Despite only wearing the cape for four films, some of which were marred by uneven direction, scripts, and special effects after 1978’s unmatched Superman: The Movie, the stage-trained Reeve embodied the altruistic sincerity of the character like nobody before or since.Ĭhristopher Reeve made audiences believe a man could fly thanks to what appeared to be his own absolute belief that he could do so, while his training as a pilot allowed him to turn his wire-and-blue-screen flight sequences into convincing displays. Superman: The Movie (1978), Superman II (1980), Superman III (1983), Superman IV: The Quest for Peace (1987)Īrguably the best known and most beloved portrayal of Superman belongs to Christopher Reeve, and with good reason. Watch The Adventures of Superman on Amazon. He did return briefly to Superman, though, when he appeared in a brief cameo as Lois Lane’s father in 1978’s Superman: The Movie. He took another swing at serial stardom with Blackhawk(another comic book character, who will soon star in a Steven Spielberg movie) in 1952, and spent the next decades appearing in westerns and assorted small TV roles. Alyn was the first actor to feel the sting of the Superman role, appearing uncredited in the serials (the role of Superman was listed in the credits as played by, wait for it…Clark Kent). Alyn’s flying scenes were accomplished via animation, watching him sprint around at top speed, toss bad guys, and leap into and out of the frame is certainly superheroic enough! ![]() The muscular, athletic, and graceful Alyn (he was a dancer before taking up acting) brought an energetic grace to Superman, and he played Clark Kent as earnest and cartoonishly mild-mannered. Superman (1950) aren’t exactly the highlights of Superman’s live action history, it wasn’t really his fault. And while Kirk Alyn’s two serial outings as the Last Son of Krypton, Superman (1948) and Atom Man vs. Surprisingly, it took Superman a full decade to make it to the big screen in live-action, with contemporaries like Batman and Captain Marvel beating him to the big show by several years. You can listen to thousands of Superman radio adventures starring Bud Collyer over at ! So, with apologies to other great Superman voice actors like Danny Dark, Tim Daly, or George Newbern…Bud Collyer is the yardstick by which most other Men of Steel must be measured! ![]() Collyer returned to the role once again in 1966 for Filmation’s The New Adventures of Superman animated series.īud Collyer, the only Superman of radio, the silver screen, and television, logged more hours as the Man of Steel than any actor in history, a record that will never be broken. ![]() Collyer took on the Clark Kent/Superman role for roughly 2000 (yes, you read that right) radio episodes that aired between 19. By dropping his voice nearly an octave as he announced, “This looks like a job…for Superman,” Bud let radio audiences know in no uncertain terms that Clark Kent had made the dramatic switch. The seventeen animated Superman adventures aside (the FIRST superhero cartoons ever produced), Mr. Bud Collyer’s essential place in superhero mythology is based on several factors: he was the first actor to portray Superman in the media (both on the radio and in the classic Superman cartoons from the Fleischer and Famous studios), the strength of his performance, and the sheer volume of his years as the Man of Steel. While it may seem unfair for Bud Collyer to be the only Superman voice-actor to make a list devoted entirely to guys who actually wore the tights, leaving him off would be a crime.
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