to shoot himself. Shortly, they heard a dresser drawer being opened upstairs, and Miss Lemmon commented, He is getting the gun out now, and he is going to shoot himself. Moments later, a shot was heard, and they ran upstairs to see what happened. '"[29], Reeves, Noel Neill, Natividad Vaco, Gene LeBell, and a trio of musicians toured with a public-appearance show from 1957 onward. The first photo above looks into the living room from the backyard. Shortly after, she began her affair with Reeves, who at 10 years her junior, she referred to as the boy. There's a general belief that Toni Mannix bought the house, but his name 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! Giesler had been paid a hefty sum, so why did he suddenly drop the case? CleverJourneys: American Crime Chronicles Two Los Angeles police officers arrived at 1579 Benedict Canyon at almost 3 a.m., June 16, 1959. [17] Reeves appeared in five Hopalong Cassidy westerns before being cast as Lieutenant John Summers opposite Claudette Colbert in So Proudly We Hail! The woman on the other end of the line was a woman named Toni Mannix. Between the first and second seasons of Superman, Reeves got sporadic acting assignments in one-shot TV anthology programs and in two feature films, Forever Female (1953) and Fritz Lang's The Blue Gardenia (1953), but by the time the series was airing nationwide, Reeves found himself so associated with Superman and Clark Kent that it was difficult for him to find other roles. Reeves is interred at Mountain View Cemetery and Mausoleum in Altadena, California. Faster than a speeding bullet! This is the house, and home, that Superman actor George Reeves lived and died in. In 1952, the struggling ABC Network purchased the show for national broadcast, which gave him greater visibility. But this had no official status and could not overrule the coroner's verdict of suicide. To the left in the photo is a den. September6, 1892 was the daughter of George Christian Lescher and Eliza Jane McKenzie, she died in a Pasadena hospital on June 18, 1964. Just over a year after the war started, Reeves was called up. During the dinner, they had argued. Reeves's father married Helen Schultz in 1925. [19][20][21], Discharged at the war's end, Reeves returned to Hollywood. 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 bedroom, naked with a bullet through his head. [13] His Gone with the Wind screen credit reflects the change. It seems the dark secret haunted her for the rest of her life. Seeing the neighbors, he told them, Get out. By midnight on the night of June 16, 1959, only Lenore and writer Robert Condon were still at his house with him. Eddies exploits in covering up the sleazy underbelly of Hollywood were legendary. Lemmon had called them after she and her party guests had found Reeves dead in his bedroom. Up in the sky! June 16, 1959. Who all was in the house that night? George Reeves mother Helen Bessolo never accepted the official verdict and hired private investigators to to reopen the investigation into his death. Both would later commit suicide . But it was Reeves who brought the flying Man of Steel to widespread popularity, at least on the screen. Later, Reeves's mother,[12] who was of German descent, moved to California to stay with her sister. The gun fell to his feet and the shell was found underneath him. George Reeves was born George Keefer Brewer in Woolstock, Iowa, the son of Don Brewer and Helen Lescher (his death certificate erroneously lists his birthplace as Kentucky). 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. As TVs original Superman, George Reeves was the ultimate hero to millions of children. ", 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. Able to leap tall buildings in a single bound! Despite the questions that remain to this day, no real investigation was ever mounted. One, Reeves committed suicide. If anyone could put the heat on Superman it was Eddie. [38] The bullet that killed Reeves was recovered from the bedroom ceiling, and the spent shell casing was found under his body. The events surrounding his death have been the subject of much conjecture ever since. Perhaps the toxic mixture of alcohol and painkillers had led to a fatal misjudgment? 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. Was he responsible, on behalf of his wronged wife, for the misfortunes that had befallen Reeves in the run up to his death? This includes accusations of murder directed at his fiance and ex-girlfriend. Was it true she was heard to say He is going to shoot himself, after Reeves had left the party to go back to bed? 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 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. To unravel the murky fate of TVs first superhero we must return to the early hours of June 16, 1959. U.S. World War II Army Enlistment Records 19381946, dated March24, 1943, Speeding Bullet, 2nd Ed, by Jan Alan Henderson, p. 151. Flickr CommonsThe costume Reeves donned as Superman on TV. 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. Worst of all occurred on April 8th, when Reeves lost control of his Jaguar and careered into a cement pillar near his home in Benedict Canyon. however to this day there is an air of mystery surrounding Reeves' death. Were Hollywood's police force keeping a lid on the truth to protect Tinseltown from another scandal? 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. Reeves then apologized, and the group sat around talking. 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. Her devastation at been rejected by her boy had pushed her to the ultimate reprisal. This part directly led to his being contracted to Warner Brothers. [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. Reeves, however, earned additional income from personal appearances. [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. Lemmon stayed awake and about thirty minutes later three friends dropped by for a visit. Peterson as saying: "Miss Lemmon blurted, 'He's probably going to go shoot himself.' Hes going upstairs to shoot himself, she allegedly said. Not the comic book character, of course, but the man who personified the "real" Superman for an entire generation of television fans. "An element of mystery" Reeves' death may have been ruled a suicide, but not everyone believed it. It all seemed so simple. Like so many men of his generation, the war derailed his life plans. This prevented long-term work on major films with long schedules, stage plays that might lead to a lengthy run, or any other series work.[24]. In their book Hollywood Kryptonite, Sam Kashner and Nancy Schoenberger make a case for the involvement of MGM vice president and fixer Eddie Mannix. 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. The 45-minute delay in getting help, in this scenario, was the time it took for her and her house guests to cover up the murder. First, Reeves was found naked. Whilst highly speculative, some corroboration to this comes from Reeves own Lois Lane, actress Phyllis Coates. Was the coroner's verdict right after all? He looked forward to working with So Proudly We Hail! Jim Beaver is just as convinced that George's death was a suicide, as was reported in the newspapers of the day. The ballistics looked all wrong too. They got home around 11 p.m. A couple hours later, Carol Van Ronkel and William Bliss stopped by for a drink. 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. Some after his death said it was a profound depression and frustration with his career that led to the night in question. George Reeves' death was ruled a suicide, . Amazingly, George Reeves shot part of a Kelloggs Corn Flakes commercial (the cereal company was the sponsor of Adventures of Superman) inside of his actual Benedict Canyon home. 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! >> George Reeves's death, and there are very interesting questions >> supporting the various theories. George Reeves Born George Keefer Brewer in Woolstock, Iowa in 1914, the boy who would become Superman moved around a lot. Reeves was apparently scheduled to marry Lemmon on June 19 and then spend their honeymoon in Tijuana. 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. Catalog; For You; Globe. At his funeral, he was laid to rest in the same suit that he wore on the TV show as "Clark Kent." '"'[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. She even commissioned a second autopsy, which concluded that Reeves was possibly murdered. 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. The stairs turn and continue upward to the bedroom where George slept. Some even say George Reeves appears at the foot of the bed every now and then, dressed as Superman. Its a bird! He was also engaged to Leonore Lemmon, a New York showgirl. These roles did little to advance Reeves's career, and his contract with Warners was dissolved by mutual consent. It was to be his final feature film appearance. He left the bulk of his estate to Toni Mannix. 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. Effectively living an open marriage, Eddie tolerated, even liked Reeves, and himself maintained a younger mistress. Entering the house from the street side, you walk into the living room. 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. Your definitive source to filming locations and all things Hollywood! In 1957, the producers considered a theatrical film Superman and the Secret Planet. Reeves initially had no autopsy and his body was swifted embalmed. Hes been murdered. This kind of phone call would not have been out of the ordinary for Lois Lane, the character Coates famously played on TV. It was purchased for the actor at a cost of $12,000 by his longtime lover, MGM Vice-President E.J. The report made by the Los Angeles Police states, "[Reeves was] depressed because he couldn't get the sort of parts he wanted." He appeared in a pair of outdoor thrillers with Ralph Byrd. The Los Angeles county coroner said its was a suicide, but family & friends say it was a love triangle murder. 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.