Christopher Reeve was a Superman

Christopher Reeve was a joy to shoot with. And his wife Dana couldn’t have been more welcoming when we arrived at their home in Bedford, NY just a few months after his accident.

We were there to tape a brief open and close to a documentary we had produced about a university program for students with spinal cord injuries.

Construction workers were installing an elevator to enable Mr. Reeve to get to his second-floor bedroom so he’d no longer have to sleep in the dining room.

The thing we’ll always remember about the shoot is his eagerness to continue doing additional takes even after we had a good one.   He labored to pull enough air into his lungs to deliver each sentence but he insisted on trying another and then another until he was satisfied.   

(You’ll see Mr. Reeve at his best in this outtake – insisting on doing more takes.  He even apologized for not having the strength to live up to his expectations.)

In the end, he delivered a message more powerful than Superman.