At around 2am that morning, two police officers arrived at 1579 Benedict Canyon, Los Angeles, the house Reeves had been living at with his new fiance Leonore Lemmon during the previous few months. He was getting work as a director, and he had agreed to do another season of Superman, in which he would also direct quite a few episodes of. Were Hollywood's police force keeping a lid on the truth to protect Tinseltown from another scandal? Toni Lanier Mannix (born Camille Bernice Froomess; February 19, 1906 - September 2, 1983) was an American actress and dancer in early motion pictures filmed with soundtracks, known as "talkies".Going by the name Toni Lanier, she became known in Hollywood circles for her extramarital relationship with future husband MGM studio head Eddie Mannix, who was married at the time to Bernice Fitzmaurice. Advertisement. Reeves' will, dated 1956, bequeathed his entire estate to Toni Mannix, much to Lemmon's surprise and devastation. I have been researching a full-scale In the home of actor George Reeves, people frantically handed somebody else their martini glass and then tried to wake the naked couple in bed, though the police wouldn't be called for nearly an hour.Earlier that evening, Reeves and his fiance had gotten into an argument at a restaurant or two and, despite planning to wed in only four days' time, Reeves reportedly wanted . George Reeves' Former Home Another location that has long been woven into the fabric of Hollywood lore is George Reeves' former Benedict Canyon bungalow, where in the early morning hours of June 16th, 1958 the Adventures of Superman star was found dead from a single gunshot wound to the head. According to legend, the house at 1579 Benedict Canyon Drive in Los Angeles where actor George Reeves died of a gunshot wound to the head early in the morning of June 16, 1959 is haunted. The Los Angeles county coroner said its was a suicide, but family & friends say it was a love triangle murder. George's fiancee Lenore Lemmon claims that in . George Reeves from "Superman" had a mysterious death that saw him die from a single gunshot wound to the head. George Reeves' home in Benedict Canyon On June 16, 1959, Lenore Lemmon served dinner at around 6:30 p.m. at Reeves' Benedict Canyon home. Waymarkly is the premiere Waymarking app for iOS. The recent feature film, "Hollywoodland" is about this questionable death of a popular celebrity. Upon hearing of George's demise, he went to the house and the . Getting tapped to play a famous superhero may be considered the pinnacle of an acting career today, but Reeves agreed to the role out of desperation. The long Broadway run was followed by a national tour and a movie version. George Bessolo Reeves lived in a modest house in Benedict Canyon in Los Angeles, California up until the time of his death on June 15, 1959. Whilst its true the actor had a habit of playing dangerous games with his gun, naked in bed at 1am does not seem a very likely time for macabre party tricks. On June 15, George and Leonore had gone out to a rather boozy dinner, to celebrate the upcoming marriage. The house where George lived is fairly modest for the area, but the asking price in 1995 was $625,000. He starred in a number of two-reel short subjects and appeared in several B-pictures, including two with future president of the United States Ronald Reagan and three with James Cagney (Torrid Zone, The Fighting 69th, and The Strawberry Blonde). According to biographer Jim Beaver, Reeves did not know for several years that Bessolo was still alive. The coroner had ruled the forty-five year old actor's death a suicide, brought about by despondency over a failing career and too much alcohol. The half-hour films were shot on tight schedules; at least two shows were made every six days. Reeves worried he would be typecast as a childrens actor. According to Kashner and Schoenberger (A Talent for Genius), however, unanswered details about Reeves's demise shroud what in truth was foul play. Mannix, who had ties to the mob, had him whacked due to the affair. On June 16, 1959, George Reeves, who was the first to make the superhero an icon when he played the titular role in the inaugural TV series, was found dead in his bedroom. ", Death of Superman may not have been a suicide, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=George_Reeves&oldid=1139854102, Credited erroneously onscreen as playing Brent Tarleton (see above), This page was last edited on 17 February 2023, at 06:25. His work on the show would earn him fame as the Original Superman, even though that wasnt technically true. George Reeves had a reasonably successful film career (including a small part in Gone with the Wind) when he took the role of Superman in Superman and the Mole Men, a feature film. Upstairs, they found the homeowner naked and sprawled across his bed. It was then that Lemmons actions became truly strange. That night she received a disturbing phone call. Eddie Mannix wasnt just a heavy in Hollywood, he was also rumored to have mob connections. It is sometimes easy to get caught up in the mystery of George Reeves demise, the different theories and suspects. For whatever reason, though, in my ten-plus years of living in Los Angeles, I had yet to stalk the former Supermans home. The series went on the air the following year, and Reeves was amazed at becoming a national celebrity. This was before news of Reeves death had gotten out, and it always remained a mystery to Coates how Mannix could have known Reeves was murdered unless she was party to it. He was 45 years old. But from another, the death of George Reeves looks a lot like murder. Two neighbors stopped by, hoping to join the party. The coroner ruled it suicide. There were also fresh bruises on the body. Around 1, two friends came by for a visit. Reeves and Sherman impressed the casting director by performing seven pages of script in a single take without pause. He appeared in a pair of outdoor thrillers with Ralph Byrd and in a Sam Katzman-produced serial, The Adventures of Sir Galahad. Carol lived in the neighborhood. Photo Illustration by Luis G. Rendon/The Daily Beast/GettyThe death of the original Superman is one of those American mysteries that may never fully add up. See, hes opening the drawer to get the gun. Lemmon claimed. He had affection for his young fans, and took his role-model status seriously. But his business manager and mother, among others, said that while it was true he was disappointed in the way things were going, his feelings werent strong enough to explain a suicide. Reeves death was the first in what would come to be a string of tragedies surrounding the role, in what would come to be known as the Superman curse. The issues wasnt just career frustration. Reeves wrote the pilot script himself. The police also appeared to be behaving in a careless manner. Reeves found himself unemployable. I was depressed, and I accepted instantly that he had committed suicide, Larson told Unsolved Mysteries in 1995. Their relationship was full of booze and bickering. Was the coroner's verdict right after all? Character actor Ben Welden had acted with Reeves in the Warner Bros. days and frequently guest-starred on Superman. Lois & Clark - The New Adventures of Superman, Superman/Shazam! The mystery surrounding the death of George Reeves, the original Man of Steel. Wikimedia CommonsReeves played opposite Vivien Leigh as one of the Tarleton twins in Gone With the Wind. Between the start of production on Gone With the Wind and its release 12months later, several films on his Warner contract were made and released, making Gone With the Wind his first film role, but his fifth film release. How he came to meet this grisly end is a story as disputed and controversial today as it was when the scandal rocked Hollywood at the height of the actor's fame. He referred to the show that had made him famous as scraping the bottom of the barrel, and would burn the costume he called a monkey suit at the wrap of each season. George Reeves died of a gunshot wound to his head in the upstairs bedroom at his home in Benedict Canyon. Conspiracy theories abound and Reeves death has remained the stuff of Hollywood legend for over five decades since. Lemmon moved into his house, and they were to be married on June 18. When Officers Johnson and Korby entered the . Witnesses in the house who behaved a little oddly but heard the whole thing. But unable to find work, perhaps George felt he had little choice but to return to a part that clearly caused him much anguish. Both would later commit suicide . At this time, Reeves and his mother moved from Iowa to Ashland, Kentucky, to stay with relatives for a time[10] and then to her home of Galesburg, Illinois.[11]. They had no children and divorced 10 years later.[16]. The people in the house were quite intoxicated and weren't much help to the investigation even waiting over 30 minutes before calling the police. Character: . Reportedly, the police had not been called until at least a half an hour after his death. "According to Lemmon, the only people in the house that night, in addition to George and herself, were Carol Von Ronkle, William Bliss, and writer Robert Condon. Giesler had been paid a hefty sum, so why did he suddenly drop the case? All three bullets had been fired from the weapon found at Reeves' feet, though all witnesses agreed they heard only one gunshot, and there was no sign of forced entry or other physical evidence that a second person was in the room. George Reeves hit the television jackpot when he landed the dual role of Clark Kent/Superman in the television series The Adventures of Superman. It seems the dark secret haunted her for the rest of her life. No scandals were too big to be neutralised by Eddie, from covering-up Clark Gable accidently killing actress Tosca Roulien, to tracking down and buying up every copy of a porn film starring Joan Crawford. They divorced 10 years later and had no children. Like so many men of his generation, the war derailed his life plans. The official verdict was that Reeves had committed suicide, the weight of his troubles having become too much for him to bear. First, Reeves was found naked. Peterson as saying: "Miss Lemmon blurted, 'He's probably going to go shoot himself.' The woman on the other end of the line was a woman named Toni Mannix. On June 16, 1959, Reeves died from a single gunshot wound in the bedroom of his Benedict Canyon home. Its a bird! Nosotros, Yahoo, somos parte de la familia de marcas de Yahoo. It was a bullet to the head. A noise was heard upstairs. The costume Reeves donned as Superman on TV. Its impossible to ever know whats truly going on in someones head, especially on a night of heavy drinking, but it did seem that Reeves was taking steps to fix his situation. He had recently been involved in a serious affair with a married woman, Toni Mannix, before dumping her for his high-society fiancee, leaving Mannix devastated. The story told by those there that night is full of holes, the evidence perplexing and poorly handled. Giesler called for a second autopsy. What happened next is mired in controversy, but according to the police interviews with the witnesses, a short moment later a shot was heard and the man who had become famous for been impervious to gunfire had, ironically, ended his life with a bullet to the head. Reeves was extremely intoxicated when he died, and also pumped full of painkillers to treat the injuries he received in his recent car accident. According to the statements given to the police (statements that were no doubt slurred), Reeves came down to ask them to be quiet, they convinced him to stay for a drink, and then he stomped his way back upstairs. Ruled as a. The windows above the living room are the windows to George's bedroom. Coates was amongst many of Reeves friends and co-stars who did not believe he would have killed himself. Like an optical illusion, from one angle the details clearly show a man who, in a moment of distress, made a tragic decision. George Reeves (born George Keefer Brewer; January 5, 1914 June 16, 1959) was an American actor. Mobster Mickey Cohen once described Toni Mannix as the only person in Hollywood who had any balls. Over six years and 104 episodes, the actor smiled broadly in pictures, fists planted on hips in the famous Superman power pose, and made appearances to promote the hit television show, including a guest spot in costume on I Love Lucy. He was able to play against type and starred as a villainous gold hunter in a Johnny Weismuller Jungle Jim film. Michael Hayde firmly believes that George Reeves was murdered. Two, Eddie Mannix killed the actor in revenge for upsetting his wife. This is the house, and home, that Superman actor George Reeves lived and died in. When he returned, his mother told him his stepfather had committed suicide. The areas which appeared in the commercial include the den; the master bedroom (where the actor died); and the backyard. He was contracted to Warner Brothers at the time, and the actor's professional name became "George Reeves" and his GWTW screen credit reflects the change. [13] The Bessolo marriage lasted 15 years, ending in divorce, with the couple separating while Reeves was away visiting relatives. In the early morning of June 16, 1959, George was found dead . He was initially reluctant to take the role because, like many actors of his time, he considered television unimportant and believed few would see his work. The first photo above looks into the living room from the backyard. However, many of his friends and colleagues believe the actor was murdered, his death the stormy culmination of a tangled love life. George Reeves, 45, TV's indestructible "Man of Steel," Superman, was dead by his own hand and the flowing cloak would flow no more. When George Reeves, who had achieved international fame by playing Superman for five years on TV, was found dead by gunshot in 1959, the death was officially recorded as a suicide. During the dinner, they had argued. To this day, there are three possible scenarios that explain the death of George Reeves. A few minutes later a shot was heard and the foursome ran upstairs. The night Superman died and an enduring mystery was born. By midnight on the night of June 16, 1959, only Lenore and writer Robert Condon were still at his house with him. Many photos shown in various magazines in the past indicated that George's bedroom windows could be seen from the street. What raised eyebrows regarding Reeves' death is that he was found naked in his bedroom by his guests during a small gathering at 1:59 a.m.; his guests waited 45 minutes to call police; detectives found additional bullet holes in the floor of his bedroom; bruises were found on Reeves' body; shell casings were discovered in strange locations; and a Hes going upstairs to shoot himself, began her callous recital after Reeves left the room. Next, read about the gruesome and unsolved murder of the Black Dahlia.