George Reeves’ role as Superman in the television series Adventures of Superman made him famous in the 1950s.
Reeves passed away at the age of 45 from a head wound caused by a gunshot. In his modest house in Benedict Canyon, Los Angeles, he was discovered dead in his bedroom at 1:59 in the morning on June 16, 1959. He was being married to a young socialite in three days.
While others believed it to be an accident or even murder, the police determined that his death was a suicide.
Reeves was a likeable and endearing performer who was well-liked by the majority of those who knew him. But it seems he had a sinister side as well.
Reeves struggled to find acting work after his well-liked series ended in the late 1950s, according to some who believe he committed suicide. It seems he would always be associated with the caped crusader.
However, this viewpoint ignored two other significant facets of Reeves’ life at the time of his passing. He had just recently started his profession as a Hollywood television director, and he had lately upset his personal life by breaking up with his longtime partner, a woman eight years older than him.
Toni Mannix, his mistress, had purchased the Benedict Canyon house on his behalf. When Reeves dumped her in favor of Lenore Lemmon, a younger woman he intended to marry, she experienced acute jealousy.
Mannix, a former showgirl, was married to Eddie Mannix, a former vice president of MGM who had connections to organized crime and was well-liked by law enforcement. The possibility that Reeves’ death was the result of a murder that the police conveniently covered up has been raised as a result.
Some people think Lemmon or Mannix killed Reeves.
Reeves’ mental state at the time of his death was unclear, which further made matters more complicated. Lemmon gave the police one version of events, but other people who were present at a party she hosted at the house the night Reeves died disagreed with her version of events.
The cause of George Reeves’ death is still a mystery. But what occurred following his passing has been extensively chronicled over time.
Toni Mannix struggled to sell the house on Benedict Drive for more than ten years. It immediately had a reputation for being George Reeves-haunted.
This is why his soul continues to haunt, according to those who subscribe to the murder theory.
One evening, a young couple renting the house was hosting guests in the living room when they all heard noises coming from the upstairs.
These sounds led them to Reeve’s former bedroom, where they discovered his body. They always kept the place tidy, but now it was a mess. Clothing was all across the floor, and the bed’s linens had been ripped off.
When this group entered the living room again, they found that the kitchen had been emptied of all the drinks they had left on the coffee table.
Later, the couple discovered their German shepherd howling hysterically at the bedroom door. He whimpered and slithered away with his tail between his legs as they watched. The bed had been relocated across the room when they opened the door.
Around 3 a.m. one summer morning, they both witnessed Reeves’ spirit in his former bedroom. He was decked out in his Superman outfit. The following morning, they left the house.
Following this, several tenants claimed to have smelled gunpowder in the Reeves’ bedroom and heard a single gunshot in the middle of the night.
The young pair wasn’t the only eyewitness who saw Reeve’s ghost. Reeves was also spotted dressed as Superman in his former bedroom by a film team and actors filming a documentary on him there.
Due to several neighbor complaints, two sheriffs were once dispatched to keep watch on the Benedict Canyon residence. People reported hearing screams, hearing gunshots, and seeing the lights in the house turn on and off all in the middle of the night. At the time, nobody was living there.
These neighbors claimed to have also seen Reeves’ ghostly figure standing on his front lawn.
Here is a small video about George Reeve’s passing and haunting, hosted by Tony Curtis.