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Aqida
Moderator
1288 Posts |
 Posted - 12 October 2004 : 02:12:41 AM
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"Superman" actor Christopher Reeve, who turned personal tragedy into a public crusade and from his wheelchair became the nation's most recognizable spokesman for spinal cord research, has died. He was 52.
Reeve died Sunday of complications from an infection caused by a bedsore. He went into cardiac arrest Saturday, while at his Pound Ridge home, then fell into a coma and died Sunday at a hospital surrounded by his family, his publicist said.
His advocacy for stem cell research helped it emerge as a major campaign issue between President Bush and Sen.
John Kerry. His name was even mentioned by Kerry during the second presidential debate on Friday.
In the last week Reeve had developed a serious systemic infection, a common problem for people living with paralysis who develop bedsores and depend on tubes and other medical devices needed for their care. He entered the hospital Saturday.
Dana Reeve thanked her husband's personal staff of nurses and aides, "as well as the millions of fans from around the world."
"He put up with a lot," his mother, Barbara Johnson, told the syndicated television show "The Insider." "I'm glad that he is free of all those tubes."
Before the 1995 horse-riding accident that caused his paralysis, Reeve's athletic, 6-foot-4-inch frame and love of adventure made him a natural choice for the title role in the first "Superman" movie in 1978. He insisted on performing his own stunts.
"Look, I've flown, I've become evil, loved, stopped and turned the world backward, I've faced my peers, I've befriended children and small animals and I've rescued cats from trees," Reeve told the Los Angeles Times in 1983, just before the release of the third "Superman" movie. "What else is there left for Superman to do that hasn't been done?"
Though he owed his fame to it, Reeve made a concerted effort to, as he often put it, "escape the cape." He played an embittered, crippled Vietnam veteran in the 1980 Broadway play "Fifth of July," a lovestruck time-traveler in the 1980 movie "Somewhere in Time," and an aspiring playwright in the 1982 suspense thriller "Deathtrap."
More recent films included John Carpenter's "Village of the Damned," and the HBO movies "Above Suspicion" and "In the Gloaming," which he directed. Among his other film credits are "The Remains of the Day," "The Aviator," and "Morning Glory."
Reeve's life changed completely after he broke his neck in May 1995 when he was thrown from his horse during an equestrian competition in Culpeper, Va.
Enduring months of therapy to allow him to breathe for longer and longer periods without a respirator, Reeve emerged to lobby Congress for better insurance protection against catastrophic injury. He moved an Academy Award audience to tears with a call for more films about social issues.
"Hollywood needs to do more," he said in the 1996 Oscar awards appearance. "Let's continue to take risks. Let's tackle the issues. In many ways our film community can do it better than anyone else."
He returned to directing, and even returned to acting in a 1998 production of "Rear Window," a modern update of the Hitch**** thriller about a man in a wheelchair who is convinced a neighbor has been murdered. Reeve won a Screen Actors Guild award for best actor in a TV movie or miniseries.
"I was worried that only acting with my voice and my face, I might not be able to communicate effectively enough to tell the story," Reeve said. "But I was surprised to find that if I really concentrated, and just let the thoughts happen, that they would read on my face."
Reeve also made several guest appearances on the WB series "Smallville" as Dr. Swann, a scientist who gave the teenage Clark Kent insight into his future as Superman.
In 2000, Reeve was able to move his index finger, and a specialized workout regimen made his legs and arms stronger. With rigorous therapy, involving repeated electrical stimulation of the muscles, he also regained sensation in other parts of his body. He vowed to walk again.
"I refuse to allow a disability to determine how I live my life. I don't mean to be reckless, but setting a goal that seems a bit daunting actually is very helpful toward recovery," Reeve said.
Dr. John McDonald treated Reeve as director of the Spinal Cord Injury Program at Washington University in St. Louis. He called Reeve "one of the most intense individuals I've ever met in my life."
"Before him there was really no hope," McDonald said. "If you had a spinal cord injury like his there was not much that could be done, but he's changed all that. He's demonstrated that there is hope and that there are things that can be done."
Dr. Raymond Onders, who implanted electrodes in Reeve's diaphragm in a groundbreaking surgery to help him breathe, said the sore that led to the infection was not Reeve's only recent health problem.
"Many different problems develop after nine years of being dependent on a ventilator, not being able to move yourself, having intestinal problems. ... It just slowly builds up over the years," Onders told ABC's "Good Morning America."
Reeve was born Sept. 25, 1952, in New York City, son of a novelist and a newspaper reporter. About age 10, he made his first stage appearance � in Gilbert and Sullivan's "The Yeoman of the Guard" at a theater in Princeton, N.J.
After graduating from Cornell University in 1974, he landed a part as coldhearted bigamist Ben Harper on the soap opera "Love of Life." He also performed frequently on stage, winning his first Broadway role as the grandson of Katharine Hepburn's character in "A Matter of Gravity."
Reeve's first movie role was a minor one in the submarine disaster movie "Gray Lady Down," released in 1978. "Superman" soon followed. Reeve was selected for the role from among about 200 aspirants.
While filming "Superman" in London, Reeve met modeling agency co-founder Gae Exton, and the two began a relationship that lasted several years. They had a son and a daughter, but never wed.
Reeve later married Dana Morosini; they had one son, Will, 12. Reeve also is survived by his mother, Barbara Johnson; his father, Franklin Reeve; his brother, Benjamin Reeve; and the children from his relationship with Exton, Matthew, 25, and Alexandra, 21.
Funeral plans were not immediately announced.
In his 1998 book, "Still Me," he recalled that after the accident, when he contemplating giving up, his wife told him: "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."
His children helped, too, he told interviewer Barbara Walters.
"I could see how much they needed me and wanted me ... and how lucky we all are and that my brain is on straight."
http://entertainment.msn.com/movies/article.aspx?news=170270 |
Send all the hate mails to [email protected] |
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Mobeen
Senior Member
Pakistan
509 Posts |
Posted - 12 October 2004 : 10:43:47 AM
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I read this news last night and I was shocked and saddened. Christopher Reeve was not only one of my favourite actors; but one of my biggest inspirations as well of the whole world. His determination has taught and kept people with disability and handicap sane and alive. He was like a mental frontier to me; I often get very agitated with my own handicap, but when I think about this guy.. it makes me feel better about myself. He never let his handicap get in his way, and in his TimeLine interview on BBC, he was asked how he manages all this, he replied 'There are people with much worse conditions than I am. If they can live with it, so can I'. Very true indeed. My handicap is nothing compared to his. He gave hope to millions and was a hero.
It saddened me that he had to die this way. He was paralyzed for 9 years and when things got better for him and his bones started moving slightly, he went into cardiac arrest and died. But, this is also a symbol. Allah has always Said.. in this world, those who go through a lot of pain will be rewarded and their pain will be taken away. Its the same thing with Christopher.
Christopher Reeve has made my old days golden. I remember everytime I used to watch Superman and be a fan of all the charisma and strength he had. I don't wish to continue, it would just sadden me more.
May you rest in Peace Chris. |
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Delicious
Junior Member
Pakistan
90 Posts |
Posted - 12 October 2004 : 12:15:44 PM
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christian!! i wish the same 2! mobeen? hadnt someone left noori forums  ??? |
go away! |
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Mobeen
Senior Member
Pakistan
509 Posts |
Posted - 12 October 2004 : 1:11:14 PM
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Yes he had. It was a very quick decision without thinking and it was an upset time for him, so he left for 3 months and made an unsurprise comeback.. Besides that he was losing some friends and he knew forum members needed concert reviews  So I'm baaacckk! My mind is just like Junaid Jamshed.. I can't make it up  But dude, its great to see you again man.. even though we didnt interact much.. |
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Minhas
Advanced Member
Pakistan
5381 Posts |
Posted - 12 October 2004 : 7:31:23 PM
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lolz!! well said, but who the hell is he heheh!
anyways, I dont feel sorry for people I dunno or people who dunno me hehe anyways best of luck for the next life Reeves! |
Somebody Stop Me!
[ www.PakistanArmy.net www.HolyQuran.tk www.Nooristan.tk ] |
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Noori rox
Advanced Member
Saudi Arabia
1125 Posts |
Posted - 12 October 2004 : 10:08:04 PM
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well yaar its really so much sad to hear that!!!
Minhas.... aap kis duniya mein rehte ho?? and whats the meaning of NEXT LIFE??? do u believe in...?? |
Meri yeh aarzoo, ab kabhi mein na rukoon
tum bhi kuch soch lo,
dil ko na roko!!!!!! |
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Blue.
Senior Member
Pakistan
557 Posts |
Posted - 13 October 2004 : 01:07:29 AM
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A Great Loss Indeed, This man was an inspiration for many people around the world.Its people like Chris that keep our hopes alive and also make us realize how thankless we are at times to Allah for giving us so much, without our asking.This man had amazing courage and will surely be missed by his many fans.May his soul rest in peace, Amen.
Btw Minhas, That was so Rude :( |
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Amazing~Hero
Junior Member
Pakistan
96 Posts |
Posted - 13 October 2004 : 02:38:36 AM
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| Christopher Reeve mara hai ya Superman.? |
My life without [eP]..??? huh! No way, Sir..!! |
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stranded
Junior Member
Israel
179 Posts |
Posted - 13 October 2004 : 03:56:34 AM
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quote:
Originally posted by Amazing~Hero
Christopher Reeve mara hai ya Superman.?
ever thought of using ur internet wisely ?? Christopher Reeve is the guy who played Superman ...So sad to hear about his passing. He will be greatly missed "He was broken but not beaten". He had touched so many lives and had helped thousands through the Christopher Reeve Paralysis Foundation.. May his soul rest in peace.
P.s:- Minhas bro atleast have some respect for the dead. |
And I don't want the world to see me
Cause I don't think that they'd understand
When everything's made to be broken
I just want you to know who I am |
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Christopher Reeve died this Sunday.
