From January 14, 1957. TV used to be so much more imaginative and fun than the drek we are subjected to today.
Superman: You’ve been married to her for 15 years?
Ricky Ricardo: Yeah.
Superman: And they call me Superman!
Lucy and Superman
- Donald R. McClarey
Donald R. McClarey
Cradle Catholic. Active in the pro-life movement since 1973. Father of three, one in Heaven, and happily married for 43 years. Small town lawyer and amateur historian. Former president of the board of directors of the local crisis pregnancy center for a decade.
The Adventures of Superman has had a profound effect on my life.The three most influential men in my life have been my father, George Reeves and Stan Lee in that order.
George Reeves’ influence on my life has been substantial. I am 74 years old. In the late 1950s I discovered The Adventures of Superman TV show. The character was captivating to me. Soon at the local drug store I saw comic books featuring Superman. At that time I thought the comics resulted from the TV show, not realizing the opposite was true. Nevertheless, I began reading and collecting Superman comics, and soon, Batman and other characters he interacted with. DC Comics in the 1960’s were often kind of silly, featuring stories with absurd plots and no characterization. I discovered Marvel Comics about that time and appreciated Stan Lee’s more sophisticated approach to superheroes. The stories were still outrageous, but had a more realistic tone. Thankfully, DC noticed and also abandoned some of the sillier aspects of their characters.
Fast forward a few years. I entered college with the idea I would like to work in comics. That didn’t ever happen, but I did take commercial art classes which led to my employment at typesetters, printers and eventually as a production artist, working on flyers, brochures and labels in a company’s marketing department. That is the job I retired from.
On a personal level, I was a tall, skinny kid all through high school and college. In 1978, Christopher Reeve was cast as Superman for the new movie. I read that he was a tall skinny kid, (6’ 4” 170 lbs.). He started lifting weights to achieve a superhero physic. Inspired, I also started lifting weights. I joined a gym and while not having the most genetically advantageous make-up, I did become more athletic, competing in a local body-building contest in 1987 with my wife, Peggy.
Oh yes, my wife. Having gained some self-confidence from working out, I dated women I met at the gym. The third one I dated became my wife. We’ve been married almost 40 years.
So you see, I met my wife at the gym because I had been influenced to workout because of Superman, because of George Reeves. I worked most of my life in graphics because of comics, because of Superman because of George Reeves. I still collect comics today because of Superman, because of George Reeves. And I still workout regularly because of Superman, because of George Reeves.
Almost every aspect of my life has in some way been the result of seeing George Reeves on TV. His influence has been undoubtedly beneficial and I just wish he could know that.