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Christopher Reeve Filmography
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Christopher Reeve: Later life
On May 27, 1995, Reeve was paralyzed from the neck down after being thrown from his horse, "Eastern Express", in a cross country riding competition at Culpeper, Virginia. Reeve later admitted that he briefly thought of suicide after realizing the extent of his disability. He credits his wife with pulling him out of his depression. She told him, "I still love you no matter what. You are still you". Reeve has often said that these were the words that literally saved his life. He largely retired from the production of films after his paralysis, instead devoting his time to rehabilitation therapy. With his wife Dana, he opened the Christopher and Dana Reeve Paralysis Resource Center, a facility in Short Hills, New Jersey devoted to teaching paralyzed people to live more independently. He also lobbied against the U.S. government's restrictions on stem cell research.
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Reeve also appeared in television movies after his accident, in his wheelchair. As an example, in 1998 he appeared in a re-make for TV of the famous film Rear Window, originally by
Alfred Hitchcock. This re-make is set in the time in which it was made and is characterized by its depiction of (useful) gadgets for wheelchair users. This distinguishes the film clearly from the original. For example, in the new film he sends emails by using speech recognition software (instead of the telephone used in the original).
On April 25, 1998 Random House published Reeve's autobiography, Still Me.
On February 25, 2003, he appeared in the television series Smallville as Dr. Swann, who provides young Clark Kent with insightful clues as to his origins. The episode, "Rosetta", was warmly received by critics and the viewing public as a fitting connection from one generation's Superman to the next. Reeve appeared in the role again in the April 14, 2004 episode "Legacy". The character of Dr. Swann died in the episode "Sacred," which aired on February 23, 2005.
Margot Kidder, who played Lois Lane in the
Superman films will continue the plot as Swann's assistant.
On October 25, 2004, A&E aired Reeve's second directorial project, "The Brooke Ellison Story." The film, starring Lacey Chabert and based on a true story, is about the life of an 11-year old girl who becomes a quadriplegic in a car accident.
Reeve died of heart failure on October 10, 2004 after suffering cardiac arrest and falling into a coma the previous day. He was only 52 years old. In the week prior to his death, Reeve was being treated at Northern Westchester Hospital for a pressure ulcer, a common ailment for paralytics, that had subsequently become seriously infected. Patients with the type of paralysis Reeve had, live an average of 7 years, he lived over 9 years.
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