TAC, Jr. #9
From the publisher of The Adventures Continue
<www.jimnolt.com>

Thursday, July 3, 1997

Contents:

1) TV GUIDE - July 5 - 11, 1997
2) GEORGE REEVES CONTINUES TO HELP MYASTHENIA GRAVIS
3) NEW MOVIE
4) INSPECTOR/BILL
5) REACTION TO JUNE 16, 1959
6) THESE BOOTS ARE MADE FOR B&W
7) AUTOGRAPHED PHOTOS
8) GONE WITH THE WIND INTO HIS CLOSET
9) NEW WEBSITE

1) TV GUIDE - July 5, 1997-
TV Guide and Nick-at-Nite didn't include any Adventures of Superman episodes
in its pick of the 100 greatest episodes of all time last week, but in this
week's Summer Sci-Fi Special issue, there is a nice shot of the George
Reeves cover of 1953 in an article called "Retro Rocketeers." On July 5 at 8
PM (eastern time) the USA Network will air TV Guide Looks at Science
Fiction. It will be repeated on the Sci-Fi Channel on July 7 at 7 PM. The
show will be hosted by Bill Shatner and will feature three-dozen film clips.
Let's hope that the photo of George's TV Guide cover means that George and
the Adventures of Superman will be included.

2) GEORGE REEVES CONTINUES TO HELP MYASTHENIA GRAVIS -
A few weeks ago I received an e-mail message from Tess who suffers from
Myasthenia Gravis. She had been searching the Internet and discovered a
mention of the disease on my George Reeves "Important Dates" page. We
discussed George's connection with MG and I told her that Pat Ellsworth
Wilson suffers from the disease as well and that Jane Ellsworth was
responsible for establishing the National Myasthenia Gravis Foundation in
the early 1950s. Tess took that information and included it in her trivia
page. You can visit her page at http://www.geocities.com/HotSprings/9943.
Click on the trivia page to read about George.

3) NEW MOVIE -
News of a new Superman movie has been rumored for years, but after many
false starts, it seems production will finally begin. In May, Entertainment
Weekly ran "A Super Dilemma" in which it is reported that "... Warner is
moving at superspeed on the big-budget feature Superman Lives for the summer
of 1998. The studio and producer Jon Peters have signed Nicolas Cage to play
the last son of Krypton, ...." It is also reported in the article that
Sandra Bullock has been mentioned as a possible Lois Lane and Jack Nicholson
as criminal genius Lex Luthor. [Thanks go to Nelson Jimenez for sending me
that article.]

And this today from new reader, Roman DuVall: You probably know this
already, but this fall shooting begins on the film, Superman Lives directed
by Tim Burton of Batman movie fame. Nicholas Cage stars as Clark/Superman.
Michael Keaton is supposed to have a cameo in the film as Batman, but that
is unconfirmed. But Burton directing and Cage as Superman is confirmed. Will
be interesting to see how well he does.

TAC-reader Jesse Groth adds: I've been arguing that choice on the Net for
months, and I still haven't quite figured out why anyone thinks Cage is a
good (let alone excellent) choice. The best I can come up with is the theory
that Cage's status as an Academy Award winner gives the project a
"credibility" that it somehow wouldn't have with an "unknown". In these days
of style over substance, the style of Superman (the look of the character)
is in this case a primary element of the substance of what he is and what he
stands for. How ironic that now they'd deign to alter that classic style
for who knows what.

The Entertainment Weekly article concludes by saying that "As heroes go,
Superman may not be bankable right now." The reporter cites the demise of
Lois & Clark and the fact that sales of Superman comic books lag behind more
cutting-edge titles like Spawn and The X-Men. One high-level Warner source
is quoted as saying, "Let's face it, [Superman is like] that friend you had
who tried to act hip, talk hip, and dress hip... but was really just a
nerd." Sounds to me like the powers that be are already making excuses for
the film's failure, but have it all wrong. Superman is not the nerd - it's
the writers, producers, and directors. I'd love to see someone take the
character seriously again and produce a more traditional Superman film,
then, like Mr. Fairchild ("The Face And The Voice"), we'd all gasp, "The
real one!"

4) INSPECTOR BILL -
During the first season of the Adventures of Superman, Clark most often
addressed Inspector Henderson as "Inspector" or "Henderson." In the second
season, they became better friends, and Inspector Henderson became "Bill" to
Kent. However, throughout the run of the series, Superman continued to
address him as "Inspector" ("My pleasure to ride with you always,
Inspector" - "The Seven Souvenirs"). There is at least one episode, however,
in which Superman addresses Henderson as "Bill." That happens in "The Face
And The Voice."

SUPERMAN: (Rushing into Henderson's office.) Look, Inspector.
HENDERSON: Superman! (Moving from behind desk with Superman chasing after
him.) Well, this is a pleasant surprise.
SUPERMAN: I'm not going to bite you. We've got work to do, and fast!
HENDERSON: Of course you wouldn't bite anyone. Now just sit down and relax.
SUPERMAN: Look, you don't seem to understand. I'm the real Superman. Here,
look. (Bends object on Henderson's desk.) Convince you?
HENDERSON: Of course you're the real Superman. I'd lock anybody up that said
different. (Continues to run around desk.) And... and I've always admired
you, too.
SUPERMAN: Bill, there's a crook loose in this city... he looks exactly like
me. There's a phonograph record of my voice stolen... there may have even
been plastic work done on him.
HENDERSON: Please, hold it will you? There's nothing to get excited about.
SUPERMAN: This may be building up to some hubige crime.
HENDERSON: Now, now, now. Now we know all about it. Perry White talked to
you. I've known him for years. I believe him. We have some very nice
doctors...
SUPERMAN: Look, Bill, we've been pals for years. I'd hate to use you for a
volleyball in your own office, but.... (Phone rings)
HENDERSON: Henderson. What! He was... no... I... I mean yes... right away.
(Turns to Superman) The Metropolis Bank. Two million dollars in gold bullion
was just... and they just stood there because it was Superman...
SUPERMAN: Ha!
HENDERSON: I mean it was... holy cow!
SUPERMAN: See what I mean? (Dissolve to Hamlet talking to Henderson)

5) REACTION TO JUNE 16, 1959 -
After I e-mailed the reminder of George's death on June 16, several readers
responded telling me how they felt when they first heard of George's death
thirty-eight years ago. All remembrances are used with permission from the
authors.

Michael Ramey: I remember the day very well. I was in the 5th grade, sitting
in the living room of my home in Portsmouth, Ohio. The news was in the local
paper. At 11 years of age I realized that George was an actor who played
Superman, but the news was still just unbelievable.

Michael Korcek: Never will forget June 16, 1959. I was a skinny kid with
glasses, age 11. One of my older friends, who loved reading through my
stacks of Superman comics and lived on our block, told me. We were outdoors,
sitting in the shade reading, and all of a sudden he said, "Hey, Mick, your
hero is dead. Superman killed himself." I thought it was a bluff and that he
was teasing me. Then I heard it on the radio. It was true, and I cried. My
mom didn't understand. My aunt tried to console me by saying he was just an
actor and that people in Hollywood do some weird things. They both meant
well, but she didn't understand either. What we all realized as kids at the
time was that our favorite version of Superman was dead. . . gone - and
we're still sad about it.

Alan Kaminsky: I was just getting out of school and a friend stopped me and
said that Superman had shot himself and that it was in the paper. Across the
street was a candy store that sold newspapers. There it was on the front
page. I even remember that it was the same one that you have on the cover of
your home page. I took the change that I had from my lunch money and bought
the paper to read the story. This was the first time I bought a newspaper
because I wanted to read it. I think as baby boomers we remember where we
were when Kennedy was shot, when man walked on the moon, and when George
Reeves died. What a loss for all of us.

6) THESE BOOTS ARE MADE FOR B&W -
During the day I spend much time at my computer. With the television across
the room, I'm most often watching episodes of the Adventures of Superman.
Almost every time I watch I notice something new. Most recently I noticed in
"Shot In The Dark" that when Superman drives up in the mail truck ["Hey,
what's the big idea here?"] and is knocked to the ground, you can see that
he's wearing the Superman boots. That could not have been done if "Shot In
The Dark" had been a color episode. Obviously Alan Kaminsky watches the
episodes carefully too because he noticed something similar in "Perry
White's Scoop." I checked it last night, and while I'm not positive... when
Clark and Perry are in the gym, White is definitely wearing sneakers
(perhaps the same ones he wore in "The Evil Three") but Clark appears to be
wearing Superman's boots! If "Perry White's Scoop" had been filmed in color,
we could be more certain (he might be wearing black athletic shoes of some
kind). In any event, while you're watching the episode, notice how the lid
of the steam cabinet almost injures John Hamilton when George breaks out of
it.

7) AUTOGRAPHED PHOTOS -
You may soon order autographed photos of Noel Neill, Jack Larson, and Bob
Shayne through The Adventures Continue for a small fee to cover postage,
handling, and time. Noel and Jack have already agreed to provide personally
autographed photos, and Bette Shayne still has some photos that Bob signed
before he died. I haven't yet called her, but I'm hoping Phyllis Coates will
help out as well. I'm not asking for orders yet, but I would like to know if
the interest is there. Please let me know if you'd be willing to part with
about $20 per photo. If the interest is there, the photos will probably be
made available around Christmas. [Autographed photos are no longer available
through The Adventures Continue. jln 12/26/2000]

8) GONE WITH THE WIND INTO HIS CLOSET -
Steven Lance, author of Written Out Of Television, asks this question:
Thanks for TAC, Jr. #8. The mention of Gone With The Wind brings to mind a
troubling question I've been meaning to ask for years. A while back the
Franklin Mint issued a collector's place "Scarlett and Her Suitors." It is a
color painting of the scene from Gone With The Wind at the picnic with
Scarlett in her bonnet. One of those suitors is George Reeves, but it also
seems the painting was taken from a publicity still I have in my collection
that shows Fred Crane kneeling on the left side of the frame. My question
is... does anyone know whether it is George Reeves or Fred Crane on the
commemorative plate? I don't have it displayed any longer because I believe
it isn't George, but I'd like to be sure.

9) NEW WEBSITE -
I've been busy the past few weeks establishing my own domain name and
designing new web pages and transferring the George Reeves information from
geocities. Beginning July 1, you should set your browsers to www.jimnolt.com.
I'm still updating and revising, but I've recently added a new reader profile and
will be adding the photo gallery soon. With my own site, I'll have more space,
better control, and will be better able to promote The Adventures Continue.

-----
The Adventures Continue . . .
. . .with George Reeves