"The Adventures of Superman" 1952 Quiz

Answer: George Reeves

Reeves was born George Keefer Brewer on January 5, 1914 in Woolstock, Iowa. He was raised in Pasadena, California. Reeves became a skilled boxer and musician. He interned as an actor at the famed Pasadena Playhouse and was discovered there. He was cast as Stuart Tarleton in the 1939 movie, "Gone With the Wind". Over the next ten years, he was a contracted actor for Warner Brothers, Fox, and Paramount studios.

In 1951, he was cast in the lead role in "The Adventures of Superman", a career move Reeves viewed as a mixed blessing. From that point on, Reeves received few job offers, as was mostly typecast in Superman character.

Other acting jobs soon dried up. Reeves who was very athletic, and performed most of his own stunts on the show. During the final season of the show, Reeves directed three episodes of the series. On June 16. 1959, Reeves was found shot to death at his home in Hollywood, California. To this day, there is still controversy over whether he killed himself or was murdered.

The Los Angeles County Coroners report listed his death as a suicide. Reeves had reportedly attempted suicide on two previous occasions, and his stepfather years earlier committed suicide. What brought the death into question was that Reeves was found in his bed by guest attending a small gathering at 1:59 in the morning, and his guest waited 45 minutes before calling the police. Detectives investigating the scene found additional bullet holes in the floor of his bedroom, bruises were found on Reeves' body, and bullet shell casings were discovered in strange locations in the room. A jilted lover of an MGM executive and a volatile, overly possessive fiancée also figured into the unhappy saga.

Answer: Phyllis Coates

Coates played the role in the first 26 episodes of the series. When she left the series, she was replaced by Noel Neill, who had already played the role in the earlier 1948 theatrical movie serial.
Years later, Phyllis Coates appeared once in the role of Lois Lane's mother in an episode of the television series, "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman", starring Dean Cain and Teri Hatcher.

Answer: Bill

Inspector Bill Henderson was played by Robert Shayne. Shayne was primarily a stage actor working in legit theater in New York. After appearing in a few minor movie roles, he signed with Warner Brothers Studio in 1942, relocated to Hollywood where he became a contract player at their Culver City studio. Shayne left the studio in 1946 to freelance.

A few years later he got involved in the then new medium of television, where he landed the role he became most remembered for on "The Adventures of Superman".

Answer: Jack Larson

Larson, a native Californian, was born on February 8, 1928, in Los Angeles, California. Lawson worked as a contract player at Warner Brothers studio before landing his role as Jimmy Olsen. After "The Adventures of Superman", Larson found that he had been typecast as in Jimmy Olsen character, and found it nearly impossible to get acting roles after the series went off the air. Larson retired from acting a few years later, and concentrated on his writing. Larson, became a successful play writer, and wrote plays that have been highly acclaimed. Larson has had his works performed in theaters and opera houses around the world. Larson has also had a role in every live action version of Superman and Superboy since he left "The Adventures of Superman" in 1958.

He had small roles in television series, "Superman" in 1988 and in "Lois and Clark; The New Adventures of Superman" in 1993.

Answer: Perry White

John Hamilton was born on January 16, 1886 in Shippensberg, Pennsylvania. He worked on Broadway and in touring theatrical companies for many years before his 1930 film debut. Hamilton was often cast as prison warders, judges, and police chiefs, but played various types of characters in over 270 films from 1930 to 1950. He became famous when he was cast as Daily Planet newspaper editor Perry White. One of the most memorable lines often spoken by Hamilton in the character of Perry White was the exclamation,
"Great Caesar's Ghost".
Hamilton passed away on October 15, 1959, less than six months after the final episode of "The Adventures of Superman" was aired.

Answer: Robert H. Justman

Justman served as the shows assistant producer on 78 episodes from 1953 to 1958.
Whitney Ellsworth was producer for all 104 episodes of the series.
Bernard Luber produced 26 episodes from 1951 to 1953, and
Robert Maxwell produced 52 episodes from 1951 to 1954.

Answer: third

The first episode of the third season became the first to be filmed and broadcast in color.
The episode, number 53 in the series was titled, "Through The Time Barrier". The episode not only Superman in his brilliantly colored costume, but featured the rest of the cast dressed as cavemen.
In the story, Professor Twiddle, played by Sterling Holloway, sends Clark, Lois, Jimmy, Perry White, and a convicted felon named Turk Jackson, 50,000 into the past in his newly invented time machine.

Answer: the fell of an icy mountain cliff

To prevent the husband and wife couple from revealing his secret identity, Superman flew them to an isolated cabin on top of a snowy mountain. He promised to provide the couple with food and supplies, but warned them against trying to climb down the mountain their perch due to the extreme danger.

After Superman left, the couple ignored Superman's warning, and attempted to descend the mountain. They lost their footing on the slippery rocks, and fell to their deaths.

Answer: able to fly at the speed of sound

In the opening of each episode, announcer Bill Kennedy would proclaim, "The Adventures of Superman", "faster than a speeding bullet! More powerful than a locomotive. Able to leap tall buildings at a single bound".
The scene changed to a group of well dressed people standing on the street looking skyward, with one man pointing to something in the sky. Voices from the crowd can be heard, "Look up in the sky, it's a bird, it's a plane, it's Superman!"
The announcer continues, "Yes, It's Superman, strange visitor from another planet who came to Earth with powers and abilities far beyond those of mortal men. Superman, who can change the course of mighty rivers, bend steel in his bare hands; and who disguised as Clark Kent, mild-mannered reporter for a great metropolitan newspaper, fights the never ending battle for truth, justice, and the American way".
Gee, that opening still gives me goose bumps!

Answer: False

In the first year of the series, Phyllis Coates, who played Lois Lane, received "star" billing along with George Reeves. When Noel Neill took over the role in the second season, her character was reduced to "featured" billing.

Answer: Hollywood, California

This was episode number 22 in the first season of the series, originally aired February 13, 1953. The story was about a movie that was being filmed about mobster Luigi Dinelli (Anthony Caruso). The film was based on a series of newspaper article that Clark Kent had written for the "Daily Planet". Donelli who was extremely upset about the production of the movie, ordered a hit on Clark Kent before he and Inspector Henderson were to leave for Hollywood to observe the filming. Later, an actor on the movie set was killed when real ammunition in a machine gun was substituted for blanks during the filming, and additional attempts were made on Kent's life.

Answer: he ducked to avoid being hit by the gun

The reaction became a running gag throughout the run of the series. A gun thrown at Superman would not hurt him, but a gun thrown and hitting at actor might hurt.

Answer: Eben and Sarah

It is now common knowledge that Clark Kent's Earth parents were Jonathan and Martha Kent. The discrepancy in the television series was due to the comic books themselves being inconsistent with the Kent's given names. The characters became major players in "Superboy" comic stories published at about the same time of the series.

The names Sarah and Eben were first used in the 1942 novel. "The Adventures of Superman", and in the first Superman serial series in 1948.

Answer: Joi Lansing

In the episode, Superman proposes to Sergeant Helen O'Hara, a beautiful blonde police officer. A heartbroken Lois Lane is assigned by the "Daily Planet" to cover the event.
The marriage turned out to be part of a plot developed by Superman and the police to capture the crime boss known only as "Mr. X."
Following her appearance in the episode, Lansing, a former model, was considered for a regular continuing character role on the series.
The series was canceled at the end of that season.
When plans were being made to bring the series back for the 1959-1960 series, Lansing was scheduled to return, but the plans were dropped in 1959 following the untimely death of series star George Reeves.

Answer: All that Glitters

The final show of the series was episode number 13, aired in the sixth season. The episode, "All That Glitters" aired on April 28, 1958.