People we love: Christopher Reeve

Christopher D’Olier Reeve, September 25, 1952 – October 10, 2004

Born on this Day in 1952.

Actor, director, producer, writer and activist Christopher Reeve is best remembered for his portrayal of the Man of Steele in the Superman Movies and for being an activist on behalf of people wiht spinal-cord injuries and for embryonic stem cell research.

After learning to ride for the film Anna Karenina, Reeve took an active interest in horse riding. At the commonwealth Dressage and Combined Training Association finals in Culpeper, Virginia after several successful jumps, Reeve’s horse refused to jump. Reeve fell and sustained a cervical spinal injury that paralyzed him from the neck down.

Reeve tried various therapies and treatments, eventually going to Israel because of frustration with the controversial embryonic stem cell research in the United States.

Reeve successfully fought off numerous infections. In early October 2004 he was treated for an infected wound. Reeve died on October 10, 2005 from cardiac arrest that his doctor believed could have been caused by an adverse reaction to the antibiotic. He was 52.

Reeve’s wife, Dana was diagnosed with lunch cancer in 2005 and died on March 6, 2006.



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