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Description
My digital art of Superman George Reeves. I digitally combined two pictures of him together for a high quality full length of the arms folded pose. And I digitally colored him.

Superman creator Jerry Siegel said on Superman: The Comic Strip Hero documentary (1981), "Superman stands for exactly the motto that they've used on the television show - Truth, Justice and the American Way." www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y5oH20…
As director Tommy Carr said, "Kirk (Alyn) had the long neck and fine features, but although I like Kirk very much, he never looked the Superman Reeves did. He looked like Superman with that jaw of his." And as editor Mort Weisinger said, "I met George Reeves, and he was one helluva nice guy. The amazing thing was that when you met Reeves you said, 'My lord, it's Clark Kent!' It was like seeing Clark step out of the comic pages into three dimensions.”

For one thing, after seeing George in the role, Christopher Reeve came across more as Superboy, rather than Superman. Also Christopher Reeve's Superman was done more in the Adam West Batman TV show mold, where there was alot of satirical parody comedy and campiness thrown in. Christopher Reeve will always be my definitive "Superboy". After watching George Reeves (a man in his late-30s) as the "Man" of Steel, it was pretty hard believing such a young looking 20 something year old as a "man", sorry. While I admired Christopher Reeve, his Superman was too soft and sappy, he more interested in romancing Lois than fighting crime and even abandoned crime fighting just to be with Lois, and his Clark Kent was embarrassing and (to me) he was just too young looking for the role and also too thin. Yes Gerard Christopher was Superboy, but for my money Christopher Reeve would've made an equally good Superboy, since he was so young looking in his mid 20s when he played the role, lacking the distinguished maturity of George Reeves. Plus, the George Reeves Superman TV series had original majestic theme music, while the Christopher Reeve movies theme basically just was the Star Wars theme music.
George Reeves' Superman had limits to his powers. He had to noticeably strain to lift certain things. He'd do a running leap to fly. He couldn't time travel. In the time travel episode, "Through the Time Barrier," it was Professor Oscar Quinn Twiddle's time machine invention that caused Clark, Lois, Perry, Turk Jackson and Professor Twiddle to time travel to prehistoric 50,000 B.C. Still having all of his powers Superman tries to time travel for the first time and discovers that he can't. He explains to Lois, "I'm sorry, Miss Lane, I can't do it. I can't crack the time barrier. I can't fly through time." It was Professor Twiddle's time machine, with the aid of a metal that Professor Twiddle describes as giving off neutral isotonic rays with compact atoms called Carborium X that Superman retrieves from a meteor in space, which brought them all back from prehistoric times.

The I Love Lucy appearance was the first time many average mainstream folks ever saw George Reeves Superman and, man, it was impressive after seeing him relate with little Ricky and kids at the birthday party they saw "He's such a nice guy!" It's called charisma. I think George was the only Superman who really had it, that feeling that someone incredible had just walked in the room when he appeared. I remember the first time I saw that entrance George made in I Love Lucy, and to this day wonder how he could do that with such fluid action that you can believe he just flew through the window. George's portrayal of Superman was so human, and his interactions with children were so believable, that's how he got embedded in my brain as the only Superman I can really acknowledge. George Reeves is Superman for me. It's hard to top 102 episodes of the first Superman television series Adventures of Superman (1952-1958) and the only one with moral messages, plus the first full-length Superman feature film Superman and the Mole Men (1951) and the only one with a moral, the first Superman public service film Stamp Day for Superman (1954) for the U.S. Treasury Department, the first television crossover in the I Love Lucy "Lucy and Superman" (1957) episode, the first live-action Superman broadcast in color in 1965, the Superman compilation film (1973), many personal appearances for charities from 1953-1958, and a legacy that has endured for over 50 years, and a mysterious death that has endured from a gun shot in 1959. Who pulled that trigger? I believe it was Lenore Lemmon.

Some people call Kirk Alyn "the first Superman" but that is wrong. Technically Bud Collyer was the first actor to ever play Superman in the Adventures of Superman (February 12th 1940-1951) radio show and the Fleischer Superman (1941-1943) cartoon series but that was all only voice-over. Technically Ray Middleton was the first attempt at a live-action Superman ever on film on Superman Day at the July 3rd 1940 New York World's Fair. Bodybuilder Mayo Kaan was apparently the second person to wear a Superman costume in July or August 1940 in a publicity stunt in Boston Massachusetts for the Macy's department store chain and short live-action film commercial for Macy’s sales promotion of the Superman Doll (1940) by the Ideal Novelty & Toy Company, the Superman Costume (1940) for kids sold only at Macy's department stores was inaccuracy colored grey with an orange cape and a drawing of Superman with his face inaccuracy colored red, and "Superman's Krypto-Ray Gun" (1940) toy film projector by the Daisy BB gun company. In November 1940 even the Tatterman Marionettes did a Superman puppet show at the Higbee's department store in Cleveland Ohio. The Superman Statue (1942) by Syroco Inc. was used as a promotional item for stores selling Superman comic books. Kirk Alyn was the only attempt at a serial Superman in Superman (1948) and Atom Man vs Superman (1950). Interestingly, George Reeves appeared in the Good Humor Man (1950) which features the Captain Marvel Club wearing Captain Marvel costumes, listening to a Captain Marvel radio show in a Captain Marvel Club house decorated with pictures of Captain Marvel. George Reeves was the first full length theatrical feature movie Superman in Superman and the Mole Men (1951), plus Stamp Day for Superman (1954) on behalf of the U.S. Treasury, and the first Superman on television on Adventures of Superman (1952-1958) and on the iconic I Love Lucy (1957) episode. George Reeves was the first live-action Superman on TV filmed in color also, George Reeves' color episodes were first broadcast on TV in color in 1965, and theatrically in the George Reeves Superman (1973) compilation film authentically in color, and not colorized. George Reeves' Adventures of Superman television series has been on TV in syndication for decades.
George Reeves explained in the Baytown Sun newspaper (July 13th, 1951), "Our idea is to give the children good entertainment without all the guts and blood and gore. We think the series should teach them something, too. That's why I decided to do this. But I can't kiss Lois Lane, the girl in the story," he sighed. "The kiddies wouldn't go for that, I guess. Me and Hoppy (Hopalong Cassidy William Boyd) never get to kiss the girl—but he has a horse, anyway."
www.newspapers.com/newspage/83…
George Reeves said in 1954, "In Superman, we're all concerned with giving the kids the right kind of show. We don't go for too much violence. Once, for a big fight scene, we had several of the top wrestlers in town do the big brawl. It was considered too rough by the sponsors and producer, so it was toned down. Our writers and the sponsors have children, and they are all very careful about doing things on the show that will have no adverse effect on the young audience. We even try, in our scripts, to give gentle messages of tolerance and to stress that a man's color and race and religious beliefs should be respected."

cbldf.org/2012/09/the-amazing-…

George Reeves said, "Kids make me feel humble, their so wise. I wish more parents would appreciate that. I hate to sound presumptuous since I am not a parent, but I am in contact with 45 million children through this show of mine and I think they deserve more respect than most adults."

George Reeves said, "I'd like to tell you about the Kellogg's Foundation. Almost 50 cents of every dollar that the company makes goes into the Foundation. And one of it's chief interests is battling juvenile delinquency. The Foundation operates quietly and you don't hear much about it but it advances money to groups all over the country which are interested in helping to raise our standard of living and our culture levels. It feels, and so do I, that kids are the background of the nation and if you give a kid just half a chance to start with, he'll become a good citizen."

On June 1st 1955 George Reeves appeared as Clark Kent in Memphis, Tennessee at the City of Hope hospital and the City of Hope orphanage. He shook their hands and told them that things would be getting better really soon. Nick Canterucci, a reader of The Adventures Continue was in the City of Hope hospital when George made his appearance. You can read about Nick Canterucci's encounter with George at The Adventures Continue web site: www.jimnolt.com/nick.htm
George Reeves said, "The first one I ever played was at Memphis, an orphanage. I came out of there and bawled like a baby. The visits aren't very much, but you go in there and you try to cheer them up, and maybe it gives them something to talk about for a few days."
www.youtube.com/watch?v=9F2JmA…

Captain America is Marvel Comics' Superman symbolically. Captain America finally had a director Joe Johnston, a producer Kevin Feige, screenwriters Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely and a star Chris Evans who actually understands and sincerely respects Captain America/Steve Rogers and what the character symbolizes. I don't believe Superman/Clark Kent has really sincerely had that in live-action since Bob Maxwell, Tommy Carr, Whitney Ellsworth and George Reeves. Dick Donner and Christopher Reeve may have had some respect for the Superman side but treated Clark as just a joke, Luthor as a wig wearing campy joke with Otis, etc. Now with Zack Snyder, David Goyer and Henry Cavill there is the other extreme of treating "Superman" as an untrusted demigod, rather than the trusted hero and the peoples friend. George Reeves represented the ideals of Superman even in his own life as honest George, the peoples friend, with his kindness and all his charity work.

Description
My digital art of Superman George Reeves. I digitally combined two pictures of him together for a high quality full length of the arms folded pose. And I digitally colored him.

Superman creator Jerry Siegel said on Superman: The Comic Strip Hero documentary (1981), "Superman stands for exactly the motto that they've used on the television show - Truth, Justice and the American Way." www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y5oH20…
As director Tommy Carr said, "Kirk (Alyn) had the long neck and fine features, but although I like Kirk very much, he never looked the Superman Reeves did. He looked like Superman with that jaw of his." And as editor Mort Weisinger said, "I met George Reeves, and he was one helluva nice guy. The amazing thing was that when you met Reeves you said, 'My lord, it's Clark Kent!' It was like seeing Clark step out of the comic pages into three dimensions.”

For one thing, after seeing George in the role, Christopher Reeve came across more as Superboy, rather than Superman. Also Christopher Reeve's Superman was done more in the Adam West Batman TV show mold, where there was alot of satirical parody comedy and campiness thrown in. Christopher Reeve will always be my definitive "Superboy". After watching George Reeves (a man in his late-30s) as the "Man" of Steel, it was pretty hard believing such a young looking 20 something year old as a "man", sorry. While I admired Christopher Reeve, his Superman was too soft and sappy, he more interested in romancing Lois than fighting crime and even abandoned crime fighting just to be with Lois, and his Clark Kent was embarrassing and (to me) he was just too young looking for the role and also too thin. Yes Gerard Christopher was Superboy, but for my money Christopher Reeve would've made an equally good Superboy, since he was so young looking in his mid 20s when he played the role, lacking the distinguished maturity of George Reeves. Plus, the George Reeves Superman TV series had original majestic theme music, while the Christopher Reeve movies theme basically just was the Star Wars theme music.
George Reeves' Superman had limits to his powers. He had to noticeably strain to lift certain things. He'd do a running leap to fly. He couldn't time travel. In the time travel episode, "Through the Time Barrier," it was Professor Oscar Quinn Twiddle's time machine invention that caused Clark, Lois, Perry, Turk Jackson and Professor Twiddle to time travel to prehistoric 50,000 B.C. Still having all of his powers Superman tries to time travel for the first time and discovers that he can't. He explains to Lois, "I'm sorry, Miss Lane, I can't do it. I can't crack the time barrier. I can't fly through time." It was Professor Twiddle's time machine, with the aid of a metal that Professor Twiddle describes as giving off neutral isotonic rays with compact atoms called Carborium X that Superman retrieves from a meteor in space, which brought them all back from prehistoric times.

The I Love Lucy appearance was the first time many average mainstream folks ever saw George Reeves Superman and, man, it was impressive after seeing him relate with little Ricky and kids at the birthday party they saw "He's such a nice guy!" It's called charisma. I think George was the only Superman who really had it, that feeling that someone incredible had just walked in the room when he appeared. I remember the first time I saw that entrance George made in I Love Lucy, and to this day wonder how he could do that with such fluid action that you can believe he just flew through the window. George's portrayal of Superman was so human, and his interactions with children were so believable, that's how he got embedded in my brain as the only Superman I can really acknowledge. George Reeves is Superman for me. It's hard to top 102 episodes of the first Superman television series Adventures of Superman (1952-1958) and the only one with moral messages, plus the first full-length Superman feature film Superman and the Mole Men (1951) and the only one with a moral, the first Superman public service film Stamp Day for Superman (1954) for the U.S. Treasury Department, the first television crossover in the I Love Lucy "Lucy and Superman" (1957) episode, the first live-action Superman broadcast in color in 1965, the Superman compilation film (1973), many personal appearances for charities from 1953-1958, and a legacy that has endured for over 50 years, and a mysterious death that has endured from a gun shot in 1959. Who pulled that trigger? I believe it was Lenore Lemmon.

Some people call Kirk Alyn "the first Superman" but that is wrong. Technically Bud Collyer was the first actor to ever play Superman in the Adventures of Superman (February 12th 1940-1951) radio show and the Fleischer Superman (1941-1943) cartoon series but that was all only voice-over. Technically Ray Middleton was the first attempt at a live-action Superman ever on film on Superman Day at the July 3rd 1940 New York World's Fair. Bodybuilder Mayo Kaan was apparently the second person to wear a Superman costume in July or August 1940 in a publicity stunt in Boston Massachusetts for the Macy's department store chain and short live-action film commercial for Macy’s sales promotion of the Superman Doll (1940) by the Ideal Novelty & Toy Company, the Superman Costume (1940) for kids sold only at Macy's department stores was inaccuracy colored grey with an orange cape and a drawing of Superman with his face inaccuracy colored red, and "Superman's Krypto-Ray Gun" (1940) toy film projector by the Daisy BB gun company. In November 1940 even the Tatterman Marionettes did a Superman puppet show at the Higbee's department store in Cleveland Ohio. The Superman Statue (1942) by Syroco Inc. was used as a promotional item for stores selling Superman comic books. Kirk Alyn was the only attempt at a serial Superman in Superman (1948) and Atom Man vs Superman (1950). Interestingly, George Reeves appeared in the Good Humor Man (1950) which features the Captain Marvel Club wearing Captain Marvel costumes, listening to a Captain Marvel radio show in a Captain Marvel Club house decorated with pictures of Captain Marvel. George Reeves was the first full length theatrical feature movie Superman in Superman and the Mole Men (1951), plus Stamp Day for Superman (1954) on behalf of the U.S. Treasury, and the first Superman on television on Adventures of Superman (1952-1958) and on the iconic I Love Lucy (1957) episode. George Reeves was the first live-action Superman on TV filmed in color also, George Reeves' color episodes were first broadcast on TV in color in 1965, and theatrically in the George Reeves Superman (1973) compilation film authentically in color, and not colorized. George Reeves' Adventures of Superman television series has been on TV in syndication for decades.
George Reeves explained in the Baytown Sun newspaper (July 13th, 1951), "Our idea is to give the children good entertainment without all the guts and blood and gore. We think the series should teach them something, too. That's why I decided to do this. But I can't kiss Lois Lane, the girl in the story," he sighed. "The kiddies wouldn't go for that, I guess. Me and Hoppy (Hopalong Cassidy William Boyd) never get to kiss the girl—but he has a horse, anyway."
www.newspapers.com/newspage/83…
George Reeves said in 1954, "In Superman, we're all concerned with giving the kids the right kind of show. We don't go for too much violence. Once, for a big fight scene, we had several of the top wrestlers in town do the big brawl. It was considered too rough by the sponsors and producer, so it was toned down. Our writers and the sponsors have children, and they are all very careful about doing things on the show that will have no adverse effect on the young audience. We even try, in our scripts, to give gentle messages of tolerance and to stress that a man's color and race and religious beliefs should be respected."

cbldf.org/2012/09/the-amazing-…

George Reeves said, "Kids make me feel humble, their so wise. I wish more parents would appreciate that. I hate to sound presumptuous since I am not a parent, but I am in contact with 45 million children through this show of mine and I think they deserve more respect than most adults."

George Reeves said, "I'd like to tell you about the Kellogg's Foundation. Almost 50 cents of every dollar that the company makes goes into the Foundation. And one of it's chief interests is battling juvenile delinquency. The Foundation operates quietly and you don't hear much about it but it advances money to groups all over the country which are interested in helping to raise our standard of living and our culture levels. It feels, and so do I, that kids are the background of the nation and if you give a kid just half a chance to start with, he'll become a good citizen."

On June 1st 1955 George Reeves appeared as Clark Kent in Memphis, Tennessee at the City of Hope hospital and the City of Hope orphanage. He shook their hands and told them that things would be getting better really soon. Nick Canterucci, a reader of The Adventures Continue was in the City of Hope hospital when George made his appearance. You can read about Nick Canterucci's encounter with George at The Adventures Continue web site: www.jimnolt.com/nick.htm
George Reeves said, "The first one I ever played was at Memphis, an orphanage. I came out of there and bawled like a baby. The visits aren't very much, but you go in there and you try to cheer them up, and maybe it gives them something to talk about for a few days."
www.youtube.com/watch?v=9F2JmA…

Captain America is Marvel Comics' Superman symbolically. Captain America finally had a director Joe Johnston, a producer Kevin Feige, screenwriters Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely and a star Chris Evans who actually understands and sincerely respects Captain America/Steve Rogers and what the character symbolizes. I don't believe Superman/Clark Kent has really sincerely had that in live-action since Bob Maxwell, Tommy Carr, Whitney Ellsworth and George Reeves. Dick Donner and Christopher Reeve may have had some respect for the Superman side but treated Clark as just a joke, Luthor as a wig wearing campy joke with Otis, etc. Now with Zack Snyder, David Goyer and Henry Cavill there is the other extreme of treating "Superman" as an untrusted demigod, rather than the trusted hero and the peoples friend. George Reeves represented the ideals of Superman even in his own life as honest George, the peoples friend, with his kindness and all his charity work.