Hollywood mystery: Who killed Superman?

From our friends at Hero Complex:

Look past the bright spotlights and you'll notice that Hollywood history is drenched in scandal and haunted by heartbreak. Take the case of George Reeves, who died of a gunshot to the head 50 years ago last Tuesday at his home in Benedict Canyon.

It was reported and ruled a suicide, a heartbreaking end in light of the children around America who had cheered Reeves as make-believe bullets bounced off his chest on "Adventures of Superman" from 1952 through 1958. The actor's death, though, has taken on more grim layers through the years amid persistent arguments that the 45-year-old was actually a victim of murder.

There has been much written about this through the years and its a compelling riddle (the movies have weighed in as well, with the vastly underrated 2006 film "Hollywoodland.") Theories abound but, as with so many unsolved mysteries, dust and legend gather as the years pass and the truth becomes ever more elusive.

-- Geoff Boucher

Photo from the Los Angeles Times archives.

The world, as we all know, is full of unbelievable poverty, famine and suffering. Busy with our own lives, numbed by millions of hours of footage of dead bodies, mutilated limbs and distended stomachs, we tend to ignore it all--until a celebrity (Bono, George Clooney, Madonna, Angelina Jolie, fill in the blank) comes along to briefly turn a spotlight on the carnage.

We stop, stare, remind ourselves to make a donation to Human Rights Watch and then go about our business. Of course, before we know it, we turn on Fox News or open up the Wall Street Journal editorial page, where some ardent commentator can be found playing the blame game--not blasting all of the governments who've refused to act and have ignored the suffering, but ridiculing the celebrity who took the time to speak out about it.

Ben Affleck is no stranger to this mean little game--he's been bashed all too many times for speaking out on a number of issues. Perhaps that's why I was more than a little surprised to see an e-mail from him today, asking me (and presumably about 800 other people in his Blackberry) to spread the news that "Nightline" is airing a segment tonight (at 11:35 p.m. on ABC) that he put together after making a series of trips to the strife-torn Democratic Republic of Congo. I guess he still hasn't learned to stop sticking his neck out.

As Affleck wrote: "I feel a little foolish emailing everyone I know and asking them to watch a show I worked on, but the point of this effort, in part, is to raise awareness about a part of the world that has endured a great deal, often in relative obscurity. Basically, I think this is important enough to look a little foolish over.... I think the 'Nightline' segment is worth checking out on the merits of the stories of the Congolese people I got to know, the incredible country they live in and how they are fighting to overcome terrible adversity."

If you want to take a little time out of your life to read more about what Affleck learned on his visits, go here--or here--to see a gallery of photos from the Congo. Four million people have died in that country during the past decade and I'm ashamed to say I don't know the name of a single one of them. I'm eager to watch tonight and see what Affleck has to say.

As it turns out, Ben just e-mailed me with a more in-depth explanation of what inspired him to do this. So keep reading:

Ben Affleck is not guilty about being a celebrity

The world, as we all know, is full of unbelievable poverty, famine and suffering. Busy with our own lives, numbed by millions of hours of footage of dead bodies, mutilated limbs and distended stomachs, we tend to ignore it all--until a celebrity (Bono, George Clooney, Madonna, Angelina Jolie, fill in the blank) comes along to briefly turn a spotlight on the carnage.

We stop, stare, remind ourselves to make a donation to Human Rights Watch and then go about our business. Of course, before we know it, we turn on Fox News or open up the Wall Street Journal editorial page, where some ardent commentator can be found playing the blame game--not blasting all of the governments who've refused to act and have ignored the suffering, but ridiculing the celebrity who took the time to speak out about it.

Ben Affleck is no stranger to this mean little game--he's been bashed all too many times for speaking out on a number of issues. Perhaps that's why I was more than a little surprised to see an e-mail from him today, asking me (and presumably about 800 other people in his Blackberry) to spread the news that "Nightline" is airing a segment tonight (at 11:35 p.m. on ABC) that he put together after making a series of trips to the strife-torn Democratic Republic of Congo. I guess he still hasn't learned to stop sticking his neck out.

As Affleck wrote: "I feel a little foolish emailing everyone I know and asking them to watch a show I worked on, but the point of this effort, in part, is to raise awareness about a part of the world that has endured a great deal, often in relative obscurity. Basically, I think this is important enough to look a little foolish over.... I think the 'Nightline' segment is worth checking out on the merits of the stories of the Congolese people I got to know, the incredible country they live in and how they are fighting to overcome terrible adversity."

If you want to take a little time out of your life to read more about what Affleck learned on his visits, go here--or here--to see a gallery of photos from the Congo. Four million people have died in that country during the past decade and I'm ashamed to say I don't know the name of a single one of them. I'm eager to watch tonight and see what Affleck has to say.

As it turns out, Ben just e-mailed me with a more in-depth explanation of what inspired him to do this. So keep reading: