13. Adventures of Superman took to the airwaves in 1952
Originally created as a syndicated program, Adventures of Superman starred George Reeves, Phyllis Coates as Lois Lane (replaced by Noel Neill for the second season), Jack Larson as Jimmy Olsen, and John Hamilton as Perry White. Hollywood backlots stood in for Metropolis. The first two seasons were filmed in black and white, after which the series was filmed in color. The first season’s programs were almost film noir in appearance, and Superman fought criminals and organized crime leaders, with several deaths occurring in the scripts. The dark quality of the scripts lightened over time. By the time of the color episodes, the scripts were considerably more humorous. Deaths became infrequent, and then gone completely, criminals less fearsome and more inept, and Superman generally rescued Jimmy or Lois, or both, from whatever ridiculously farcical situation they found themselves in.
George Reeves became a huge star, especially to children. The program was so popular with children that the US Treasury asked for a special episode, in which Superman and his fellow cast members exhorted children to buy stamps, saving them to purchase a US Savings Bond. The episode was filmed and distributed to schools for viewing. There was another important change in Superman presented by the program. Until then, in the opening announcement for the radio program, Superman had always fought for “truth and justice”. Adventures of Superman changed the line to read “the never-ending battle for truth, justice, and the American way”. The change was a reflection of the Red Scare anti-communism beliefs prevalent in American society during the 1950s.