http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/6223386/

BEDFORD, N.Y. - Christopher Reeve, the star of the “Superman” movies whose near-fatal riding accident nine years ago turned him into a worldwide advocate for spinal cord research, died Sunday of heart failure, his publicist said. He was 52.

Reeve fell into a coma Saturday after going into cardiac arrest while at his New York home, his publicist, Wesley Combs told The Associated Press by phone from Washington, D.C., on Sunday night.

Reeve was being treated at Northern Westchester Hospital 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.

“On behalf of my entire family, I want to thank Northern Westchester Hospital for the excellent care they provided to my husband,” Dana Reeve, Christopher’s wife, said in a statement. “I also want to thank 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.”

Reeve broke his neck in May 1995 when he was thrown from his horse during an equestrian competition in Culpeper, Va.

Passionate advocate
Enduring months of therapy to allow him to breathe for longer and longer periods without a respirator, Reeve emerged to lobby Congress for better insurance protection against catastrophic injury and to move an Academy Award audience to tears with a call for more films about social issues.

He returned to directing, and even returned to acting in a 1998 production of “Rear Window,” a modern update of the Hitchcock thriller about a man in a wheelchair who becomes convinced a neighbor has been murdered. Reeve won a Screen Actors Guild award for best actor in a television movie or miniseries.

“I was worried that only acting with my voice and my face, I might not be able to communicate effectively enough to tell the story,” Reeve said. “But I was surprised to find that if I really concentrated, and just let the thoughts happen, that they would read on my face. With so many close-ups, I knew that my every thought would count.”

In his public appearances, he was as handsome as ever, his blue eyes bright and his voice clear.

“Hollywood needs to do more,” he said in the March 1996 Oscar awards appearance. “Let’s continue to take risks. Let’s tackle the issues. In many ways our film community can do it better than anyone else. There is no challenge, artistic or otherwise, that we can’t meet.”


This is so sad. I just can't believe this right now.

[ 10-11-2004, 02:55 AM: Message edited by: SecretMaster ]

no way....this is just too sad and unexpected. I really liked him and i am and will be his fan forever..hope his efforts pay off.

RIP... I really loved superman series when i was a child [img]smile.gif[/img]

<font color=plum>He was a true champion of life who refused to give in to his handicap. Instead, he used his circumstance to become an international advocate for spinal chord research. His legacy will live on for many years to come.</font>

I am glad that he overcame (and was still trying to) this large obstacle in his life... he turned it into a blessing... but then, sometimes, God has other plans.

He is in good hands. [img]smile.gif[/img]

There goes the lobby for stemcell research :(

I respect his perseverence after his accident. I think he is and will be an inspiration for many people.

Damn...that really sucks, I often saw him trying so hard to get people to realise what stemcell research could do, and now its going to be even more difficult to get people to realise just how helpfull it can be.

Rest in peace... and may his work continue long after he is gone.

Sad but inevitable. RIP. :(

<font color=skyblue>The reports say he went into cardiac arrest. How does that connect with his accident after so long? I thought he was healthy besides the paralyzation. My uncle is parapalegic, and he is in no danger for cardiac arrest that I know of. So what happened?</font>