george reeves' death house george reeves' death house

The story told by those there that night is full of holes, the evidence perplexing and poorly handled. The film suggests three possible scenarios: accidental shooting by Lemmon, murder by an unnamed hitman under orders from Eddie Mannix, and suicide. The home has not changed much since the mid-fifties. 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? Coates had become a mutual friend of both her Superman co-star and Tony Mannix. The characters involved range from colorful to drunk to suspicious, having by now taken any secrets they may be hiding to their graves. 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. See real George Reeves photos, and pics of the real Eddie Mannix, Toni Mannix, Leonore Lemmon and others. The mystery surrounding the death of George Reeves, the original Man of Steel. Photo by ABC Photo Archives/ABC via Getty ImagesPhyllis Coates and George Reeves in The Adventures of Superman. Immediately after completing it, Reeves and the crew began production of the first season's episodes, all shot over 13 weeks in the summer of 1951. He was found dead in his bedroom at 1:59 a.m. on June 16, 1959 in his modest home in Los Angeles' Benedict Canyon. A photo of a smiling Reeves and the sign appears in Gary Grossman's book about the show. Upon hearing of George's demise, he went to the house and the . Newspapers and wire-service reports quoted LAPD Sergeant V.A. Superman actor George Reeves is beloved for his portrayal of the character, and this is an in-depth look back at his life and tragic death. Upstairs, they found the homeowner naked and sprawled across his bed. Theyd take one look at me and say it was impossible.. She sounded very disturbed and was hyperventilating as she rasped, The boy is dead. He is best known for portraying Superman in the television series Adventures of Superman (1952-1958). The 2006 film Hollywoodland, starring Ben Affleck as Reeves and Adrien Brody as a fictional investigator loosely based on actual detective Milo Speriglio, dramatizes the investigation of Reeves' death. While he returned unscathed, he struggled from that point forward to get his career back on track. So when George Reeves spurned his long term mistress for a younger model, she did not take it lying down. His personal life took a turn for the worse a long-term affair with another man's common-law wife ended badly; he finally filed a restraining order against her. 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. George Reeves (born George Keefer . Was the coroner's verdict right after all? 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. Lemmon and writer Robert Condon, who was staying at the house, were more than happy to entertain the group, but Reeves was already in bed and was not pleased by the ruckus downstairs. She also had a reputation as a gold digger, having married twice before for money. In the early morning of June 16, 1959, George was found dead . 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. However, Superman producers offered him a salary increase, and he returned to the series. 1. 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. At his funeral, he was laid to rest in the same suit that he wore on the TV show as "Clark Kent." These roles did little to advance Reeves's career, and his contract with Warners was dissolved by mutual consent. The home is currently a private residence but photos can be easily taken from the street. 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! There was a real man behind the superhero, whose tragic early death will likely forever be a mystery. Eddie was not happy when his wife wasnt happy. Historical Person Search Search Search Results Results George Azer Reeves (1914 - 1945) Try FREE for 14 days Try FREE for 14 days. The stairs turn and continue upward to the bedroom where George slept. Another Superman stage show was scheduled for July[32] with a planned stage tour of Australia. Nosotros, Yahoo, somos parte de la familia de marcas de Yahoo. If anything, it seemed like Reeves career was on the up. In June of 1959, things started to look up for George. According to publicist Edward Lozzi, who had befriended Toni during her last years as a widow in Beverly Hills, what she had done weighed heavily on the now elderly Mannix. Whilst highly speculative, some corroboration to this comes from Reeves own Lois Lane, actress Phyllis Coates. Death 06/10/1945 - Rebaul N.G. Great article tho. [1][2], His death at age 45 from a gunshot remains controversial. 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. The gun fell to his feet and the shell was found underneath him. From 1952 to 1958 he starred in 104 episodes, but by the late 50s it had declined in popularity and it was put into hiatus after its sixth season. >> George Reeves's death, and there are very interesting questions >> supporting the various theories. Reeves spoke out about these difficulties in a 1958 Evening Star article frankly titled No Work for Superman. When asked why he took the role, he said simply, I was hungry. But after six years, he was having a hard time pushing his career forward. In June 2021, an episode of the internet series BuzzFeed Unsolved discussed the death of Reeves and possible theories. A long Broadway run followed, before a national tour and a movie version. to put his budding acting career on hold and enlist in the U.S. 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 Up in the sky! 1579 Benedict Canyon Dr, Beverly Hills, CA 90210. Firstly, TV had just become ubiquitous in households across the country, but television as a medium was still seen as the lowbrow younger sibling to films high art. Reeves had been having an affair with his wife Toni Mannix. George was dressed in a gray Clark Kent Suit from the tv show and his body was taken to Gates/Kingsley/Gates on Sepulveda. Reeves began acting and singing in high school and continued performing on stage as a student at Pasadena Junior College. Inexplicably, the shell casing was found underneath Reeves body. Michael Hayde firmly believes that George Reeves was murdered. George Reeves' death was ruled a suicide, . And then there were the bruising and other marks on Reevess body. 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. In 1983, the publicist sat by her bedside during her last hours, and knowing she was the last person on earth to know the truth, confessed all to her priest. In 1959, however, negotiations began for a renewal of the series, with 26episodes scheduled to go into production. Listen to 022 - The Suspicious Death of George Reeves . Mannix, who had ties to the mob, had him whacked due to the affair. George Reeves death home- Beverly Hills, CA - Infamous Crime Scenes on Waymarking.com. Many felt that Reeves was tired of being known as Superman, and that he killed himself out of anguish. George Reeves, whose work as TV's Man of Steel would set the Superman screen standard for decades, died in his Benedict Canyon home from a gunshot to the head. Regardless of the plausibility of these theories, its likely that the identity of whoever fired the bullet that killed the Man of Steel will remain a mystery. Look! They divorced 10 years later and had no children. This includes accusations of murder directed at his fiance and ex-girlfriend. 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). It was then that Lemmons actions became truly strange. Robert (Bobby) was writing a book about boxer Archie Moore. Tall and chisel jawed, Reeves was the perfect choice to play the all American hero in the syndicated television show the Adventures of Superman. When George Reeves, who had achieved international fame by playing Superman for five years on TV, was found dead by gunshot in 1959, the death was officially recorded as a suicide. He looked forward to working with So Proudly We Hail! [1][2][3][4][5][6], Reeves was born January 5, 1914,[7][8] as George Keefer Brewer in Woolstock, Iowa, the son of Donald Carl Brewer and Helen Lescher. (The punchline: Ricardo, do you mean to say that youve been married to her for 15 years? The half-hour films were shot on tight schedules; at least two shows were made every six days. To unravel the murky fate of TVs first superhero we must return to the early hours of June 16, 1959. George went to bed at 12:30 AM. Separated from his wife (their divorce became final in 1950), Reeves moved to New York City in 1949. Henderson, Jan Alan, Speeding Bullet, M. Bifulco, 1999; Helen Roberta Lescher Brewer Bessolo (18921964) - Born in Galesburg, Knox County, Illinois, US. On the night of his death the pair had gone for dinner with writer Richard Condon, who was staying with the couple whilst he worked on a biography of Archie Moore, the prizefighter Reeves had been due to fight in a celebrity boxing match later that year. Effectively living an open marriage, Eddie tolerated, even liked Reeves, and himself maintained a younger mistress. In reality, George Reeves life was a far cry from that of his heroic television counterpart. On the night of June 16, 1959, George Reeves was found dead in his bedroom from a gunshot wound to the head in his Benedict Canyon home, while his fiance Lemmon was downstairs hosting a party. There she had met and married Frank Joseph Bessolo by 1927, according to that year's federal census. The events surrounding his death have been the subject of much conjecture ever since. Warners loaned him to producer Alexander Korda to co-star with Merle Oberon in Lydia, a box-office failure. 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]. The woman on the other end of the line was a woman named Toni Mannix. The Mannixs relationship was unusual even by the standards of Hollywood. Besides, she was married to the most dangerous man in Hollywood, who had a formidable reputation for been able to make problems disappear. Superman was dead, and there were no heroes coming in to save the day. 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. And George Reeves was not unable to find work, he was not broke, he was not a suicidal depressed person. He kept his private life discreet, including a romantic relationship with Toni Mannix, wife of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer general manager Eddie Mannix. However, rumors suspect that there was foul play involved in his passing. Reeves and Toni Mannix split in 1958 and Reeves announced his engagement to society playgirl Leonore Lemmon. It was a bullet to the head. The house was bought in the early 1950's for $12,000. On 16 June 1959, George Reeves retired to his bed at 12, after going out for dinner with his fianc, Leonore. She was absolutely terrified of going to hell", Lozzi told the LA Times. The subsequent police report seem to accept the whole story at face value. Others suggested that Eddie Mannix, rumored to have Mafia ties, ordered Reeves killed.[43]. Then check out 48 photos that capture vintage Hollywood. If anyone could put the heat on Superman it was Eddie. Mobster Mickey Cohen once described Toni Mannix as the only person in Hollywood who had any balls. [40], Reeves' mother thought the ruling premature and peremptory, and retained attorney Jerry Giesler to petition for a reinvestigation of the case as a possible homicide. [17] He avoided smoking cigarettes where children could see him and eventually quit smoking. Lemmon had called them after she and her party guests had found Reeves dead in his bedroom. [17] Reeves appeared in five Hopalong Cassidy westerns before being cast as Lieutenant John Summers opposite Claudette Colbert in So Proudly We Hail! As more and more time passed between acting jobs paying less and less, Reeves was reduced to appearing in a low-budget serial produced by Sam Katzman, The Adventures of Sir Galahad, and taking a second job digging cesspools. This theory goes that Lemmon was drunk and unhappy that night and shot her soon-to-be-husband. There were also fresh bruises on the body. If the Hollywood stories are to be believed, any death involving a girl and a gun is suspicious. Mannixs wife Toni Lanier, whom the actor had broken up with shorty before his death. At approximately 1:20 AM, Reeves excused himself, and went upstairs to bed. Giesler had been paid a hefty sum, so why did he suddenly drop the case? If his death was suicide Reeves must have held the gun with his right hand, although this in itself is suspicious as the actor had injured his right hand in an automobile accident a few weeks prior to his death. Its too late for this nonsense. Leonore asked, Is this a joke or a shoot? meaning was he kidding around, or what? After, they returned home and continued drinking. The house where George lived is fairly modest for the area, but the asking price in 1995 was $625,000. Many photos shown in various magazines in the past indicated that George's bedroom windows could be seen from the street. The suicidal can become very adept at hiding their inner turmoil from their loved ones. Its impossible to ever know whats truly going on in someones head, especially on a night of heavy drinking, but it did seem that Reeves was taking steps to fix his situation. Reeves was born five months into their marriage (the reason Reeves's mother subsequently claimed a false April birth date for her son, something he was unaware of until . Despite these suspicions, the Los Angeles Police Department officially ruled the death a suicide, on little more than a cursory investigation. After all, it was she who had made the early morning phone call to Coates, before anyone outside of Reeves home could have known about his death. Lenore was allegedly upset at the way he was handling the situation. They married on September 22, 1940 in San Marino, California, at the Church of Our Savior. Reeves initially had no autopsy and his body was swifted embalmed. George Reeves, 45, TV's indestructible "Man of Steel," Superman, was dead by his own hand and the flowing cloak would flow no more. The windows above the living room are the windows to George's bedroom. Even if the actor had not placed the gun to his head at point blank range, as is usual in suicides, it should have left some obvious marks on his forehead. 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]. They had no children and divorced 10 years later.[16]. Reeves and Sherman impressed the casting director by performing seven pages of script in a single take without pause. Other evidence that casts doubt on this scenario is the lack of burn marks on Reeves back. At this time, Reeves and his mother moved from Iowa to Ashland, Kentucky, to stay with relatives for a time[10] and then to her home of Galesburg, Illinois.[11]. He died instantly and fell backwards, his feet still hungover the bed and his back on the mattress. Had Reeves really shot himself three times? It seems the dark secret haunted her for the rest of her life. Would the actor, generally described as an ordinary, straightforward kind of guy, really have killed himself in a house full of guests, especially choosing to do so naked - highly unusual in suicides? But all was not well behind the scenes in Metropolis. He is best known for portraying Superman in the television series Adventures of Superman (19521958). 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. For whatever reason, though, in my ten-plus years of living in Los Angeles, I had yet to stalk the former Supermans home. [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. [17] His friend Teddi Sherman introduced him to her father, producer Harry Sherman, who asked Reeves to do a screen test with Teddi for the Hopalong Cassidy films. And was Eddie, a man suspected of killing his first wife Bernice Fitzmaurice, behind the bullet to the head that ended the actors life? Sprawled naked on his bed, Reeves had been shot in the head after a late night party at his house. Loved the commercial..how cool! Stalk It: George Reeves former home is located at 1579 Benedict Canyon Drive in Beverly Hills. It was during this fallow period that he was approached about playing the role that would come to define his life. It was to be his final feature film appearance. And they call me Superman!). Its a bird! On the night of his death, George had several friends over. EXPLOSIVE new forensic evidence reveals Superman actor George Reeves didn't commit suicide he was murdered and a GLOBE investigation has uncovered the sordid truth behind the "perfect crime" and sinister cover-up of nearly 60 years! While Reeves was depressed at the time of his death, there were oddities at the crime scene. Besides, the gun was not a revolver and it was quite evident whether it was chambered or not. Coates was amongst many of Reeves friends and co-stars who did not believe he would have killed himself. Sandrich felt that Reeves had the potential to become a major star, but unfortunately died while Reeves was still in uniform. 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! In contemporary news articles, Lemmon attributed Reeves' alleged suicide to depression caused by his "failed career" and inability to find more work. Hes going upstairs to shoot himself, began her callous recital after Reeves left the room. SUPERMAN MURDER SOLVED! She and Eddie had used his underworld connections to have Reeves killed. Authorities ruled it a suicide, but was it? That night she received a disturbing phone call. He starred in a number of two-reel short subjects and appeared in several B-pictures, including two with future president of the United States Ronald Reagan and three with James Cagney (Torrid Zone, The Fighting 69th, and The Strawberry Blonde). June 16, 1959. Who all was in the house that night? She died in 1989. George Reeves' Ghost. The official finding was suicide, but some believe that he was murdered or the victim of an accidental shooting. . George Reeves was dead. Copyright (c) 2023 Groundspeak, Inc. All Rights Reserved. She died alone in her apartment over New Year 1989, her body not found for four days. Your definitive source to filming locations and all things Hollywood! [19][20][21], Discharged at the war's end, Reeves returned to Hollywood. CleverJourneys: American Crime Chronicles Two Los Angeles police officers arrived at 1579 Benedict Canyon at almost 3 a.m., June 16, 1959. George Reeves from "Superman" had a mysterious death that saw him die from a single gunshot wound to the head. After breaking up with his wife, Reeves had engaged in a three-year affair with actress Toni Mannix, who was married to a notorious fixer for MGM Studios. Reeves is interred at Mountain View Cemetery and Mausoleum in Altadena, California. Hollywood was recovering from the war, but slowly, and Reeves wasnt the only actor trying to make up for lost time with renewed dedication to dreams that were still very much alive but suddenly even further out of reach. Faster than a speeding bullet! No charges were ever brought against anyone in connection to the case. Advertisement. The second half of the show was Reeves out of costume as himself, singing and accompanying himself on the guitar. (1942), a war drama for Paramount Pictures, which signed Reeves up for two films a year. Many studios were slowing down their production schedules, however, and some production units had shut down completely. Reeves new girlfriend, who had since moved in, was a New York socialite named Leonore Lemmon, with whom he was rumored to be engaged. It all seemed so simple. Hard drinking and hard partying, she gave as good as she got, and had the dubious distinction of been the first woman to be thrown out of New Yorks famous Stork club for fist fighting. Character actor Ben Welden had acted with Reeves in the Warner Bros. days and frequently guest-starred on Superman. George Reeves had a reasonably successful film career (including a small part in Gone with the Wind) when he took the role of Superman in Superman and the Mole Men, a feature film. 2 min read. The Los Angeles county coroner said its was a suicide, but family & friends say it was a love triangle murder. Cancel OK Your account Getting tapped to play a famous superhero may be considered the pinnacle of an acting career today, but Reeves agreed to the role out of desperation.