Christopher Reeve
Christopher D'Olier Reeve was an American actor, director, producer, and writer. He established himself early as a Juilliard-trained stage actor before portraying Superman/Kal-El/Clark Kent in four films, from 1978 to 1987. In the 1980s, he starred in several films, including Somewhere In Time (1980), Deathtrap (1982), The Bostonians (1984), and Street Smart (1987). He also starred in many plays, including the Broadway plays Fifth Of July (1980 - 1982) and The Marriage Of Figaro (1985). In 1987, he led a public rally in support of 77 Chilean actors, directors, and playwrights who had been sentenced to death by the dictator Augusto Pinochet for criticizing his regime in their works. Pinochet canceled the sentence after the ensuing media coverage, and Christopher was awarded with three national distinctions from Chile for his actions. In the 1990s, Christopher acted in such films as Noises Off (1992), The Remains Of The Day (1993), and Village of the Damned (1995).
In May 1995, Christopher was paralyzed in an accident during the cross country portion of an Eventing competition. He was in a wheelchair for the rest of his life. He lobbied on behalf of people with spinal cord injuries, and for human embryonic stem cell research after this accident. He founded the Christopher Reeve Foundation and co-founded the Reeve-Irvine Research Center. Reeve died at age 52 on October 10, 2004 from cardiac arrest caused by a systemic infection.
Christopher married Dana Morosini in April 1992, and they have a son, Will. Christopher also had two children, Matthew and Alexandra, from a previous relationship with Gae Exton. Dana Reeve died of lung cancer in March 2006.
“Either you choose to stay in the shallow end of the pool or you go out into the ocean.”
“We all have many more abilities and internal resources than we know. My advice is that you don't need to break your neck to find out about them.”
“Even though I don't personally believe in the Lord, I try to behave as though He was watching.”
“If I can laugh, I can live.”
“At first, dreams seem impossible, then improbable, and eventually inevitable.”
“Once you choose hope, anything's possible.”
“there is a relationship between the mind and the body that can both create a physical condition and enable us to recover from it”
“So many of our dreams at first seem impossible, then they seem improbable, and then, when we summon the will, they soon become inevitable.”
“I'm not living the life I thought I would lead, but it does have meaning, purpose. There is love... there is joy... there is laughter.”
“A hero is an ordinary person doing things in an extra ordinary way.”
“A Hero is an ordinary individual who finds the strength to persevere and endure in spite of overwhelming obstacles.”