Superman, or the man of steel, symbolizes the American Dream, indestructability, and the desire of humans to strive to be perfect despite human nature, yet the iconic and flawless superhero died in June 1959 of a gunshot wound (Wilkins). On that day, many children were given a good reason to separate their fantasies from their realities (1). How could a virtually immortal being that has the ability to out run bullets die of a gunshot wound? Well, the man of steel that died isn’t the same one that many think of when they think of Superman. George Reeves, who was television’s first Superman, was shot to death and the case was ruled a suicide, but none of the evidence proves it to be so. Many people have questioned the proof that was “collected” by the police was inaccurate and planted to make it seem like Reeves committed suicide ("Who Killed Superman?"). However, the “suicide” occurred during a house gathering and the guests were very reluctant to call the authorities, so many speculate that George Reeves was murdered by his guests. Although there are many theories about how George Reeves died, there are similarities between each case that have been accepted as facts.
Character Analysis
George Reeves was an individual who was born into bad luck. His
biological father left his mother recently after his birth and he never got to
meet his real father, much like Superman in the roles in which Reeves took on
(Thill). Although his birth and the several years after that were plagued with
misfortunes, his early years of acting were slightly better. After he spent his
youth acting, singing and boxing, he played the suitor role for Victor Fleming’s decorated 1939 epic, Gone With the Wind (1).
This role started his professional acting career, but it was short-lived.
About 17 months after the attack on Pearl Harbor,
Reeves and his fellow cast members were drafted into the war, which added even
more trauma to his stressful life and stalled his acting career (1). During the war, after Reeve’s drafting contract, he landed a role
in a drama film and the director of the film, Mark Sandrich, promised to make
Reeves a star, but as with all things in his life, things went downhill.
Sandrich passed away due to heart failure soon after (1). Soon after, George
Reeves landed the role of Superman in 1951 and to an outsider, Reeves’s life
seemed like it was getting better. However, the reality was that Reeves worked for meager pay under punitive
contracts, which forbade him from working on other series or films (1).
Reeves’s life was filled with internal conflicts, but this is what the
media wanted to portray. None of his friends could believe that
Reeves, a glad-handing, straight-shooting, life-loving guy, had a valid reason
for taking his own life (Who Killed Superman?). The media is suspected of
trying to cover up Reeves’s murder, or as they call it, “suicide”. His love
interest and companion, Toni Mannix, called on the morning of Reeves’s death
and reported that he had been murdered. This piece of the evidence is often
hidden from the public and many media sources did not include this crucial bit
of information in their reports (1). The media that existed back in the 50’s
and 60’s is much like the media we have today, they tried to cover up
information, which often lead to the creation of conspiracy theories. In this
case, the media attempted to portray Reeves’s life as utterly miserable and
tried to label the case as a suicide, but in fact, there are many sources that
claim that Reeves’s had a better life than what was portray in the media, and
suicide was not a probable possibility.
Main
Idea and Details
The media and police reports that were released of
George Reeves’ death did not match the evidence that was uncovered during the
case, which led to different ideas of what really happened to television’s
first Superman. The most common theory, which is often portrayed by the media,
is that George Reeves committed suicide (Who Killed Superman? The George Reeves
Death Conspiracy). The media emphasized the downfalls in his life, labeling his
entire existence as depressing, while only focusing on his role of Superman
that was seen as “a slump”(1). This particular role was portrayed as one that
made him unhappy, since he was “typecast” into the role of Superman and he
could not try out for any other characters in other films. This role, however,
was actually the one that allowed his acting career to get back on track.
Although this is common knowledge about George Reeves, the majority of the
public succumbed to the influence of the media and believed that such a case
was actually suicide (1).
In addition to the typecast role Superman, George
Reeves’s life was characterized as depressing due to his time in the second
world war and his relationships in all times of his life (June 16, 1959: George Reeves, Superman,
Felled by Speeding Bullet). The media
focused on his time in the war and also his failed relationships to better
support their claims of suicide and depression (Who killed Superman? The Guardian).
As discussed before, George Reeves was born into a
life with parents who were separated, and throughout his life his relationships
tended to either fail eventually or were short-lived. For these reasons, the
majority of the public believed that suicide was the most probable cause. These
pieces of information do in fact point the status of the case towards a suicide,
but because of the physical evidence that was on screen. There are other
theories as to what really happened on the night of George Reeves’s death.
One major point that is not emphasized by the many
media sources is the fact that his last will and testament left everything for
his mistress, with some sources claiming that this was an excellent motive for
Toni Mannix to be the killer (Who Killed Superman? The George Reeves Death
Conspiracy). Other sources, however, believe that this could not have been an
option since she called the police to report his death as a murder (1).
Nevertheless, these two theories branch off from the theory that the case was actually
a murder. Many people believe so despite the claims of the police, but the
evidence of the police all pointed towards murder. First of all, there were no
fingerprints on the gun that killed George Reeves. In addition, there was no
gun powder marks found near the wound in George Reeves’s head. Plus, the gun
was found underneath the body, and in almost all suicide cases the gun in found
beside the body near the arms or hands (The Death of George Reeves- the
Original Superman).
The first variation of this theory, which is the
scenario in which Toni Mannix killed George Reeves, makes sense in some
respects. Toni Mannix and George Reeves did not necessarily enjoy each other
for each other’s company, but instead they enjoyed each other’s materialistic lifestyles
and wealth (Who Killed Superman? The George Reeves Death Conspiracy). He
purchased so many expensive, luxurious things for her, but her personality
would lead to Reeves eventually ending the relationship, giving Mannix a motive
for murdering him (The Death of George Reeves - the Original
Superman). In addition, all his
possessions and wealth were given to her after his death.
The other scenario, which was the one where Toni
Mannix didn’t kill Reeves but instead his other party guests did, is probable
in other respects as well. It took the party guests over half an hour to
finally call the authorities and report the death of George Reeves (June 16,
1959, George Reeves, Superman, Felled by a Speeding Bullet). Also, the stories
that the party guests told did not add up and much of the evidence looked
planted or placed there to distract the police from persecuting them.
There are many theories as to what really happened to
George Reeves, but the most probable scenario was that Toni Mannix was the
culprit in this case. Much of the evidence shows the Mannix was most likely the
killer, and personal call she made to the police labeled her as even more of a
suspect.
Like
with many other celebrity deaths, the media distorted the reality of his death
and portrayed it as a suicide, yet there have been speculations as to what
really happened. Whether it was a greedy mistress, some ill-willed “friends”,
or a man wanting to end his so-called “miserable life” there’s no doubt that
George Reeves’s death was real. Nevertheless, Reeves was a role model to many
Americans, portraying the symbolic characteristic of strength and flawlessness
that many Americans strived achieve. His death, although the real cause has yet
to be determined, was one that not only impacted his friends and family, by
also the many Americans that looked up to Reeves and what he stood for.
Works Cited
"The Biography
of George Reeves."The New York Times. The New York Times Company,
12 Apr. 2010. Web.6 Nov. 2015.<http://www.nytimes.com/movies/person/107820/George-Reeves/biography>
Thill, Scott. "June 16, 1959: George
Reeves, Superman, Felled by Speeding Bullet." Wired.com. Conde Nast
Digital, 21 Mar. 2012. Web.7Nov. 2015. <http://www.wired.com/2009/06/dayintech_0616/>
"Who
Killed Superman? The George Reeves Death Conspiracy., Page 1." AboveTopSecret.com.
The Above Network, 18 June 2009. Web. 5 Nov. 2015. <http://www.abovetopsecret.com/forum/thread991511/pg1>
"Who Killed
Superman?" The Guardian. Guardian News and Limited Media, 17 Nov.
2006. Web.7Nov. 2015.<http://www.theguardian.com/film/2006/nov/18/features.weekend1>
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