Super/Man: The Christopher Reeve Story

We are about to meet someone

who made the whole world believe that he could fly.

There is something about America,

which is very short on heroes.

We need something. We need all the heroes we can get.

Good afternoon, Mr. President.

Mr. President, and ladies and gentlemen,

Superman may be make-believe.

But, the qualities of courage,

and of character, that make him unique are very real.

He starred in four Superman movies,

making him one of the most famous faces in Hollywood.

How you doing?

Superman has changed everything.

Any more at home like you?

Uh, not really, no.

Today, Superman. Tomorrow, what?

I've got another 20, 30 years ahead,

and a wider range of roles to come,

and more interesting parts to play.

Do you prefer to be called Chris or Christopher

or Mr. Reeve?

Or sir? Or Your Excellence?

No. Chris is fine.

For the first time,

my professional and personal life

seemed perfectly balanced.

Don't they always?

Our plans for the year

were falling into place beautifully.

Just take a second to really make a wish for the new year.

Think about a nice wish for the new year,

and then we'll all blow out the candles together.

One, two, three...

And then, in an instant...

...everything changed.

Most of what I remember about my dad

comes from stories and photos and videos.

It's coalesced in my brain as a memory

and it's kind of a perfect day.

Love you, too, Daddy.

Why don't you climb up on the bed with Mommy?

My childhood bedroom shared a wall

with my parents' bathroom,

and when I was a little two-year-old...

when I woke up, I would knock on the... on the bathroom wall

and my dad, he would knock back.

Yeah.

And then he or my mom would come around and carry me in.

My mom was out of this world.

No.

A hug from my mom was like being wrapped up by the sun.

Forever and ever, we will know

that this is how I look in the morning.

- I love you. - I love you more.

- Hey, Matthew. - Yeah?

Hi. Merry Christmas.

- Al... Merry Christmas. - Merry Christmas.

Merry Christmas.

Matthew and Al are my half siblings,

but, as we say, "There's no half."

They're my brother and sister.

Dad and my mum separated when I was three,

and so, pretty early on, we had two households.

During the school year,

my brother and I would be in England

and then every vacation, we would come over to the States.

Oh! Thank you.

- Aw! - Did you get that? The kiss?

- Great. - Yep.

- Oh, my God. - Oh, we got that.

Usually, you know, we'd get

like, ten days or a couple weeks.

You ready for your close-up, Mr. Reeve?

Doing things with my dad,

it was all about activity and action.

Riding bikes, playing soccer,

skiing, swimming, horse riding with my sister.

Hi.

A few words from Al's trainer.

- How's she doing, Coach? - Doing good.

She's getting ready. I think we're going to go for Saratoga,

and jump the big ones this year.

I mean, she really... could be in the money.

- Good to hear. - Thanks.

Thanks very much.

Learning how to ride horses was strange for me

because I've always been allergic to horses.

He was cast in Anna Karenina

and there were riding scenes, and he realized,

"If I'm going to do this and be on a horse,

I have to do it for real."

He injected himself with antihistamine every day for months.

I sort of took a crash course

enough to get me through the movie.

If you look, that's actually me

in the middle of the Hungarian national equestrian team,

doing a steeplechase.

Come on!

I was in the middle for a good reason,

because if I was about to go,

they could catch me and keep me on.

But anyway,

my wife and I have riding in common.

It's become a very central part of our life.

He just absolutely adored it.

He was an intense guy.

He didn't do anything half-assed.

You could not fail and quit.

It was like, you try, you fail, you try harder.

Back in the Superman years,

I always used to joke about needing to be very careful,

because I didn't want to read a headline

in the New York Post like,

"Superman hit by a school bus."

I was getting to be a pretty good rider.

In first place,

Denver, ridden by Christopher Reeve.

Our latest entry,

this is Will Reeve. Say, "Hi."

- Hi. - Hi.

It was Memorial Day weekend, 1995.

My dad was competing

in a cross-country horseback riding competition.

And was just so excited to get down there.

What?

And my dad had been in London for some reason

a few weeks before.

We said, "Goodbye," and I ran upstairs to, like...

I guess, watch him... you know, walk away.

And I remember him turning,

I guess, instinctively,

knowing I would do that and, um...

Yeah. He gave this wave and...

Um, that was the last time I saw him on his feet.

Rumors have been flying

since 42-year-old Christopher Reeve

fell off a horse this past weekend.

Well, tonight, many of the worst reports are true.

Wendy Rieger joins us now, with the latest

from the hospital in Charlottesville.

Today, we're hoping to get an update

on Christopher Reeve's condition.

Doctors aren't saying too much

about his chances of pulling through.

Millions of people around the world

are praying and remembering tonight.

The Reeve family

has refused to talk about the injury.

Their silence prompted much speculation

that he was near death.

I just remember thinking,

"That's impossible."

We just kept trying to call and find out what was going on.

And was it true and how could that have happened?

I mean, there was so much disbelief.

Matthew and I flew over with my mom.

It was circus mode at that point.

And we still didn't know a thing

because nobody knew what was happening.

It was this big cloud of confusion.

We saw Dana and she just burst into tears.

First time I'd seen her cry, I think, ever.

What a horror show.

It wasn't clear what was gonna happen.

His doctor met the press.

The news is not encouraging.

Mr. Reeve currently has no movement

or spontaneous respiration.

He may require surgery

to stabilize the upper spine in the near future.

You know, he almost died. His heart stopped.

He flatlined certainly twice.

He was given basically a 50/50 chance

of surviving to the end of the day.

Um...

You think of your parents as completely invulnerable.

And he was always so careful and so capable and...

I mean, he was just Dad, right?

Like, this constant that you never even have to think about.

The surgery that they did on my dad

had never been done before.

They reattached his head to his body.

Tragic news for the actor

known for his role as the Man of Steel.

Virginia doctors now confirm that

Christopher Reeve is indeed paralyzed

and unable to breathe on his own.

Superman? Crazy.

Just that simple little thing over the horse.

It's just crazy.

I lay on my back, frozen,

unable to avoid thinking the darkest thoughts,

because it had dawned on me that I had ruined my life

and everybody else's.

I won't be able to ski. Won't be able to sail...

Won't be able to make love to Dana.

I won't be able to throw a ball to Will.

I won't be able to do a thing.

Again.