Superman curse

The Superman Curse refers to a superstition that is based on a series of misfortunes that have plagued creative people involved in adaptations of Superman in various media, particularly actors who have played the role of Superman on film and television. The "curse" is frequently associated with George Reeves, who starred in Adventures of Superman on television from 1952 to 1958, and died of a gunshot wound at age 45 under disputed circumstances (officially ruled a suicide); and Christopher Reeve, who played the superhero in four theatrical films from 1978 to 1987, was paralyzed in a 1995 horseback riding accident, and died nine years later at age 52.
The curse is often invoked whenever misfortune is experienced by actors and other personnel who work on Superman adaptations, so much so that some talent agents cite the curse as the reason for the difficulty in casting actors in the role in live-action feature films.

Deceased Superman actors who allegedly became victims of the curse

The following actors who played Superman have sometimes been cited as victims of the "Superman curse".

George Reeves

George Reeves played Superman in the 1951 film Superman and the Mole Men and the ensuing television series Adventures of Superman. Like Alyn and Reeve, he was too closely associated for that role in order to find other ones. On June 16, 1959, days before he was to be married, Reeves was found dead of a gunshot wound at his home with his Luger near him. The death was ruled a suicide, but controversy surrounds the death, as Reeves' prints were never found on the gun, and he had been having an affair with the wife of MGM exec Eddie Mannix. It was Reeves' death that inspired the conspiracy theories and the urban legend of a curse associated with the character.

Bud Collyer

Bud Collyer voiced the first Superman cartoon from 1941-43. He went on to enjoy a career in TV, creating and hosting the game show To Tell the Truth. He returned to Superman by voicing The New Adventures of Superman for CBS in 1966. Three years later, he was dead of a circulatory ailment at the age of 61.

Lee Quigley

Lee Quigley, who played Superman as a baby in the 1978 film, died in 1991 at age 14 due to solvent abuse.

Kirk Alyn

Kirk Alyn played Superman in two low-budget 1940s serials but failed to find work afterwards because he was too closely identified with the role, and was relegated to voice-overs, commercials and uncredited screen roles. He later appeared as Lois Lane's father in the 1978 Superman film. Alyn suffered from Alzheimer's disease later in his life and died in 1999 at the age of 88.

Christopher Reeve

Christopher Reeve played Superman/Clark Kent in the Superman film series, Superman: The Movie (1978), Superman II (1980), Superman III (1983), and Superman IV: The Quest for Peace (1987). Like Kirk Alyn, Reeve was so closely identified with the character that it was difficult for him to acquire lead parts in other films, and was largely relegated to Superman sequels and supporting roles. The actor was paralyzed from the neck down after being thrown from his horse in a cross-country equestrian riding event on May 27, 1995. Reeve died on October 10, 2004 due to heart failure stemming from his medical condition.

Other alleged victims

Margot Kidder

Margot Kidder, who played Superman’s love interest Lois Lane opposite Christopher Reeve suffers from intense bipolar disorder. In April 1996, she went missing for several days and was found by police in a paranoid, delusional state. Kidder dismisses the notion of a curse, remarking in a 2002 interview, "That is all newspaper-created rubbish. The idea cracks me up. What about the luck of Superman? When my car crashed this August, if I hadn't hit a telegraph pole after rolling three times, I would have dropped down a 50ft to 60ft ravine. Why don't people focus on that?"

Richard Pryor

Comedian Richard Pryor, who had previously suffered from a drug addiction that led to a near fatal suicide attempt, starred as villain Gus Gorman in 1983’s Superman III, but later took Superman's side near the end of the movie and became a hero. Three years later, he announced that he was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis. He died of cardiac arrest on December 10, 2005 at the age of 65.

Dana Reeve

The curse has been mentioned regarding the death of the widow of actor Christopher Reeve, who, despite being a non-smoker, died of lung cancer in 2006 at the age of 44.

Miscellaneous

The curse was invoked after two people involved in the creation of DVD new Superman Returns suffered injuries, one of whom fell down a flight of stairs. Another was mugged and beaten up and a third smashed into a glass window. Director Bryan Singer remarked, "My DVD crew absorbed the curse for us."

Superman actors not generally believed to have become victims of the curse

The following actors have portrayed Superman but are not generally believed to have suffered from the "Superman curse".

Dean Cain

McKernan points out that Dean Cain, who became a household name in the mid-1990s for to his portrayal of Superman/Clark Kent in Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman, went on to have other varied roles in shows such as Frasier and Law & Order, made-for-TV movies, and a cameo appearance in Smallville, though ABC News' Buck Wolf commented, "but he has yet to find the right role".

Brandon Routh

Actor Brandon Routh, who played Superman in the 2006 film Superman Returns, dismisses the notion of the curse, stating that what occurs to one person or set of people will not necessarily occur to everyone, and that he does not live his life in fear.

Bob Holiday

Bob Holiday, who played Superman on Broadway in It's a Bird, It's a Plane, It's Superman!, called the idea of a Superman Curse "silly." He states that "nothing but good" has come from his playing Superman.