Trivia of George Reeves

Trivia of George Reeves (5 January 1914 - 16 June 1959)

*George Reeves was born in Iowa in 1914—five months into his parents' marriage. His dad left the family shortly after and his mother moved with her infant son to California. There she remarried Frank Bessolo, who took young Reeves in and treated him as his own son. In fact, the boy had no idea that Italian Bessolo wasn’t his biological father.He grew Up thinking he was Italian.One day after returning from a vacation, his mother told him that his father had committed suicide. In reality, the couple had divorced after being married for 15 years.

*Reeves's film career began in 1939 when he was cast as Stuart Tarleton (incorrectly listed in the film's credits as Brent Tarleton), one of Scarlett O'Hara's suitors in Gone with the Wind. It was a minor role, but he and his co-star Fred Crane were in the film's opening scene. Reeves and Crane both dyed their hair red to portray the Tarleton twins.Reeves also played a minor character, Sergeant Maylon Stark, in Burt Lancaster's movie From Here to Eternity (1953).

*In his screen test for the Hopalong Cassidy series of films, Reeves and his scene partner were able to get through seven pages of script in one single take. So he got hired not necessarily for his talent, but instead for the money he’d save producers on doing numerous takes. Because of this skill, he signed on for five Hopalong Cassidy films.

*In June 1951, Reeves was offered the role of Superman in a new television series titled Adventures of Superman.It premiered September 19, 1952 and debuted its last original episode on April 28, 1958, for a total of 104 action-packed episodes.When the series was filmed in black and white during its first two seasons, George Reeves wore a brown for red, gray for blue and white for yellow costume. When the show began filming in color in 1954, he switched to the trademark red and blue suit.

*He had affection for his young fans, and took his role-model status as Superman seriously. He avoided smoking cigarettes where children could see him and eventually quit smoking.He once made a rare public appearance as Superman at the annual Cub Scout Jamboree at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles, where he patiently met hundreds of Cub Scout fans and signed autographs of himself as Superman in his famous costume.

*Although his Superman costume was padded, Reeves himself was actually very athletic and did most of his own stunts for his role in the Adventures of Superman (1952). Episodes routinely required him to jump from significant heights to simulate Superman landing in frame or hitting a springboard with enough force to propel him out of frame. A frequent stunt required Reeves to grab a bar (outside of camera range) and swing in through a window, clearing his own height (over six foot) and landing on his feet. Reeves had mastered this gymnastic move so well that he could perform the stunt and immediately deliver his dialog without the need to cut to another angle.

*He had a steady girlfriend named Toni Mannix, a former showgirl, eight years his senior. It was a classic younger man, older woman affair, but with a twist. She was rich, generous, and married. Her husband, Eddie Mannix, a former vice president at MGM, was a powerful force in Hollywood. According to writer of Unsolved Mystery, Jim Nolt " Mannix actually encouraged his wife’s involvement with George Reeves:“The relationship between George and Toni was a very open relationship. She took care of George very well. The car that he drove was bought by Toni and the house that he lived in was Toni’s house. But something happened in late ’58 that broke that relationship off."

*Reeves died of a gunshot wound to the head in the upstairs bedroom of his home at Benedict Canyon Drive on June 16, 1959.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.The police concluded it was a suicide.On July 1st, 1959, the funeral services are held for George Reeves at the Wayside Chapel of the Gates Funeral Home in Los Angeles.Actors Alan Ladd and Gig Young were pallbearers at his funeral.