Biography
Christopher Reeve
September 25, 1952 - October 10, 2004
Part II
In 1987 Christopher Reeve and Gae Exton
parted unmarried, but keeping joint custody of the two children - not an easy
arrangement with the Atlantic Ocean between the two parents. During that summer
in Williamstown, Reeve met his soul mate, Dana Morosini, where she was
performing in a cabaret. It was love at first sight for Reeve but Dana was not
impressed. Her friend, Bonnie Monte, recalled: " 'He's going to be an
arrogant, stuck-up movie star idiot, and I don't want anything to do with him,'
Dana said. Reeve had to fight for her, and he did. In four months they were
living together, and in 1992 they were married and had a son, William
"Will" Elliot born on June 7, 1992.
Reeve went on to
appear in a total of 17 feature films, a dozen television movies, and about 150
plays. In addition, he hosted or narrated numerous documentaries and television
specials, many of which involve interests of his such as aviation or stunt
work. His striking good looks and imposing physique were reminisent of
Hollywood's classic leading men like John Wayne who, after meeting Reeve at the
1979 Academy Awards, turned to Cary Grant and said: "This is our new man.
He's taking over." But rather than limit himself to the heroic roles for
which he seemed so well suited, Reeve frequently sought the challenge of parts
that cast him against type - playing characters that were gay, sociopathic or
villanous. He turned down big paychecks to appear in small films with directors
like Sydney Lumet or James Ivory, whom he greatly respected and worked with in The
Bostonians and The Remains
of the Day. But he has always preferred the stage, considering it an
actor's greatest test. In addition to his early stage work, Reeve appeared in The
Marriage of Figaro in New York, Summer and Smoke with Christine
Lahti in Los Angeles, and he toured with Love Letters in several major
cities. He also starred in a well-received production of The Aspern Papers
in London's West End with Vanessa Redgrave and Dame Wendy Hiller. But no matter
what he was doing at the time, Reeve invariably made every effort to spend
summers at the Williamstown Theater Festival.
In addition to his
acting career, Reeve was extremely active in political causes. A liberal
Democrat, Reeve said "I became politically active in high school,
protesting the Vietnam War. And when I went to Cornell, I became involved in
environmental issues. And then, as an adult, I became involved in First
Amendment issues and funding for the arts..." Some of the causes Reeve
supported were Amnesty International, Save the Children, The National Resources
Defense Council, The Lindbergh Foundation, The Environmental Air Force, and
People for the American Way. He was a founding member and past president of the
Creative Coalition, an advocacy group of artists, and was one of the National
Endowment For The Arts most passionate supporters. In 1987, he faced tear gas
and real personal danger when Chilean writer Ariel Dorfman asked him to travel
to Chile and lead a demonstration in support of 77 artists targeted with death
warrants by the Pinochet government. For his successful efforts to free the
artists, Reeve received a special Obie Award in 1988 and an annual award from
the Walter Briehl Human Rights Foundation. The sobering experience also
reinforced his commitment to advocacy work, which by the late 1980's was
competing with his career for his time. Environmental issues were of particular
interest to Reeve. He addressed the United Nations to encourage the banning of
drift net tuna fishing and he played a crucial role in securing a landmark agreement
to protect the Hudson River and New York City's reservoir system.
Christopher Reeve
approached recreation with the same dedication and intensity that he brought to
his professional and advocacy work. Reeve set obstacles for himself and then
worked to overcome them. He believed that progress in one's life comes from
creating your own challenges and then doing the best you possibly can to
succeed. An accomplished pianist, he composed and practiced classical music
several hours each day and said in an interview that had he not been an actor,
he would have liked to have been a professional musician. But Reeve was also a
superb athlete who did his own stunts in films and an avid outdoorsman. He
earned his pilot's license in his early twenties and twice flew solo across the
Atlantic in a small plane. He also flew gliders and was an expert sailor, scuba
diver, and skier. By the 1990's, horses had become his passion. He loved the
sport called "eventing" which combined the precision of dressage with
the excitement of cross-country and show jumping.
In May of 1995, it
was during the cross-country portion of such an event in Culpeper, Virginia,
that Reeve's Throughbred, Eastern Express, balked at a rail jump, pitching his
rider forward. Reeve's hands were tangled in the horse's bridle and he landed
head first, fracturing the uppermost vertebrae in his spine. Reeve was
instantly paralyzed from the neck down and unable to breathe. Prompt medical
attention saved his life and delicate surgery stabilized the shattered C1-C2
vertebrae and literally reattached Reeve's head to his spine. Upon regaining
consciousness and realizing the gravity of his situation, Reeve wondered to his
wife Dana if "maybe we should just let me go." Whereupon Dana uttered
the words that gave him the will to live: "But you're still you and I love
you." After 6 months at Kessler Rehabilitation Institute in New Jersey,
Reeve returned to his home in Bedford, New York, where Dana had completed major
renovations to accomodate his needs and those of his electric wheelchair which
he operated by sipping or puffing on a straw. Ironically, this most
self-reliant and active of men was now facing life almost completely
immobilized and dependent on others for his most basic needs. In addition, his
condition put him at constant risk for related illnesses - pneumonia,
infections, blood clots, wounds that do not heal, and a dangerous condition
involving blood pressure known as autonomic disreflexia - all of which Reeve
would experience in the coming years.
Even while at Kessler, Christopher Reeve
began to use the international interest in his situation to increase public
awareness about spinal cord injury and to raise money for research into a cure.
A 20/20 interview with Barbara Walters drew huge ratings and many other
television appearances would follow. Never a man to turn from a challenge,
Reeve accepted invitations to appear at the Academy Awards in 1996, to host the
Paralympics in Atlanta, and to speak at the Democratic National Convention in
August of that year. At such high-profile appearances Reeve faced risk of
embarrassment if he could not speak because his tracheostomy tube was slightly
out of position or if his body suddenly spasmed and jerked about uncontrollably
(as it did just before the curtain went up at the Oscars).
Despite enormous
expenses related to his paralysis, Reeve was determined to be financially
self-sufficient. A widespread rumor that his close friend, Robin Williams, had
promised to pay all his medical bills was publicly denied by both Williams and
Reeve. Less than a year after his injury, Reeve began to accept invitations for
speaking engagements. Traveling with a team of aides and nurses he crisscrossed
the country, speaking at the Peter Lowe Success Seminars, at universities,
benefits, and at many functions relating to disability issues. Reeve's
publicist Maggie Friedman, at the Christopher Reeve Paralysis Foundation, said:
"He speaks off the cuff, using no notes or teleprompter and most of the
time he does not even dictate his thoughts to an assistant." Reeve
narrated an Emmy Award winning documentary for HBO called Without Pity: A
Film About Abilities which sensitively told the stories of a half-dozen
disabled people and also hosted a Canadian documentary about spinal cord injury
called The Toughest Break. He returned to acting with a small but
pivotol role in the CBS television movie A Step Toward Tomorrow in 1996
starring Judith Light. The next year Reeve made his directorial debut with the
critically acclaimed HBO short film In the Gloaming starring his good
friend Glenn Close. Gloaming went on to receive five Emmy nominations
and was the most honored film at the Cable ACE Awards in 1997, winning awards
in four of the six categories it was nominated including best "Dramatic or
Theatrical Special". Dana Reeve described In the Gloaming as
"a godsend for Chris." She added, "there's such a difference in
his outlook, his health, his overall sense of well-being when he's working at
what he loves, which is creative work - directing a movie, or acting in one. It
completely revitalizes him and feeds him." At these times "his health
is at an all-time high, his blood gases are good, he seems to cure skin wounds
faster, he sleeps better, he looks better. It's noticeable - it's like being in
love."
Reeve's activism after becoming spinal cord
injured originally involved bringing more scientists into neurological research
to more quickly discover a cure along with doubling the budget for the National
Institutes of Health (NIH), a government agency in the executive branch that is
part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. But his experiences
with his own insurance company and, particularly, the experiences of other
patients he had met at Kessler also led him to push for legislation that would
raise the limit on catastrophic injury health coverage from $1 million to $10
million. Reeve accepted the positions of Chairman of the American Paralysis
Association and Vice Chairman of the National Organization on Disability. In
partnership with philanthropist Joan Irvine Smith, he founded the Reeve-Irvine
Research Center in California and he created the Christopher Reeve Foundation
in 1996 to raise research money and provide grants to local agencies which
focus on quality of life for the disabled. Reeve's star power, along with
marketing for research dollars, was reasons why spinal cord injury research was
given greater attention and more money allocated to the cause. In 2000, Newsweek
noted that, "Thanks to Christopher Reeve, spinal-cord injuries-which
affect 250,000 Americans-have won great attention, while mass killers like lung
cancer and stroke attract relatively less." Reeve used the contacts he had
made in Washington during his years of advocacy work to lead the fight to
increase funding for spinal cord injury research which, despite recent
breakthroughs by scientists, had previously received inadequate financial
support. Reeve pointed out: "It is one thing to present legislators with
statistics, but quite another to make them face real people who testify at
congressional hearings or speak out in the media." Reeve ultimately raised
$55 million in research grants and more than $7 million for nonprofit
organizations that still help improve the quality of life for people living
with disabilities.
Because Reeve found the strength to use his
tragedy to help others after facing this devastating life blow, there were many
who came to believe that Reeve really was Superman. Bishop Jonathan D. Keaton
eloquently described this in his Go Make A Life sermon: "To see
Reeve in a severely incapacitated state brought back memories of his famous
acting roles as Superman and Clark Kent. Memory told me that Reeve could leap
tall buildings with a single bound as Superman. Also, I saw Christopher Reeve
as a gem of an investigative reporter... Admittedly, Superman was
make-believe... I concluded that Christopher Reeve is Superman, right here,
right now... Reeve shows us the power, the possibilities and the results of a
fierce and persistent commitment to growth and development. With God's help,
Reeve is Superman because: 1. He survived the horse riding accident and
challenged himself physically during countless months of painful physical
therapy. 2. Because he remained committed to his role as a loving husband and
doting father 3. Because he kept hope alive in the face of injury and paralysis
that can destroy all hope-in the face of having to depend on his wife and many
others to feed, wash, change, move and carry him to the doctor. 4. Because he
came to the conclusion that God still had something for him to do... So,
Christopher Reeve turned his focus away from his paralysis and began figuring
out how he could live afresh. Reeve decided that a lot of people might like to
hear his story. Instead of limiting the communication of his story to letters,
books and videos subject to edit, Reeve chose the lecture circuit. That meant
showing up in public, allowing the public to gawk at his incapacity, talking
about his condition and sharing lessons learned. Thus, Christopher Reeve has
become Superman for real."
Meanwhile, life for
the Reeve family went on in the most normal way they could manage. With her
husband's enthusiastic support, Dana Reeve gradually resumed her singing and
acting career. The press and public sometimes labeled her "Saint
Dana" or "Superwoman" and Dana told a reporter from Parade
magazine in 2005: "Initially I felt very uncomfortable with that. There
was nothing superhuman about standing by Chris. [That compliment] always felt a
little false. Like, what's so saintly about that? Lucky me. I'm with him!"
She laughed. "And I thought, 'Really my job here is to be the voice for
the many, many spouses who are caregivers, who don't have the advantage of the
world patting them on the back every day.'" Matthew and Alexandra visited
with Christopher, Dana, and Will at the house in Westchester County when their
school schedules allowed. The family continued its tradition of spending
summers at the vacation home in Williamstown, Massachusetts, after Reeve's
injury. Reeve said: "This accident has been difficult for all of us. But
it hasn't frightened anybody away. We all miss the activities. My daughter,
Alexandra, and I loved to ride together. My son, Will, and I would play piano
and sing together. Matthew and I loved to play tennis. We all used to sail
together. I'd be kidding you if I said I didn't miss that. Ultimately, you have
to accept that being together is more important than doing together."
In the years after his accident,
Christopher Reeve gradually regained sensation in parts of his body - notably
down the spine, in his left leg, and areas of the left arm. But he remained
dependent on a ventilator to breathe and was unable to move any part of his body
below the shoulders. His condition stabilized and in early 1998, after the
taping of a television special to benefit his foundation, Reeve's wife, Dana,
described him as "very healthy and very busy". His compelling
autobiography, Still Me, was released in
April 1998 and quickly hit the bestseller lists. "Writing the book,"
Reeve said, "was one of the highlights of my life, before and after the
accident." Seven months later, critics praised his talent and courage when
Reeve reclaimed his leading-man status by starring in an updated version of Rear Window for ABC. Around
the time his second book, Nothing is Impossible: Reflections on a New Life,
was published, Reeve regained the ability to move his index finger on one hand
and demonstrated that breakthrough on Larry King's TV show. On February 28,
2003, Reeve became the third person to receive the experimental treatment
called diaphragm pacing via laparoscopy to stimulate his phrenic nerve and
allow him to breathe more easily without a respirator; although he continued to
need the machine's help while speaking.
"I have a creative life and a
political life, and they're both equally important" Reeve said. During a Washington
Post Live Chat in 2000, Reeve said: "...And now that I am disabled, of
course my main focus is on the quality of life for all disabled people and
doing everything I can to help scientists make progress toward cures." Reeve
further explained his personal political preference for the Democrat party
saying, "Actually, the Republicans have done more for the disabled and for
funding medical research over the past eight years than the Democrats. But on
many other issues, such as the environment, education, gun control, choice, I
support the Democrats, and I am more sympathetic to their position... I would
like to see a Democratic Congress." After he was asked to run for
Congress, Reeve decided against it because he would not have had the strength
or health to do it. Reeve was in the forefront of those lobbying for embryonic
stem cell research and he delighted in the controversy. When Paula Zahn asked
him if he liked "tweaking" people, Reeve replied, "It is my favorite
thing." Reeve continued to schedule many speaking engagements and
fundraisers while looking to the future with characteristic enthusiasm saying,
"My spinal cord is ready below the injury. I'm realistically optimistic. I
don't plan to spend the rest of my life like this." Although it required
significant preparation, Reeve's travels also took him abroad to Great Britain,
Australia, and Israel.
On May 3, 2002, the U.S. government opened
the National Health Promotion and Information Center for People With Paralysis,
known as the Christopher and Dana Reeve Paralysis Resource Center through a
non-competitive cooperative agreement awarded to the Christopher Reeve
Paralysis Foundation. Its purpose is to provide information services to people
nationwide who are newly paralyzed, have been living with paralysis, or are
family members or caregivers. Reeve said, "One of the most disabling
aspects of paralysis is the lack of resources and support necessary to get back
into a world that has completely changed for the paralyzed individual - both
economically and socially." Reeve continued, "When somebody is first
injured or as a disease progresses into paralysis, people don't know where to
turn. Dana and I wanted a facility that could give support and information to
people. With this new Center, we're off to an amazing start." Dana Reeve
later wrote that she had a soft spot for the quality-of-life grant programs and
for the resource center, because it's really the people part. "I was the
one who figured out, 'Is there a wheelchair ramp so that our family can get
into this movie theater?' I thought if that's hard for me, it's got to be much
harder for the majority of people out there." Creatively, at that
time, Christopher Reeve had in the works movie projects to direct for ABC
television on the inspirational lives of Jeffrey Galli, Brooke Ellison, and
Robert McCrum. He also was the Creative Consultant for Freedom: A History of
US, a 16-part miniseries on public television about American freedom that
aired in early 2003. In February 2003 he handed the Superman torch over to Tom
Welling on the popular science fiction drama Smallville playing Dr.
Virgil Swann, a character created just for him. In March of that same year, he
guest starred on The Practice in the episode "Burnout".
Finally, Chris reprised the role of Dr. Swann one last time in April 2004 in
his last acting appearance.
Reeve's oldest son, Matthew Exton Reeve
graduated from Brown University in May 2002 with a Bachelor of Arts degree
majoring in art semiotics. A filmmaker, Matthew was contracted to document and
direct his father's progress in recovery for three television specials which
premiered around the world in 2002 and 2003. The first of three specials,
airing around Reeve's 50th birthday, showed him walking on a treadmill while
suspended from a special harness. The other two specials are not known to have
been made or released. Reeve's daughter Alexandra entered Yale University in
Connecticut in 2001 and joined the Yale Polo Squad with her father's
enthusiastic support. After graduating in 2005, she enrolled at Columbia
University in the City of New York as a student in the School of Law. Young
Will inherited his father's love of ice hockey and watching his son play the
game became one of Reeve's greatest pleasures after his injury. Will also has
an interest in acting as well. Dana Reeve supplemented the family income by
taking a number of acting and singing jobs within commuting distance of their
home and she co-hosted a daytime talk show, Lifetime Live, for a season.
In early October 2004 Reeve was busy
promoting The Brooke Ellison Story, which he had directed, and Dana
Reeve was appearing onstage in Los Angeles in Brooklyn Boy preparing to
bringing the play to New York. It was the first time she had been away from her
husband and son for an extended period. At the time, Reeve was being treated
for a pressure wound, a common complication for people with paralysis that he
had experienced many times before. The wound had become severely infected,
resulting in a systemic infection; yet there seemed no unusual cause for
concern. On Saturday, October 9th, Reeve attended one of Will's hockey games.
That night, he went into cardiac arrest after receiving an antibiotic. He fell
into a coma and was rushed to Northern Westchester Hospital. Dana Reeve would
later point out that Reeve had a history of being sensitive to drugs that were
usually well tolerated by most people. With the help of Robin Williams' wife,
Dana was able to board a plane and rush cross country to join Alexandra and
Will at her husband's bedside; arriving shortly before his death on October 10.
Christopher Reeve was 52 years old.
On November 3, 2004, the board of directors of the
Christopher Reeve Paralysis Foundation unanimously elected Dana Reeve as their
new chairperson and she dedicated herself to carrying on her husband's work.
Dana had been used to being in the background of her husband's very public
efforts, but as she said in May 2005: "Suddenly, I feel like I don't have
that choice anymore. I have to carry on his mission." Dana insisted on
going over every grant proposal, lobbied and endorsed politicians, was writing
a second book, and made national television appearances both solo and with her
son, Will, four months after Chris's death and in the immediate time following
her own mother's death. She made plans to resume her singing career. But in an
unbelievably cruel twist of fate, less than a year after Christopher Reeve's
death, his beloved wife was diagnosed with lung cancer. "What I didn't
know is that lung cancer is the number one cancer," said Dana to Kathie
Lee Gifford. "I was always looking for breast, ovarian and uterine, and
you think, I'm a non-smoker and I live in the country, so I'm good. So I am
completely shocked." She also talked about having a cough that lasted for
weeks leading her to get diagnosed: "I did, and people were saying, 'Oh
allergies, allergies,'...[The doctor] wasn't even going to take a chest X-ray.
He was like, 'you're healthy'... and then it was huge. I probably had it for
about a year." She fought the disease with grace, courage, and the humor
that had characterized both her and her husband as she endured rigorous bouts
of chemotherapy. Wearing a wig after her hair fell out, Dana appeared upbeat as
she attended the annual Reeve Foundation fundraiser in November 2005 and sang
"Now and Forever" in honor of their friend, Mark Messier, a retiring
New York Ranger, at Madison Square Garden in January 2006. Sadly, at the age of
44, Dana lost her battle with cancer on March 6, 2006. She had made
arrangements with family and friends for the care and future of their
13-year-old son. Alexandra, Will, and Matthew arrived arm in arm to speak at a
private memorial service for Dana, as they had done less than 18 months earlier
for their father.
Christopher Reeve left a body of artistic
work that continues to inspire and entertain millions of people. He also left a
left a legacy that includes love of family, heightened awareness and funding to
help people dealing with disabilities, and therapy breakthroughs brought about
by greater funding for spinal injury research. Donations to the Christopher
Reeve Foundation have only increased since the Reeves' deaths; and in July
2006, Christopher's adult children, Matthew and Alexandra, were added to its
expanded board of directors. But perhaps most significant is the inspirational
example described by Reeve's mother, Barbara Johnson, in 2006: "I think
one of the most important things that Chris did for many, many people was,
after his accident and becoming a quadriplegic, he showed them that there is
life after a spinal cord injury or after a stroke. You don't have to sit in the
dark feeling sorry for yourself. I think that he touched many, many, many
people and certainly that was an enormous contribution to the quality of life
of the people who had been afflicted with something as restrictive or disabling
as a spinal cord injury. He didn't just help quadriplegics like himself,"
added Johnson. "I know for a fact that a lot of others were kind of led to
thinking their way into a happier, more productive life. And that may well be
his most lasting contribution."
POSTED
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