14. Adventures of Superman ignored the supervillains of other media
Lex Luthor and other, somewhat otherworldly villains of the comics and animated shorts did not appear in the live-action television series. Nor did other superheroes, such as Batman and Green Lantern, though they frequently appeared with Superman in the magazines. Two areas prevalent in the comics did appear, Superman’s susceptibility to green kryptonite, and Lois Lane’s frequent suspicions that Clark Kent and Superman were one and the same. At least two more seasons of Adventures of Superman were planned, with filming scheduled to begin in 1959 when George Reeves died under mysterious circumstances in his Hollywood home. Originally labeled as a suicide, it has long been regarded as a homicide by many who knew him well, and by others investigating the event. He died in his bedroom of a gunshot wound to the head. There were no fingerprints on the gun, not even his own.
Reeves’ death shocked fans of the show, especially the thousands of children to whom he was Superman. He made many appearances in character for children’s events during the run of the show and even quit smoking as he felt Superman should set a good example for children. In 1957 he even appeared on I Love Lucy, as Superman, to entertain some children at Ricardo’s home. In 2006 the sad tale of the death of George Reeves was the subject of the film Hollywoodland, which featured Ben Affleck as the first portrayer of Superman on television. By the way, Reeve’s Clark Kent preferred storerooms or closets as the location in which to change into Superman, rather than the more legendary telephone booth.