George Keefer Brewer was born on the 5th January 1914, in Woolstock, Iowa USA and known as George Reeves, was an actor who appeared in major films from the late 1930s to the 1950s. Reeves is best known for his role as Superman in the hit television series “Superman Adventures” aired in the 1950s and for speculation regarding the circumstances of his death. He was one of the first important figures of the television industry in the US. He passed away in 1959.
How much was the net worth of George Reeves? It has been estimated by authoritative sources that the overall size of his wealth was as much as $1 million, converted to the present day. Acting was the main source of Reeves modest fortune.
George Reeves Net Worth $1 Million
To begin with, the boy was raised in Woolstock, but after the divorce of his parents, he and his mother settled down in Pasadena, California, where he was educated at Pasadena High School. An amateur in boxing but more importantly in music, he enrolled at the Pasadena Playhouse to develop his potential as an actor. In 1927, George took the name of his new father-in-law and called himself George Bessolo until 1939, then he changed his name again to stabilize his acting career, taking the stage name of George Reeves.
Concerning his professional career, he was a part of the prestigious distribution of the masterpiece “Gone with the Wind” (1939) with Clark Gable, Vivien Leigh and Olivia de Havilland, directed by Victor Fleming. During the following ten years, he was hired by Warner, Fox and Paramount, and in the 1940s, he appeared in a number of productions, although not very well known, such as “Always a Bride” in 1940 with Rosemary Lane, “’Til We Meet Again” in 1940 with Merle Oberon, as well as in “Lydia” in 1941 with Edna May Oliver and Joseph Cotton. In 1951, glory came with the success of the series “The Adventures of Superman”, which gained a worldwide reputation, and the series were broadcast until 1958 (in total 104 episodes). The end of the series marked the decline of the actor. Poor investments and unnecessary expenses put him into debts.
He died on the 16th June 1959 in Benedict Canyon, Los Angeles, California, USA after having something of a party in his Hollywood villa that evening – the official cause of death is suicide. Although others in the house essentially supported the verdict, theories are evoked as to his death, as this happened a few weeks before his second marriage. Some think of a murder committed by EJ Mannix (1891-1963), the husband of his ex-wife working at MGM. The hypothesis of suicide was based on the fact that the cancellation of the series “The Adventures of Superman” in 1958 would have left him depressed for not getting other work, since his image would be strongly associated with the character, so the suicide conclusion seems the most likely. He is buried in the Mountain View Cemetery in Altadena, California. His death was the subject of the film “Hollywoodland” released in 2006, in which George Reeves is portrayed by Ben Affleck with Adrien Brody in the role of a private detective.
Finally, in the personal life of the actor, he was married to Ellanora Needles from 1940 to 1950. From 1958, he was dating Leonore Lemmon, and they were apparently planning to marry.
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