Unless you’ve been holed up in a Fortress of Solitude for the past hundred years, there’s no escaping the cultural impact of Superman. After starting life on the pages of comic books, a number of actors have donned the yellow “S” on TV and in movies. But for one man in particular, the cape of Krypton became more of a burden than a blessing. And when his death lead to murder accusations, George Reeves’s personal life became as much of a public fascination as his bespectacled and muscled alter ego… 

Ray teaches Rob about how the “Uber Mench” rose from a man plucked out of a bread line to the most recognizable comic book hero of all time; how the Man of Steel successfully transitioned from radio, to TV, to the Hollywood silver screen; why George Reeves traded in cesspools for Spandex; why everyone should go buy stamps; Reeves’s struggle to escape from the Superman stigma; the suspicious circumstances surrounding his death; and how comic book heroes have made the remarkable leap from derided second-tier roles to cultural icons. 

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TEAM

Ray Hebel

Robert W. Schneider

Mark Schroeder

Billy Recce

Daniel Schwartzberg

Gabe Crawford

Natalie DeSavia

ARTICLESEPISODE CLIPS

Old Radio Program Intro - “The Adventures of Superman” (1940–1951)

The Original Superman Cartoon opening

Superman 1948 Serial - #1A

Gone to the Wind

Rare George Reeves Audition Tape the Adventures of Superman

’50s Adventures of Superman - Intro

Stamp Day for Superman (1954)

George Reeves - Superman - I Love Lucy (1957)

ADDITIONAL MUSIC & SOUND EFFECTS

“Happy Bee” & “At Launch”

• Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)

• Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0

• http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Additional Sound Effects from Final Cut Pro, iLife, and Logic Pro