With many ties to Princeton, recollections of a talented and courageous friend.
By: David Campbell
Actor and Princeton favorite son Christopher Reeve, who emerged as an outspoken advocate for spinal cord research following a riding accident nine years ago, died Sunday of heart failure. He was 52 years old.
On Saturday, Mr. Reeve reportedly fell into a coma after going into cardiac arrest while at his home in Pound Ridge, N.Y. He was admitted to a hospital and never regained consciousness. His family was at his side at the time of death.
Dana Reeve, his wife, thanked his personal staff of nurses and aides, "as well as the millions of fans from around the world who have supported and loved my husband over the years."
Wesley Combs, publicist for Mr. Reeve, said only: "The world will miss an incredible man."
The actor and spinal-cord-research advocate was being treated for a pressure wound, a common complication for people living with paralysis. In the past week, the wound had become severely infected, resulting in a serious systemic infection. He was hospitalized Saturday evening, and died Sunday at 5:30 p.m.
On Monday, current and past Princeton residents who knew Mr. Reeve and his family mourned his passing.
"It’s shocking, and very sad," said New York City finance executive John Claghorn, who attended Princeton Day School with the actor in the 1960s.
Mr. Claghorn recalled Mr. Reeve "loved his sports" while at PDS, particularly hockey, in which he was the team’s goalie. The two kept in touch after leaving Princeton, particularly in the early years when both were making their way in New York, Mr. Claghorn recalled.
"When he first moved to New York, when he was a struggling actor, I would always make sure I went backstage when he was in a play," he said.
Anne Reeves, executive director of The Arts Council of Princeton, who knows the actor’s mother, Barbara Johnson, said, "I’m so sorry that he died. He was such an incredible role model for so many, many people. He was just a remarkable man, a wonderful human being and obviously a good actor."
Claire Jacobus of Cleveland Lane, a neighbor of the family for many years and a close friend of Ms. Johnson, said of her friend, "I wish her every good thought now for the sadness that she feels at the death of her son. And I’m sure that the whole community does as well."
Mr. Reeve became a movie star when he was selected for the title role in the 1978 movie "Superman." He played the role three more times in sequels. His more than three dozen films include 1980’s "Somewhere in Time," the 1982 thriller "Deathtrap," and "The Remains of the Day," a 1993 movie in which he played a supporting role.
In 1995 his life changed after he broke his neck and was paralyzed when a horse threw him during an equestrian competition. Undergoing agonizing therapy, he endeavored to breath for ever longer periods of time without a respirator. In 2000, he was able to move an index finger. He kept up a daily workout regimen to keep his muscles toned for the day he hoped he would walk again.
He also continued with acting and directing.
He starred in the 1998 remake of Hitchcock’s "Rear Window," in which he played a man in a wheelchair who believes his neighbor has been murdered. Other more recent films have included the HBO movies "In the Gloaming," which he directed, and "Above Suspicion."
But in recent years, he became best known as a worldwide advocate for spinal cord and stem cell research.
Mr. Reeve was born in New York City on Sept. 25, 1952. After his parents’ divorce in 1956, his mother moved to Princeton with him and his brother Benjamin.
By the time he was 8 years old, he began acting in school plays and a year later was picked for a Gilbert & Sullivan operetta, "Yeoman of the Guard" at McCarter Theatre.
The theater would prove to be Mr. Reeve’s greatest passion, both at PDS, where he was president of the drama club as well as a passionate athlete, and beyond while attending Cornell University, which he graduated from in 1974.
He was one of two Cornell students accepted to advanced standing at New York’s Juilliard School of Performing Arts, where he studied under the renowned John Houseman. During this period, he played Ben Harper in the television soap opera "Love of Life," and later won a role in "A Matter of Gravity," a 1976 Broadway play starring Katharine Hepburn.
Mr. Reeve is survived by his mother, Barbara Johnson, and his father, Franklin Reeve, his brother Benjamin Reeve, his wife, Dana, their 12-year-old son, Will, and his two children from a former relationship, Matthew and Alexandra.
No plans for a funeral have been announced. The family has requested that memorial donations be made to the Christopher Reeve Paralysis Foundation at http://www.ChristopherReeve.org. Cards may be sent to the family in care of the foundation, 500 Morris Ave., Springfield, NJ 07081.