Christopher Reeve

Photo © Jez Coulson, 2003, all rights reserved. Photo used with permission from the collection of Jim Bowers/capedwonder.com . On September 25, 2001, Christopher Reeve's 49th Birthday, he received a framed print of my painting - Someone To Believe In  - thanks to my Superfriend, Jim Bowers who had the print framed and shipped directly to Christopher Reeve's Bedford, NY home on my behalf. The framed print in Chris' home office (seen in the photo below and behind Chris' head) has appeared in a number of documentaries including Look Up In The Sky: The Amazing Story of Superman (2006) and Super/Man: The Christopher Reeve Story (2024).

Christopher Reeve sent me a thank you letter dated October 2, 2001 (shown framed along with the envelope it arrived in below) for the print of Someone To Believe In that Jim Bowers sent him on my behalf. Chris dictated the letter, had it typed up and signed by Laurie Allen ("LA" after "Christopher Reeve"), his personal assistant at the time. It is one of my most prized possessions.

On May 14, 1994 I had the rare opportunity to meet my childhood hero, Christopher Reeve. Both Chris and Noel Neill (who played Lois Lane in The Adventures of Superman and had a cameo appearance in Superman The Movie as young Lois Lane's mother) were guests of honor at Dixie Trek 1994 which was held at the Castlegate Hotel in Atlanta, GA. I was barely 2 months away from my 23rd birthday and about 3 weeks away from graduating from The Savannah College of Art and Design.

Chris couldn't have been kinder and more attentive to his fans. He was only contractually obligated to sign one image per fan with security being the go between. He was not contractually obligated to take photos with fans either. However, being the kind hearted gentleman that he was, Chris signed whatever fans put in front of him and accommodated those of us who asked to take a photo with him. He signed 2 photos for me along with a case fresh 1978 Mego Superman The Movie mint in box action figure all of which are still in my collection. I got a photo with him as did my girlfriend at the time. I will never forget this day. Chris couldn't have been any kinder to all of us that were fortunate enough to have attended this very small and rather intimate convention in his and Noel's honor.

I was fortunate enough to have stumbled across a small quarter page ad for Dixie Trek in the April 15th 1994 edition of Toy Shop Magazine (shown below near the bottom of this page). My Superfriend, Jim Bowers of capedwonder.com was also in attendance that day (videotaping Chris' Q&A and signing sessions) told me he only saw one newspaper ad mentioning the event. Jim estimated that there were only about 150 guests that attended that day most likely due to a lack of proper advertisement. It was the only convention that Chris ever attended. A year and 13 days later Chris suffered the fall from the horse during a riding competition in Virginia that left him paralyzed from the neck down for the rest of his life. Sadly, Christopher Reeve passed away on October 10, 2004 at the age of 52. I am so fortunate to have met Chris and to have painted an image in tribute to his incredible portrayal of Superman that impressed him enough for him to thank me in a personal letter. 

This is the ad that I saw in the pages of Toy Shop Magazine (April 15, 1994, Vol. 7 No. 4) regarding the Dixie Trek convention honoring both Christopher Reeve and Noel Neill less than a month before the event was to be held.

I still have my convention badge from Dixie Trek 1994 as a memento of the event honoring Christopher Reeve and Noel Neill.

This is the figure I had Christopher Reeve sign for me at Dixie Trek 1994. It is my most treasured Superman action figure collectible that I own. Chris' signature appears over Superman's chest in the illustration on the box's flap.