Dana gave birth to William Elliot "Will" Reeve on June 7, 1992 at North Adams Regional Hospital in North Adams, Massachusetts. In October, Reeve was offered the part of Lewis in The Remains of the Day. The script was one of the best he had read, and he unhesitatingly took the part. The film was deemed an instant classic and was nominated for eight Academy Awards.^[44]

In 1994, Reeve was elected as a co-president of the Creative Coalition. The organization's work was noticed nationwide, and Reeve was asked by the Democratic Party to run for the United States Congress. He replied, "Run for Congress? And lose my influence in Washington?" At this time, he had received scripts for Picket Fences and Chicago Hope and was asked by CBS if he wanted to start his own television series. This meant moving to Los Angeles, which would place him even further from Matthew and Alexandra, who lived in London. In Massachusetts, Reeve could take a Concorde and see them any time. He declined the offers. Reeve did not mind making trips, however; he went to New Mexico to shoot Speechless (which co-starred Michael Keaton, who like Reeve, gained notority with his portrayal of an iconic comic book superhero—in Keaton's case, Batman) and went to Point Reyes to shoot Village of the Damned.

Shortly before his accident, Reeve played a paralyzed police officer in the HBO special Above Suspicion. He did research at a rehabilitation hospital in Van Nuys, and learned how to use a wheelchair to get in and out of cars. Reeve was then offered the lead in Kidnapped, to be shot in Ireland. He was excited to be going to Ireland, and he and Dana decided that they would try to conceive a second child there. Reeve also made plans to direct his first big screen film, a romantic comedy entitled Tell Me True. Unfortunately, not long after making these plans, the family went to Culpeper, Virginia for an equestrian competition in which Reeve was severely injured.^[45]

[

Injury

Reeve took up horse riding in 1985 after learning to ride for the film Anna Karenina. He was initially allergic to horses, so he took antihistamines. He trained at Martha's Vineyard, and by 1989 he began eventing. As with every other sport and activity he participated in (sailing, scuba diving, skiing, aviation, windsurfing, cycling, gliding, parasailing, mountain climbing, baseball, tennis), he took horse riding seriously and was intensely competitive with it. His allergies soon disappeared.^[46]

Reeve bought a twelve-year-old American Thoroughbred horse named Eastern Express, nicknamed Buck, while filming Village of the Damned. He trained with Buck in 1994, and planned to do Training Level events in 1995 and move up to Preliminary in 1996. Though Reeve had originally signed up to compete at an event in Vermont, his coach invited him to go to the Commonwealth Dressage and Combined Training Association finals at the Commonwealth Park equestrian center in Culpeper, Virginia. Reeve finished at fourth place out of twenty-seven in the dressage, before walking his cross-country course. He was concerned about jumps sixteen and seventeen, but paid little attention to the third jump, which was a routine three-foot-three fence shaped like the letter 'W'.^[47]

On May 27, 1995, Reeve became paralyzed from the neck-down, after his horse had a refusal and he fell off, severely damaging his spinal cord.^[48] He had no recollection of the incident. Witnesses said that Buck started the jump over the third fence, and then suddenly stopped. Someone said that a rabbit spooked the horse, and another person claimed that it might have been a shadow. Reeve held on and the bridle, the bit, and the reins were pulled off the horse and tied his hands together. He landed headfirst on the other side of the fence. His helmet prevented any brain damage, but the impact of his 215 pound (98 kg) body hitting the ground shattered his first and second vertebrae. Reeve had not been breathing for three minutes before paramedics arrived. He was taken to the local hospital, and then flown by helicopter to the University of Virginia Medical Center.^[49]

[

Recovery

For the first few days after the accident, Reeve was heavily sedated. He began to suffer from ICU psychosis and would wake up sporadically and mouth words to Dana such as "get the gun" and "they're after us." After five days, he regained full consciousness, and Dr. John Jane explained that he had destroyed his first and second cervical vertebrae, which meant that his head and spine were not connected. His lungs were filling with fluid and were suctioned by entry through the throat; this was said to be the most painful part of Reeve's recovery.^[50]

After considering his situation, believing that not only would he never walk again, but that he might never move a body part again, Reeve considered suicide. He mouthed to Dana, "maybe we should let me go." She tearfully replied, "I am only going to say this once: I will support whatever you want to do, because this is your life, and your decision. But I want you to know that I'll be with you for the long haul, no matter what. You're still you. And I love you." Reeve never considered suicide as an option again.^[51][52]

Reeve went through inner anguish in the ICU, particularly when he was alone during the night. As he lay there one day, the door opened and a man with glasses wearing a yellow surgical gown and a blue scrub hat entered. He said that he was a proctologist and was going to perform a rectal exam on Reeve. It was Robin Williams. Reeve said, "For the first time since the accident, I laughed." They had a long conversation and Williams assured Reeve that he would do anything for him. It was this support from family and friends that convinced Reeve that his life was still worth living.^[53]

Dr. John Jane performed the surgery that reconnected Reeve's head to his body. He put wires underneath both laminae and used bone from Reeve's hip to fit between the C1 and C2 vertebrae. He inserted a titanium pin and fused the wires with the vertebrae, then drilled holes in Reeve's skull and fit the wires through to connect the head to the spinal column.^[54]

[

Rehabilitation

On June 28, 1995, Reeve was taken to the Kessler Rehabilitation Center in West Orange, New Jersey. He was given several blood transfusions in the first few weeks due to very low hemoglobin and protein levels. Many times his breathing tube would disconnect and he would be at the mercy of nurses to come in and save his life.^[19] His aid was a Jamaican man named Glenn Miller, nicknamed Juice. Juice gave him invaluable support in adapting to his new condition. He helped him learn how to get into the shower and how to use a wheelchair, which moved by blowing air through a straw. Juice and Reeve would watch the film Cool Runnings and joke about Reeve directing the sequel, Bobsled Two.^[55]

In the physical therapy gym, Reeve worked on moving his trapezius muscle. Electrodes connected to him sent out readings to therapists, and every day he would try to beat his numbers from the day before. The most difficult part of rehabilitation was respiratory therapy. The therapist, Bill Carroll, used a hose to see how much air Reeve could suck in, measured in cubic centimeters as the vital capacity. In order to even consider getting off the artificial respirator, a patient needs a vital capacity of 750 cc's. Initially, Reeve could hardly get above zero. By the end of October, he was able to get around 50 cc's. This inspired him, and he felt his natural competitive edge coming back. The next day, he went up to 450 cc's. He reached 560 cc's the day after. Bill Carroll said, "I've never seen progress like that. You're going to win. You're going to get off this thing." On December 13, 1995, Reeve was able to breathe without a respirator for 30 minutes.^[56]

[

Activism

Reeve left Kessler feeling deeply inspired by the other patients he had met. Because he was constantly being covered by the media, he realized that he could use his name to the benefit of everyone with spinal cord injuries. In 1996, he appeared at the Academy Awards to a long standing ovation and gave a speech about Hollywood's duty to make movies that face the world's most important issues head-on. He also hosted the Paralympics in Atlanta and spoke at the Democratic National Convention. He traveled across the country to make speeches, never needing a teleprompter or a script. For these efforts, he was placed on the cover of TIME on August 26, 1996.^[57] In the same year, he narrated the HBO film Without Pity: A Film About Abilities. The film won the Emmy award for "Outstanding Informational Special." He then acted in a small role in the film A Step Towards Tomorrow.^[58]

Reeve was elected Chairman of the American Paralysis Association and Vice Chairman of the National Organization on Disability. He co-founded the Reeve-Irvine Research Center, which is now one of the leading spinal cord research centers in the world. He created the Christopher Reeve Foundation to speed up research through funding, and to use grants to improve the quality of the lives of people with disabilities. The Foundation to date has given more than $65 million for research, and more than $8.5 million in quality-of-life grants.^[59][60] The Foundation has funded a new technology called "Locomotor Training" that uses a treadmill to mimic the movements of walking to help develop neural connections, in effect re-teaching the spinal cord how to send signals to the legs to walk. This technology has helped several paralyzed patients walk again.^[61]

In 1997, Reeve made his directorial debut with the HBO film In the Gloaming with Glenn Close, Whoopi Goldberg, Bridget Fonda and David Strathairn. The film won four Cable Ace Awards and was nominated for five Emmy Awards including "Outstanding Director for a Miniseries or Special." Dana Reeve said, "There's such a difference in his outlook, his health, his overall sense of well-being when he's working at what he loves, which is creative work."^[62] In 1998, Reeve produced and starred in Rear Window, a remake of Alfred Hitchcock's 1954 film. He was nominated for a Golden Globe and won a Screen Actors Guild Award for his performance. On April 25, 1998, Random House published Reeve's autobiography, Still Me. The book spent eleven weeks on the New York Times Best Seller list and Reeve won a Grammy Award for Best Spoken Word Album.^[63]

Throughout this time, Reeve kept his body as physically strong as possible by using specialized exercise machines. He did this both because he believed that the nervous system could be regenerated through intense physical therapy, and because he wanted his body to be strong enough to support itself if a cure was found. In 2000, he began to regain some motor function, and was able to sense hot and cold temperatures on his body. His doctor, John MacDonald of Washington University in St. Louis, asked him if anything was new with his recovery. Reeve then moved his left index finger on command. "I don't think Dr. MacDonald would have been more surprised if I had just walked on water", said Reeve in an interview.^[64]

In 2002, the Christopher and Dana Reeve Paralysis Resource Center, a federal government facility created through a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention non-compete grant,^[65] was opened in Short Hills, New Jersey. Its mission is to teach paralyzed people to live more independently. Reeve said, "When somebody is first injured or as a disease progresses into paralysis, people don't know where to turn. Dana and I wanted a facility that could give support and information to people. With this new Center, we're off to an amazing start."^[66]

Reeve lobbied for expanded federal funding on embryonic stem cell research to include all embryonic stem cell lines in existence and for open-ended scientific inquiry of the research by self-governance.^[67] In an interview with Brian Williams, Reeve responded to the controversy by noting that the research would only use embryos that had already been discarded. He said, "We don't want to create embryos just for research. We want to rescue these cells from the garbage...I don't understand how you can be opposed to that. I don't." President George W. Bush limited the federal funding to research only on human embryonic stem cell lines created on or before August 9, 2001, the day he announced his policy, and allotted approximately $100 million for it. Reeve initially called this "a step in the right direction", admitting that he did not know about the existing lines and would look into them further. He fought against the limit when scientists revealed that most of the old lines were contaminated by an early research technique that involved mixing the human stem cells with mouse cells.^[68] In 2002, Reeve lobbied for the Human Cloning Prohibition Act of 2001,^[69] which would allow somatic cell nuclear transfer research, but would ban reproductive cloning. He argued that stem cell implantation is unsafe unless the stem cells contain the patient's own DNA, and that because somatic cell nuclear transfer is done without fertilizing an egg, it can be fully regulated.^[70] In June 2004, Reeve provided a videotaped message on behalf of the Genetics Policy Institute to the delegates of the United Nations in defense of somatic cell nuclear transfer, which was under consideration to be banned by world treaty.^[71] In the final days of his life, Reeve urged California voters to vote yes on Proposition 71,^[72] which would establish the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine, and allot $3 billion of state funds to stem cell research.^[73] Proposition 71 was approved less than one month after Reeve's death.

On February 25, 2003, Reeve appeared in the television series Smallville as Dr. Swann in the episode "Rosetta". In that episode, Dr. Swann brings to Clark Kent (Tom Welling) information about where he comes from and how to use his powers for the good of mankind. The scenes of Reeve and Welling feature music cues from the 1978 Superman movie, composed by John Williams and arranged by Mark Snow. At the end of this episode, Reeve and Welling did a short spot inviting people to support the Christopher Reeve Paralysis Foundation.

Reeve also appeared in the Smallville episode "Legacy", in which he met again with fellow stage actor John Glover who played Lionel Luthor in the show. "Rosetta" set ratings history for The WB network.^[74]

Christopher Reeve’s campaign for stem cell research was satirized in South Park episode 702 titled Krazy Kripples which originally aired on March 26, 2003.

In April 2004, Random House published Reeve's second book, Nothing is Impossible. This book is shorter than Still Me and focuses on Reeve's world views and the life experiences that helped him shape them.

Also in 2004, Reeve directed the A&E film The Brooke Ellison Story. The film is based on the true story of Brooke Ellison, the first quadriplegic to graduate from Harvard University.^[75] Reeve at this time was also directing the animated film Everyone's Hero.^[76]

[

Death

Reeve suffered from asthma and allergies since childhood. At age sixteen, he began to suffer from alopecia areata, a condition that causes patches of hair to fall out from an otherwise healthy head of hair. Generally he was able to comb over it and often the problem disappeared for long periods of time. Later in life, the condition became more noticeable and he shaved his head.^[77] He had experienced several illnesses, including Infectious mononucleosis and malaria. He suffered from mastocytosis, a blood cell disorder. More than once he had a severe reaction to a drug. In Kessler, he tried a drug named Sygen which was theorized to help reduce damage to the spinal cord. The drug caused him to go into anaphylactic shock and his lungs shut down. He believed he had an out-of-body experience and remembered saying, "I'm sorry, but I have to go now", before it occurred. In his autobiography, he wrote, "and then I left my body. I was up on the ceiling...I looked down and saw my body stretched out on the bed, not moving, while everybody—there were fifteen or twenty people, the doctors, the EMTs, the nurses—was working on me. The noise and commotion grew quieter as though someone were gradually turning down the volume." After receiving a large dose of epinephrine, he woke up and was able to stabilize later that night.^[78] In 2003 and 2004, Reeve fought off a number of serious infections believed to have originated from the bone marrow. He recovered from three that could have been fatal. In early October 2004, he was being treated for a pressure wound that was causing a systemic infection called sepsis, a complication that he had experienced many times before. On October 9, Reeve felt well and attended his son Will's hockey game. That night, he went into cardiac arrest after receiving an antibiotic for the infection. He fell into a coma and was taken to North Westchester Hospital in Mount Kisco, New York. Eighteen hours later, on October 10, 2004, Reeve died of heart failure at the age of 52. His doctor, John McDonald, believed that it was an adverse reaction to the antibiotic that caused his death.^[79] A memorial service for him was held at the Unitarian Church in Westport, Connecticut, where he and his wife had worshipped.^[80]

Dana Reeve headed the Christopher Reeve Foundation after his death. She was diagnosed with lung cancer in 2005, and died on March 6, 2006 at age 44.^[3]

They are survived by their son, Will, and Christopher's son Matt and daughter Alex. Christopher is also survived by his parents and Dana by her father. Matthew and Alexandra now serve on the board of directors for the Christopher Reeve Foundation.^[81]

He was cremated after his funeral service. His ashes were either given to a friend or family.^{[citation needed]}

[

Filmography

Main article: Filmography of Christopher Reeve

[

Further reading

• CapedWonder Superman Imagery, created by Jim Bowers.
• Christopher Reeve Homepage, Accessed December 3, 2006
• Reeve, Christopher. Still Me, Random House, 1998. ISBN 0-679-45235-4
• Reeve, Christopher Nothing is Impossible, Random House, 2004. ISBN 0-345-47073-7

[

References

[

External links

• Christopher Reeve at Yahoo! Movies
• Christopher Reeve at the Internet Movie Database
• Christopher Reeve at the Internet Broadway Database
• Christopher Reeve Foundation
• Christopher and Dana Reeve Paralysis Resource Center : Home
• Ancestry of Christopher Reeve
• Political Cartoons Honoring Reeve
• Christopher Reeve at TV.com
• Christopher Reeve at Find A Grave

Preceded by David Wilson

Played Superman/Clark Kent 1978-1987

Succeeded by John Haymes Newton

v • d • e Superman in popular media Actors Bud Collyer · Kirk Alyn · George Reeves · Bob Holiday · Danny Dark (v) · David Wilson · Christopher Reeve · Beau Weaver (v) · John Haymes Newton · Gerard Christopher · Dean Cain · Timothy Daly (v) · Christopher McDonald (v) · Tom Welling · George Newbern (v) · Brandon Routh · Yuri Lowenthal (v) · Adam Baldwin (v) · Kyle MacLachlan (v) Film Superman  · Atom Man vs. Superman · Superman and the Mole Men  · Superman · Superman II · Superman III · Supergirl · Superman IV: The Quest for Peace · Superman Returns · Superman II: The Richard Donner Cut · Superman: Man of Steel Television Adventures of Superman · Superboy · Lois & Clark · Smallville · Look, Up in the Sky! Animation 1940s cartoons · The New Adventures of Superman · Super Friends · Superman  · Superman: The Animated Series · Justice League · Justice League Unlimited · Legion of Super Heroes · Superman: Brainiac Attacks · Superman: Doomsday · Justice League: The New Frontier Video games Atari 2600 (1979) · Arcade game (1988) · NES (1988) · Sega Genesis (1992) · The Death and Return of Superman · Superman 64 · Shadow of Apokolips · Superman: The Man of Steel · Countdown to Apokolips · Superman Returns · Fortress of Solitude  · Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe Other media Radio · Broadway Theater · Newspaper Strips · Curse DVD The Ultimate Superman Collection · The Christopher Reeve Superman Collection

v • d • e 1978-1987 Superman film series Movies Superman (1978) · Superman II (1980) · Superman II: The Richard Donner Cut (2006) · Superman III (1983) · Supergirl (1984) · Superman IV: The Quest for Peace (1987) Cast Christopher Reeve (Superman / Clark Kent / Evil Superman) · Jeff East (Young Clark Kent) · Gene Hackman (Lex Luthor) · Margot Kidder (Lois Lane) · Jackie Cooper (Perry White) · Marc McClure (Jimmy Olsen) · Annette O'Toole (Lana Lang) · Glenn Ford (Jonathan Kent) · Phyllis Thaxter (Martha Kent) · Marlon Brando (Jor-El) · Susannah York (Lara Lor-Van) · Terence Stamp (General Zod) · Helen Slater (Supergirl / Kara Zor-El) · Simon Ward (Zor-El) · Maureen Teefy (Lucy Lane) · Kirk Alyn (Sam Lane) Characters created for the films Otis (Ned Beatty) · Ursa (Sarah Douglas) · Non (Jack O'Halloran) · Gus Gorman (Richard Pryor) · Ross Webster (Robert Vaughn) · Nuclear Man (Clive Mantle (Nuclear Man #1) and Mark Pillow (Nuclear Man #2)) · Lenny Luthor (Jon Cryer) Crew Richard Donner · Alexander Salkind · Ilya Salkind · Richard Lester · Michael Thau · Mario Puzo · David Newman · Leslie Newman · Robert Benton · Tom Mankiewicz · John Williams · David Prowse · Geoffrey Unsworth · Stuart Baird · Les Bowie · Denys Coop · Michael Ellis · John Barry · Reg Hill · David Lane · Pierre Spengler · Ken Thorne · Derek Meddings · Stuart Freeborn · Jeannot Szwarc · David Odell · Jerry Goldsmith · Alan Hume · Sidney J. Furie · Menahem Golan · Yoram Globus · Golan-Globus · Lawrence Konner · Mark Rosenthal · Alexander Courage · John Shirley · Harrison Ellenshaw Sets and locations Shepperton Studios · Pinewood Studios · Elstree Studios · 007 Stage · Central Milton Keynes · Chobham Common · Didcot Power Station · Hippodrome, London · Milton Keynes Central railway station · Solow Building · Wembley Conference Centre · Smallville · Daily Planet (New York Daily News) · Fortress of Solitude · Phantom Zone · Metropolis · Krypton · Argo City Music "Can You Read My Mind" · "Earth Angel" · "Give a Little Bit" · "Pick Up the Pieces" · "Rock Around the Clock" · "Roll Over Beethoven" · "Whole Lotta Shakin' Goin On" · Superman III (soundtrack) DVD box sets The Complete Superman Collection · The Christopher Reeve Superman Collection · The Ultimate Superman Collection Related articles Superman in popular culture · Alternate versions of Superman · Superman films on television (The ABC Sunday Night Movie / KCOP / WJLA) · Kryptonite · Relationship of Clark Kent and Lois Lane · Origin of Superman · Lex Luthor in other media · Media adaptations of Supergirl · Zoptics

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