Is Superman Cursed?

The Superman Curse.

Most people who love the Superman franchise refuse to believe there is such a thing as the “Superman” curse.

Still there’s an undeniable malevolent link. Most, if not all, the actors who have played the title role have experienced traumatic life-changing misfortune. The first actor, George Reeves, had played the starring role in the 1950s in a television series called the “Adventures of Superman”. He died of strange, mysterious circumstances at the age of 45. His death was eventually ruled a suicide.

Richard Pryor battled substance abuse and a nearly fatal suicide attempt to play the man of steel in the 1970s and 80s. Pryor developed multiple sclerosis and died in 2005 of cardiac arrest.

Actor Lee Quigley had played Superman as a baby and died tragically at the young age of 14.

Bud Collyer did the voice of Superman in two cartoon versions in the 1940s and 1960s. He died of a rare circulatory ailment.

Most of us have seen at least one of the four films made with Christopher Reeve in the title role. These spanned nearly a decade. Reeve suffered a catastrophic horseback riding accident in 1995 which left him paralyzed for the remainder of his life. Despite his remarkable recovery he suffered from multiple health problems -- plagued by blood clots and pneumonia. He eventually died of complications in 2004.

Our tendency as enlightened, 21st century people is to deny any such thing as a cursed movie or character. I once wrote a post about the “Rebel Without A Cause” curse because I had met most of the young actors who worked in the film. The leads had all died of strange circumstances, some are still open cases where the facts surrounding the deaths are unknown.

Natalie Wood’s cause of death has been changed over the years. The medical examiner stated that due to bruises in the upper extremities which he felt were present prior to her being in the water, the death certificate was changed from a cause of accidental drowning to drowning and other undetermined factors. We may never know the truth about Natalie Wood’s death.

Nick Adams’ and Sal Mineo’s deaths seem to be closed cases but we don’t really know who else was involved and what the motives might have been. James Dean’s death occurred in a head-on collision in Northern California. He was driving his brand new Porsche. In May of this year Paul Walker was killed in a car crash while driving his Porsche. His wife is suing Porsche claiming that the car lacked a crash cage and other safety features. Is it possible the car that James Dean was killed in lacked those same features?

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