"The Brooke Ellison Story" screened at Monday observance.
By: Jennifer Potash
The spirit of determination and love of the performing arts so embodied by Christopher Reeve, the actor and director with quadriplegia who died earlier this month, will be memorialized with a new lecture series and theater arts collection at the Princeton Public Library.
The memorials were announced prior to a screening Monday evening of Mr. Reeve’s final project. Over 100 residents watched the movie in the library’s Community Room and on TVs throughout the library.
Claire Jacobus, president of the Friends of the Princeton Public Library, said the Friends selected the theater arts book collection to honor Mr. Reeve’s love of acting and directing. The Friends launched the program with a $5,000 donation. Mr. Reeve’s mother, Barbara Johnson, who until recently served as president of the Friends organization, has been a staunch advocate for the library for many years.
Library Director Leslie Burger announced the lecture series, to be named in Mr. Reeve’s honor, prior to a screening of "The Brooke Ellison Story." The library staff has donated the initial $500 for the permanent lecture series, which will focus on Mr. Reeve’s interests, Ms. Burger said.
"Chris went on to one of the greatest second acts in history," Ms. Burger said. "He was a shining example to all of us of how ordinary people can become super heroes."
Mr. Reeve, well known for his portrayal of Superman in several movies, was paralyzed after a horseback riding accident in 1995. He formed the Christopher Reeve Paralysis Foundation and became a strong advocate for stem-cell research.
Ms. Johnson said her son would have been very pleased about the lecture series. "I can just hear him, in my head, saying ‘My gosh,’" she said.
"The Brooke Ellison Story" is the true account of a young woman who was hit by a car at age 11 and rendered a ventilator-dependent quadriplegic who is now a doctoral candidate.
Her son kept working on the project, through filming in New Orleans during July and perfecting the musical score and viewing a final cut of the movie last month, Ms. Johnson said.
"He was happy with it," she said.
Dana Reeve, Mr. Reeve’s widow, said in a written statement the project "meant so much to Chris" and he would have been pleased at how Princeton residents gathered in the new library to watch the film.
"Chris was always happiest when spending time with his family or when working on a film," Ms. Reeve said.
Ben Reeve, Mr. Reeve’s brother, also thanked the Princeton community for providing him and his brothers with so many opportunities and offering "words of support and kindness to my mother in this especially difficult time."
And the lecture series and book collection are especially fitting as Mr. Reeve and his three brothers were known to create some noisy diversions as children in the library’s previous location in Bainbridge House on Nassau Street, Mr. Reeve said.