Did Superman Kill George Reeves?
By | June 8, 2022
Reeves Died From A Single Gunshot Wound
Reeves became engaged to Leonore Lemmon and was to be married in 1959, but on June 16, 1959, days before the wedding, he died in his home in the early morning hours from a gunshot wound. Shortly after, the conspiracy theories began as people tried to figure out who to blame for the death of the actor.
At the time, Lemmon, William Bliss, Robert Condon, and Reeves’ neighbor Carol Van Ronkel were in Reeves’ home. It is unclear what happened during the evening prior to Reeves’ death; according to some, Lemmon, Condon, and Reeves went to dinner that evening, where Lemmon and Reeves argued, although Lemmon denied the dinner happened later while talking to Reeves’ biographer. Others have said that the three attended a wrestling match. In either case, upon returning home, Reeves went to bed. Bliss and Van Ronkel came to the house around midnight and started to party. Reeves went downstairs because of the noise and shortly went back upstairs. It was soon after that the group heard the gunshot and found Reeves dead, with a .30 caliber Luger pistol at his feet. They delayed calling the police, and once they did, they claimed it was because of their shock, intoxication, and the late hour. Reeves’ death was ruled a suicide, although not everyone believed it.
When Reeves Died, The Conspiracy Theories Began
While Reeves was depressed at the time, some elements didn’t fit. There were three shots fired: the one that killed Reeves and two others that were on the floor. Reeves’ mother hired an attorney, Jerry Giesler, to get the case reopened, and a second autopsy revealed bruising on Reeves’ head and body. There were no fingerprints on the gun; they also didn’t test Reeves’ hands for gun residue. Additionally, there were people who wanted Reeves dead, including his former lover, Toni Mannix. She was married to MGM studio “fixer” Eddie Mannix. When Reeves dumped her, the theory is that Toni Mannix snuck into Reeves’ home, and her husband cleaned up the scene after Reeves’ death. Edward Lozzi, an LA publicist, claimed that Eddie Mannix confessed a role in Reeves’ death to a priest, although one of Mannix’s friends has disputed this. According to another theory, Lemmon was upstairs and shot Reeves.
One author, Lee Saylor, reached a different conclusion based on the evidence: that Reeves, who was depressed about his career, and who had fought with Lemmon that day, shot himself while Lemmon was in the room. According to Sayles’ theory, Van Ronkel and Condon were both drunk and did not hear the gunshot. Sayles contends that Lemmon then went downstairs and waited for more guests to arrive. When Bliss arrived, he went upstairs and discovered the body and the gun. Lemmon also later admitted that she didn’t call the police for two hours out of concern for Van Ronkel’s marriage. According to Saylor, Leonore Lemmon told him that “Superman killed George Reeves,” pointing to the notion that the guilt for Reeves’ death lay with his depression about being typecast and his failing career.