Superman for eternity… but what really happened to George Reeves?

Superman for eternity… but what really happened to George Reeves?

If Hollywood is a dream-making machine, its back kitchen is also full of sordid stories, its share of mysteries and unsolved criminal cases. In this register, the death of actor George Reeves in 1959, who was adored by millions of viewers after they discovered him in a Superman suit, terrified America.

George Reeves, Last Flight for Superman

Born in January 1914, George Reeves began his career in Hollywood in 1939. After a number of uncredited appearances, he played one of Scarlett O’Hara’s suitors in Gone With the Wind. In film, his career has featured many small roles, sometimes in major films such as Before There Are Men, Angel of the Damned, or Samson and Delilah. But with the Superman series from 1952 to 1958, the actor passed into posterity and became the mascot of American homes.

On June 16, 1959, George Reeves was found lying naked on his bed with a bullet in his temple in his Beverly Hills home. His death shocked Americans, many of whom worshiped him in a superhero costume. On the day he disappeared, his fiancee Leonor Lemon was at home, along with three friends.

Although the suicide hypothesis was first chosen, many people began to doubt this conclusion in favor of the murder hypothesis. Who could blame George Reeves? It is as a result of digging into his personal life that some answers emerge…

A strange menagerie is Troy

In fact, Reeves had affairs with two different women. Leonore Lemon, a waitress in New York; The other was a married former cabaret dancer named Tony Mannix. Tony Mannix’s husband was an MGM executive called Edgar J. Mannix.

Strangely enough, the latter not only knew about the little scheme between his wife and George Reeves, but even suspiciously encouraged it, allowed Tony to help him financially and agreed to stay in the couple’s house. Strange trio…

However, in 1958, the relationship ended. If Reeves was planning on marrying Leonore Lemon, he also quickly realized that he couldn’t afford to live the same lavish lifestyle he had when he was with Tony…

On the evening of his death, Reeves went upstairs to isolate himself in his bedroom; Leonor Lemon and three friends on the first floor. Around midnight, two neighbors who were looking for a party were coldly greeted by George, who seemed unwilling to interfere. After that, Leonore went to her room, angry at how she received these people, and an argument broke out. Some say that’s when he picked up a gun and accidentally shot him.

An hour and a half passed before the people in the house called the police. For supporters of the assassination theory, this is the time it took the heroes to agree on their version of the facts. It is also said that Lemon rushed down the stairs after the murder and called out to the guests: “Tell him I was down! Tell him I was down!” The men told police they were all downstairs when they heard gunshots coming from George Reeves’ bedroom.

Suicide or murder? Doubts arise…

However, disturbing elements were against this version. The gun found between Reeves’ legs was clean of fingerprints. Additionally, the bullet that was used to kill the actor was found under his body when it was supposed to be thrown from him. In the end, there were no burn marks on Reeves’ body, indicating that the blow was remotely inflicted by another person.

The second serious way will be revenge against Tony’s husband, Edgar J. from Mannix to punish Reeves for the suffering he caused his wife after her breakup with the Superman actor. With connections in the middle, he would send the best man to settle the score while he slept…

The actor’s mother, Helen Besolo, never believed in the theory of suicide. He himself funded a team of private detectives, but their investigations yielded no new evidence. In 1999, famous Hollywood publicist Edward Losey claimed to have received Tony Mannix’s deathbed confession in 1983. He allegedly told her he was behind Reeves’ murder. But apart from these final admissions, no evidence was provided.

Thus, the official version remains the self-inflicted gunshot suicide of a depressed actor who was disillusioned with the Hollywood industry, which was determined not to give him a role in the post-Superman era.

The life of George Reeves and the hypotheses surrounding his murder/suicide are at the center of the 2006 film Hollywoodland starring Ben Affleck and Adrien Brody.

Source: Allocine

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