Farewell Kal-el, we will miss you

Christopher Reeve, the 52-year-old actor who a generation ago made the world believe a man could fly, died of a heart attack on Oct. 10. The first time I saw him it was overwhelming. Marlon Brando was just finishing the 12 year education of his son whom he had rocketed to earth as the planet Krypton exploded: "Live as one of them, Kal-El, to discover where your strength and your power are needed. Always hold in your heart the pride of your special heritage. They can be a great people, Kal-El, if they wish to be. They only lack the light to show the way. For this reason above all, their capacity for good, I have sent them you--my only son." At that moment, as John Williams brilliant theme began to swell. Reeve, stood far away from the camera against the icy white background of his Fortress Of Solitude, in familiar blue tights & a red cape. This motivated my 3 year old son to yell out in an otherwise silent theatre "Look dad, it's Superman!" Christopher Reeve as Superman then took flight, soared toward the camera banking left to right across the screen as Williams' music reached its crescendo. Yes, I believed a man could fly. To quote film reviewer Teddy Durgin's tribute to Reeve "Reeve's brilliance in the role may only now be fully celebrated now that he's gone. He didn't have a mask or a cowl or CGI transformation to hide his identity and do the acting for him. He had a pair of glasses. That's it! Reeve did the impossible. He made Clark Kent and Superman two believably different people. He changed not only his body language, but his whole stance, his whole being when in nerdy, mild-mannered reporter garb. But in just those few scenes where he would take off his glasses for a moment--PRESTO! CHANGO!--there was Superman!" He would be forever typecast but it was a role he loved. He still turned in great non Superman performances like one of my favorite films, "Somewhere in Time". However, I especially enjoyed him most recently in the tv series "Smallville" where he appeared in two of the series best episodes. His character, Dr. Virgil Swann, was the first to teach young Clark Kent (Tom Welling) of his Kryptonian destiny as the original John Williams Superman theme swelled in the background. Honestly, that scene brought tears to my eyes. The tragic riding accident nine years ago that left him paralyzed, never stopped him from being a husband, father, actor, director, writer & activist. He showed a strength, courage, hope and determination which few of us could ever lay claim to. "But most will remember this sad day as the day the proudest, most noble man they ever knew finally fell. For those who loved him -- one who would call him husband, one who would be his pal, or those who would call him son -- this is the darkest day they could ever imagine. They raised him to be a hero: to know the value of sacrifice, to know the value of life. And for those who served with Superman in the protection of all life comes the shock of a failure: the weight of being too late to help. For a city to live, a man had given his all and more. But it's too late. For this is the day that a Superman died." - Superman #75, 1992 (written by Dan Jurgens) He was truly the epitome of Siegel & Schuster's 1939 creation. He was larger than life and an inspiration to us all. He was indeed a true Superman.