Tributes pour in for Reeve

The worlds of film and medicine paid tribute today to Superman actor Christopher Reeve, who has died of heart failure at the age of 52.

Reeve fell into a coma on Saturday after going into cardiac arrest while at his New York home and died on Sunday, his publicist Wesley Combs said.

He became a worldwide advocate for spinal cord research after being paralysed from the shoulders down after a riding accident in 1995.

Professor Colin Blakemore, chief executive of the Medical Research Council, said Reeve was a “remarkable man”.

“Christopher Reeve was known to all of us for his campaigning and for his courage,” he told the BBC Radio 4 Today programme.

“It is absolutely wrong to raise false expectations about the speed with which medical research progresses, but it takes people like Reeve, with their commitment and their certainty that they will be cured, to carry it forward.

“It takes extraordinary individuals like Reeve to recognise that investment and effort is worthwhile in the long run to work for others.

“He always said that he was working for himself and was convinced that there would be a cure, but I think probably deep in his mind he knew his efforts would be far more likely to pay off for others than for him.”

Film director Michael Winner paid tribute to Reeve as the “archetypal movie star” and said his death was a tragedy.

“I think he grew to personify a heroic struggle against disability,” he said.

“We all kind of believed that we would one day see him walk again and instead we see him die really very young.

“It’s terribly, terribly sad.

“My main memory of him is of his enormous charm. He had great skill as a screen actor and was the archetypal movie star. He had great charisma.

“He was a kind of action actor and to see an action actor who played Superman paralysed and hardly able to speak was terrible, but we all had hope for him and it is tragic that those hopes have been dashed.”

John Cavanagh, of charity Spinal Research, who met Reeve several times, said the star’s work had been “extremely significant” in raising the profile of spinal cord research and giving hope to those with injuries.

Mr Cavanagh, head of research at the charity, said: “In terms of funding worldwide he has made a very big impact.

“His contribution was important because he was such a public figure.

“He realised he had a public face and he would make full use of that.

“He also gave other sufferers a lot of hope.”

Total Film magazine editor Matt Mueller said Reeve would be remembered for his “incredible bravery”.

“After his accident, he had a huge impact,” he said.

“He lobbied very hard for stem cell research, and raised people’s consciousness about having to live life in a wheelchair. He changed people’s attitudes.

“He will be remembered for his incredible bravery. He obviously had these injuries but refused to accept it and feel sorry for himself.

“He made some incredible strides. He was a real fighter.”

Reeve was being treated at Northern Westchester Hospital for a pressure wound he had developed – a common complication for people living with paralysis.

In the past week the wound had become severely infected, resulting in a serious systemic infection.

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

“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 was a virtual unknown before he shot to superstardom in the 1978 blockbuster Superman.

The movie’s producers were looking for an unknown actor to star in the title role alongside Marlon Brando and Gene Hackman.

Reeve screen-tested for the role and, through his meticulous preparation and close physical resemblance to the comic-strip hero, was given the part.

The film and its three sequels turned Reeve into a worldwide star and grossed $300m (€241.9m).

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

After the accident, enduring months of therapy allowed 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 also 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 neighbour has been murdered.

“Hollywood needs to do more,” he said in his 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.”

In 2002, Reeve’s doctors said he was able to move some of his fingers and toes.

The star could also feel a pin prick over most of his body and could distinguish between hot and cold, and sharp and dull sensations.

At the time, doctors said the progress indicated that he might one day be able to walk again.

In an interview at the time, Reeve said the greatest thing was being able to feel the hugs of his wife and his three children.