Christopher Reeve, the actor who rose to fame as Superman, fell from his horse in 1995, broke two vertebrae in his neck, and spent the rest of his life in a wheelchair.
Public DomainChristopher Reeve discussing stem cell research at a neuroscience conference at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in 2003.
Christopher Reeve’s accident at an equestrian competition on May 27, 1995, made headlines around the world. The actor had risen to fame in the 1970s in the Superman film series as the Man of Steel himself. He was a beloved Hollywood heartthrob, so fans were devastated when they learned what happened to Christopher Reeve.
Reeve’s horse, Buck, had stopped short while attempting to jump over a fence, sending the actor flying through the air. Reeve landed head-first on the other side of the obstacle, fracturing his top two cervical vertebrae. The fall left Reeve paralyzed from the neck down and unable to breathe on his own.
The actor initially fell into a deep depression and even considered ending his life. However, with the help of his wife, Dana, and friends like Robin Williams, he slowly came to terms with the situation and started working to help others in his situation. He started the Christopher & Dana Reeve Foundation, which is dedicated to studying treatments for paralysis.
Complications from Christopher Reeve’s injury ultimately contributed to his death in 2004, nearly a decade after the accident. However, his legacy continues to have an impact on his loved ones, fans, and people affected by similar spinal cord injuries.
Inside The Early Life And Career Of The ‘Man Of Steel’
Christopher Reeve was born on Sept. 25, 1952, in New York City and grew up in Princeton, New Jersey. While in school, he excelled academically and played multiple sports. At just nine years old, he performed in the operetta The Yeomen of the Guard, which kickstarted his love for acting. By the time he was in high school, Reeve was apprenticing at theaters and starring in plays.
Los Angeles Times/UCLA Library/Wikimedia CommonsA 26-year-old Christopher Reeve at the premiere of Superman alongside co-star Margot Kidder, who played Lois Lane.
After graduation, he wanted to jump straight into an acting career, but his mother convinced him to attend college instead. He enrolled at Cornell University, where he was active in the theater department. His performances caught the attention of several agencies, and before Reeve could even finish his degree, he was swamped with offers from talent scouts looking to represent him.
In 1973, at the end of his junior year, Christopher Reeve auditioned for a spot at Juilliard — and he was accepted. There, he became close friends with Robin Williams.
Reeve acted in the soap opera Love of Life in 1974, and the following year, he made his Broadway debut alongside Katharine Hepburn in A Matter of Gravity. Three years later, he acted in his first Hollywood film, Gray Lady Down. Then, in 1978, 26-year-old Reeve landed the role that would skyrocket him to fame: Superman.
Pictorial Press Ltd / Alamy Stock PhotoChristopher Reeve got his big break in the 1978 film Superman.
“The first two times they asked me to audition for it, I said no… Then I read the script and met the director and then I thought, ‘Wait a minute, I can actually give a performance here,'” Reeve once stated in an interview. “That would buy me some credit, and in fact it did.”
The first Superman film was so popular that it spawned three sequels, and Reeve played the Man of Steel in each one over the next decade. After the series came to an end, Reeve acted in several other movies, such as The Remains of the Day and Morning Glory.
But what happened to Christopher Reeve in 1995 would change his career — and his life — forever.
What Happened To Christopher Reeve?
While starring in the 1985 television film Anna Karenina, Christopher Reeve learned how to ride a horse, and he fell in love with the sport. He began competing in equestrian events, and he soon learned firsthand how dangerous horses could be. In 1987, he sustained three broken ribs in a riding accident.
In the early 1990s, Reeve purchased an American thoroughbred horse named Buck, and he began competing with him in 1995. That year, on May 27, Reeve entered the Commonwealth Dressage and Combined Training Association finals in Culpeper, Virginia. The dressage event went off without a hitch, but Reeve was worried about some of the jumps on the cross-country course.
ZUMA Press, Inc. / Alamy Stock PhotoChristopher Reeve on his horse, Buck, prior to his accident in 1995.
As Buck approached the third obstacle, a W-shaped fence, he suddenly refused to jump. Lisa Reid, a horse trainer who witnessed Christopher Reeve’s accident, told PEOPLE in June 1995, “The horse put his front feet over the fence, but his hind feet never left the ground. Chris is such a big man. He was going forward, his head over the top of the horse’s head. He had committed his upper body to the jump. But the horse — whether it chickened out or felt Chris’s weight over its head, I don’t know. But the horse decided, ‘I can’t do this.’ And it backed off the jump.”
Reeve landed head-first on the other side of the fence. Although he was wearing a helmet, the position in which he fell caused him to fracture the two cervical vertebrae closest to his skull, severely damaging his spinal cord.
Helmut Boehme, the organizer of the equestrian competition who saw what happened to Christopher Reeve, rushed to the scene of the accident. “He was unconscious when I got there,” Boehme told PEOPLE. “He was not moving, he was not breathing… the life had gone out of him.”
Medics were able to resuscitate Reeve, and he was rushed to the hospital. He regained consciousness five days later, and doctors told him the extent of his injuries: He would likely never be able to move or feel anything below his neck again, and he would need a ventilator to breathe for the rest of his life.
“Maybe we should let me go,” Reeve mouthed to his wife, Dana, according to The Guardian. But Dana told him, “You’re still you. And I love you.” Those seven words stuck with Reeve and encouraged him to push on.
Richmond Times-DispatchA newspaper article shows the site of Christopher Reeve’s accident.
Still, the actor went through a period of anger, fear, and depression. In the weeks following the accident, he was set to undergo a surgery to stabilize his spine that he had just a 50 percent chance of surviving. “Then,” Reeve wrote in his 1998 memoir, Still Me, “at an especially bleak moment, the door flew open and in hurried a squat fellow with a blue scrub hat and a yellow surgical gown and glasses, speaking in a Russian accent. He announced that he was my proctologist, and that he had to examine me immediately.”
The “doctor” then removed his disguise to reveal that he was actually Robin Williams. “For the first time since the accident, I laughed,” Reeve recalled. “My old friend had helped me know that somehow I was going to be okay.”
This outpouring of support from friends, family, and the rest of the world following Christopher Reeve’s accident convinced the actor that his life was not over. In fact, his new life of advocacy and purpose had just begun.
The Aftermath Of Christopher Reeve’s Accident
In total, Christopher Reeve spent one month in the hospital and five months in a rehabilitation center following his accident. Like in many other areas of his life, Reeve approached his therapy with dedication and vigor that surprised even his doctors.
Reeve learned how to operate his wheelchair, use the ventilator, and even exercise. He developed a routine that kept his body as healthy as possible. Although the first year following Christopher Reeve’s injury was tremendously difficult for him mentally, he found ways to stay excited about his future.
In 1996, Reeve hosted the Paralympic Games and gave a speech at the Democratic National Convention. Three years later, the Christopher & Dana Reeve Foundation was formed to help others who were going through what happened to Christopher Reeve. The actor even helped found the Reeve-Irvine Research Center, which became one of the world’s leading institutions for spinal cord research.
Oscars/YouTubeChristopher Reeve received a standing ovation when he appeared on stage as a presenter at the 1996 Academy Awards.
“I’m doing what I can to raise awareness,” Reeve said in a 1998 interview with ABILITY magazine. “In my foundation, 30 percent of the money we raise goes to quality of life issues for people with disabilities. My personal vision and focus is on research, therapies, interventions, and cures.”
Reeve continued his advocacy work until his death on Oct. 10, 2004. He had been dealing with a pressure ulcer that turned septic. On Oct. 9, Reeve went into cardiac arrest after taking an antibiotic for the infection, and he died 18 hours later at the age of 52.
Following Reeve’s death, thousands of people mourned the actor and celebrated his legacy, including Robin Williams, who said, “The world has lost a tremendous activist and artist and an inspiration for people worldwide. I have lost a great friend.”
After reading about Christopher Reeve’s accident, go inside the story of the car crash that claimed Paul Walker’s life in 2013. Then, read about the tragic Lynyrd Skynyrd plane crash.
