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Who killed Superman actor George Reeves?
The death of George Reeves, the original Superman, remains a Hollywood mystery to this day.
Reeves, who played the iconic superhero on TV, died in June of 1959, and while the official cause of death was ruled as suicide, many of his friends and those close to him believed it was murder.
The new movie Hollywoodland, directed by Allen Coulter, tries to unravel the mystery and provides a glimpse into the three or four main theories surrounding the death.
Reeves lived in a modest house in Benedict Canyon Drive, bought for him in 1950 by his long-time lover Toni Mannix, who was married to MGM studio enforcer Eddie Mannix.
On the night of his death, Reeves was found naked in his upstairs bedroom, lying in a pool of blood with a gun between his feet.
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The LA police and the coroner quickly ruled it as an open-and-shut case of suicide, but doubts lingered among those close to Reeves.
The movie Hollywoodland stars Ben Affleck as Reeves, a has-been seeking a comeback. The film does a good job of capturing the feel of Los Angeles in the 1950s and provides a vivid picture of the era and the location.
On the night of Reeves’ death, he and his fiancé Leonore Lemmon had gone out for dinner and drinks and returned home around 11 pm.
Reeves went to bed around midnight, but came down in an irritable mood an hour later when Carol Van Ronkel, a married neighbor, showed up with William Bliss.
According to the police report, Lemmon said, “He is going to shoot himself,” and a shot rang out.
Bliss ran upstairs and found Reeves dead on the bed. The four witnesses, who were all very drunk, gave perfunctory police interviews before scattering into the night.
In the week-long investigation that followed, the evidence seal on the property was broken, apparently by Lemmon, who left for New York with $4,000 in traveler’s cheques.
The coroner’s autopsy took place after the body had been thoroughly washed, and no tests were conducted for powder traces on Reeves’ hand.
Even though the top of his skull was removed, no one checked the head wound for gunpowder traces.
The death of George Reeves remains a mystery, and Hollywoodland tries to shed light on the various theories surrounding it.
The film provides a captivating picture of Los Angeles in the 1950s and gives audiences a glimpse into the many suspicions and uncertainties surrounding Reeves’ death.
