Photo by ABC Photo Archives/ABC via Getty ImagesPhyllis Coates and George Reeves in The Adventures of Superman. But it wasnt just Reeves career that was going through a dramatic turn. The night George Reeves died; who was in the house? - Lee Saylor George Reeves death home- Beverly Hills, CA - Infamous Crime Scenes on Waymarking.com. 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. He got angry at them for being very loud. Carol lived in the neighborhood. There were also fresh bruises on the body. [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. Able to leap tall buildings in a single bound! During the dinner, they had argued. The subsequent police report seem to accept the whole story at face value. The home has not changed much since the mid-fifties. But the strange death of Superman is not a parlour game. The ex-girlfriend who couldn't let go Beginning in 1948, Reeves had a 10-year. Eddie Mannix wasnt just a heavy in Hollywood, he was also rumored to have mob connections. "According to Lemmon, the only people in the house that night, in addition to George and herself, were Carol Von Ronkle, William Bliss, and writer Robert Condon. 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. It is located in a fairly modest area, even though the asking price in 1995 was $625,000. George Reeves Born George Keefer Brewer in Woolstock, Iowa in 1914, the boy who would become Superman moved around a lot. Suicide or murder? Reeves a Hollywood victim - TODAY.com George Reeves Home - Beverly Hills, CA - Superman Super Site And how had the fatal bullet ended up in the ceiling whilst the shell rested underneath his body? Hollywoodland (2006) - IMDb The film suggests three possible scenarios: accidental shooting by Lemmon, murder by an unnamed hitman under orders from Eddie Mannix, and suicide. At around 1.20am, a bad tempered Reeves had admonished the trio for their noise, before returning upstairs. Then check out 48 photos that capture vintage Hollywood. Advertisement. 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. It was a minor role, but he and Fred Crane were in the film's opening scene. And did that scandal involve one of the most powerful men in the movie business, Toni Maddoxs husband Eddie? Jack Larson and Noel Neill both remembered Reeves as a noble Southern gentleman (even though he was from Iowa) with a sign on his dressing room door that said "Honest George, the people's friend". The first photo above looks into the living room from the backyard. 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. It was purchased for the actor at a cost of $12,000 by his longtime lover, MGM Vice-President E.J. Who shot TV's Superman? - Los Angeles Times The woman on the other end of the line was a woman named Toni Mannix. Conspiracy theories abound and Reeves death has remained the stuff of Hollywood legend for over five decades since. While the tragedy was unfolding, his fiance and three guests were carousing downstairs, his soon-to-be wife allegedly narrating the action going on above. In 1952, the struggling ABC Network purchased the show for national broadcast, which gave him greater visibility. Leonore Lemmon fled to New York right after Reeves died--but first emptied his house of liquor bottles and $4,000 in traveler's checks. Had the usually diligent actor neglected to maintain his prized Jaguar properly or was this, as some have suspected, a murder attempt by Toni Mannix? They decided that he was fooling around, not realizing the gun was loaded. If anyone could put the heat on Superman it was Eddie. His fears were not unfounded, as he had been out of work for two years by the time of his death in 1959. The story told by those there that night is full of holes, the evidence perplexing and poorly handled. However, these were never investigated and Giesler strangely refused to work on the case any longer. According to Larson, Reeves said that if Mark Sandrich had not died, he would not be there in "this monkey suit". Besides, the gun was not a revolver and it was quite evident whether it was chambered or not. George's fiancee Lenore Lemmon claims that in . The Dark Side Of George Reeves' Superman - Grunge.com The night Superman died and an enduring mystery was born. Giesler had been paid a hefty sum, so why did he suddenly drop the case? If this was the case, then clearly he had not fired the gun himself, and another party was involved. George Reeves -- Unsolved Mysyeries Perhaps he came a little too close to the truth. Superman Actor George Reeves, His Life in His Own Words - Closer Weekly No photos of the body were taken and the crime scene was not properly searched or dusted for prints. Walker's property became known as "Houdini's House." Shortly after Houdini died on Halloween . The Iowa-born actor got his big break when he was hired to play one of Scarlett OHaras suitors in 1939s Gone with the Wind. Mannix, who had ties to the mob, had him whacked due to the affair. But there were a few details that didnt quite make sense. Leonore Lemmon was, by all accounts, a bit of a hell-raiser. This theory centres around the mysterious WIlliam Bliss, a stranger to both Reeves and Leonore Lemmon, whose presence in the house that night has never been adequately explained. When they returned home, they continued to kick back the alcohol until around 12:30 p.m., at which point Reeves retired to his bedroom. 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. Tac -- George Reeves' Home 1579 Benedict Canyon Dr, Beverly Hills, CA 90210. She also hired private investigators to investigate his death. wow..thats a great articleby the way, Ive read those article in other site about his deathit is written that a ghostly phenomena has been reported at the former Reeves house ever since his death? George Reeves - RUSC Old Time Radio 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 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. The night of Reevess death, the actor was at home with his fiance Lenore Lemmon, along with the writer Robert Condon, who had been staying with them. Location: California, United States Date Posted: 1/12/2010 6:55:33 PM The second half of the show was Reeves out of costume as himself, singing and accompanying himself on the guitar. Reeves had been having an affair with his wife Toni Mannix. More powerful than a locomotive! Historical Person Search Search Search Results Results George Azer Reeves (1914 - 1945) Try FREE for 14 days Try FREE for 14 days. But even more importantly, The Adventures of Superman was marketed mostly towards a younger audience. Attempting to showcase his versatility, Reeves sang on the Tony Bennett show in August 1956. As Reeves returned to his room, Lemmon bizarrely began providing some morbid commentary. The police ruled his death a suicide, but rumors quickly surfaced that Reeves was. The people in the house were quite intoxicated and weren't much help to the investigation even waiting over 30 minutes before calling the police. Reeves blood alcohol content that night was .27 percent. 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. On June 15, George and Leonore had gone out to a rather boozy dinner, to celebrate the upcoming marriage. Died in House - George Reeves, TV's "Superman" Suicide or | Facebook George Reeves death home- Beverly Hills, CA - Waymarking His relatives believed he was murdered, and disputed the official ruling of suicide. So I figured this was the perfect time to do so and dragged the Grim Cheaper right on out there last weekend. Twentieth Century-Fox loaned him to producer Alexander Korda to co-star with Merle Oberon in Lydia,[17] a box-office failure, after which he freelanced, looking to find work in westerns. Reeves and Toni Mannix split in 1958 and Reeves announced his engagement to society playgirl Leonore Lemmon. 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. Look! More adept with withering, foul mouthed put downs, violence was not really her style. Robert (Bobby) was writing a book about boxer Archie Moore. As portrayed in films such as Hollywoodland and Hail Ceasar, Eddie had an array of thugs, bent cops, private eyes and mobsters on the payroll. Reeves knew the show could potentially be popular, but it was almost because of that that he was reticent to take it on. Ruled as a. But this had no official status and could not overrule the coroner's verdict of suicide. Actors Alan Ladd and Gig Young were reportedly skeptical of the official determination. [15] They married on September 22, 1940, in San Gabriel, California, at the Church of Our Savior. He was contracted to Warner Brothers at the time, and the actor's professional name became "George Reeves" and his GWTW screen credit reflects the change. Reeves is interred at Mountain View Cemetery and Mausoleum in Altadena, California. Eddies exploits in covering up the sleazy underbelly of Hollywood were legendary. [1] [2] His death at age 45 from a gunshot remains controversial. Reeves died at the age of 45, from a gunshot wound to the head. Separated from his wife (their divorce became final in 1950), Reeves moved to New York City in 1949. He appeared in a pair of outdoor thrillers with Ralph Byrd. Finally, a single shot rang out. 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. 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! The producers looked elsewhere for a new star.[25]. The Superman cast members had restrictive contracts preventing them from taking other work that might interfere with the series. The Mysterious Death of Superman | What Lies Beyond It was a bullet to the head. George Reeves (TV's "Superman") at - The Hollywood Garage - Facebook He was able to play against type and starred as a villainous gold hunter in a Johnny Weissmuller Jungle Jim film. [17] Warner changed his professional name to George Reeves. [14], While studying acting at the Pasadena Playhouse, Reeves met his future wife, Ellanora Needles, granddaughter of circus magnate John Robinson. All of the conspiracy theories surrounding Reevess death would eventually be played out on the big screen in 2006s Hollywoodland, but they boil down to three scenarios. 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. Since a 9mm Luger generally ejects its shells to the right, it's hard to conceive what position the actor must have been in when he fired for it to have ended up underneath him. [27], His good friend Bill Walsh, a producer at Disney Studios, gave Reeves a prominent role in Westward Ho the Wagons! 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.