The cast of The Adventures of Superman from 1953 to 1957. From left: John Hamilton, George Reeves, Jack Larson and Noel Neill.

Note: This article is about the television series. For the comic book which sometimes, but not usually, has "The" in the title see Adventures of Superman Image File history File links The cast of the U.S. television series, The Adventures of Superman. This is a copyrighted promotional photo with a known source. ... Image File history File links The cast of the U.S. television series, The Adventures of Superman. This is a copyrighted promotional photo with a known source. ... 1953 (MCMLIII) was a common year starting on Thursday (link is to a full 1953 calendar). ... 1957 (MCMLVII) was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Adventures of Superman is a series produced by DC Comics. ...

The Adventures of Superman was the first attempt to bring the character of Superman to television. The series, which was syndicated rather than being tied to a network, began filming in 1951, and was first aired on September 19, 1952. The final first-run episode was broadcast on April 28, 1958. George Reeves starred as Superman with Phyllis Coates as the original Lois Lane. In 1953 Noel Neill replaced Coates. Jack Larson played Jimmy Olsen and John Hamilton was Perry White. Robert Shayne played the semi-regular character Inspector Henderson of the Metropolis Police Department. Superman is a fictional character and superhero of DC Comics who first appeared in Action Comics #1 in 1938 and is considered the first character to embody the particular combination of traits that characterize the modern superhero. ... 1951 (MCMLI) was a common year starting on Monday; see its calendar. ... September 19 is the 262nd day of the year (263rd in leap years). ... 1952 (MCMLII) was a Leap year starting on Tuesday (link will take you to calendar). ... April 28 is the 118th day of the year (119th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 247 days remaining. ... 1958 (MCMLVIII) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... George Bessolo Reeves (born George Keefer Brewer to Don Brewer and Helen Lescher) (January 5, 1914 – June 16, 1959) was an American actor, best known for playing the role of Superman on the television series The Adventures of Superman in the 1950s. ... Phyllis Coates is the stage name of an actress who appeared in various films and TV shows mostly during the 1950s. ... Lois Lane is a fictional character who appears in the Superman stories produced by DC Comics. ... 1953 (MCMLIII) was a common year starting on Thursday (link is to a full 1953 calendar). ... The actress Noel Neill (born November 25, 1920) played Lois Lane in more venues and instances than any other actress. ... Jack Larson is an American actor, screenwriter and producer. ... Jimmy Olsen is a supporting character in the Superman comic book series published by DC Comics. ... Hamilton in The Maltese Falcon (1941) John Hamilton (January 16, 1886 - October 15, 1958) was an American actor that appeared in many movies and television programs. ... Perry White is a fictional character who appears in the Superman comics, and is the editor-in-chief of the Metropolis newspaper the Daily Planet. ... Robert Shayne was an American actor. ... Inspector William Henderson is a supporting character in various Superman continuities. ...

Several of the regular players returned to the Superman genre from time to time (Reeves and Hamilton had both died in the 1950s):

• Noel Neill made the rounds of the college circuit in the 1970s, entertaining now-grown fans of the series with videos and stories about the series.
• Neill, with her original 1948 Superman serial co-star Kirk Alyn, had brief cameos in the 1978 film, Superman: The Movie as Lois Lane's parents.
• Phyllis Coates also played the part of Lois Lane's mother, in a 1993 episode of Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman.
• Neill and Larson both had cameos in Lois & Clark, Larson actually playing an aged Jimmy Olsen.
• Larson was also employed as a man-on-the-street in an American Express ad (featuring Superman fan Jerry Seinfeld).
• Neill and Larson have participated in various conventions connected with Superman, and also donated their time to provide commentaries for some of the episodes on the DVD releases.
• The ubiquitous Neill is also scheduled for a cameo in the upcoming film, Superman Returns.

The opening narration of the show, expanded from that of the 1940s radio show and cartoons, dramatically voiced by Bill Kennedy and framed by the show's dynamic theme music set the stage for each program: Serial is a term, originating in literature, for a format by which a story is told in contiguous installments in sequential issues of a single periodical publication. ... Kirk Alyn (October 8, 1910 - March 14, 1999) was an American actor. ... Christopher Reeve as the Man of Steel, Superman Superman, also known as Superman: The Movie, is a 1978 Warner Bros. ... Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman was a live-action television series based on the Superman comic books. ... American Express NYSE: AXP is a diversified global financial services company, headquartered in New York City. ... Jerry Seinfeld Jerome Jerry Seinfeld (born April 29, 1954 in Brooklyn, New York) is an American actor, writer and observational comedian from Massapequa, New York, a Long Island hamlet. ... Superman Returns is a 2006 American Superhero film based on the fictional character and superhero Superman. ... Willard Bill Kennedy (1908-1997) was an American actor and voice artist during the 1940s and 1950s. ...

"Faster than a speeding bullet! More powerful than a locomotive! Able to leap tall buildings at a single bound! ... Superman ... strange visitor from another planet who came to Earth with powers and abilities far beyond those of mortal men! Superman, who can change the course of mighty rivers, bend steel in his bare hands, and who, disguised as Clark Kent, mild-mannered reporter for a great metropolitan newspaper, fights a never-ending battle for truth, justice, and the American way!"

The exact name of the show based on the title card (which imitated the style of the comic books) was Adventures of Superman and that is also the title on the DVD series. However, when spoken by the narrator in voice-over it was almost always The Adventures of Superman: Superman and his secret identity Clark Kent being portrayed as distinct individuals. ...

"Kellogg's, the greatest name in cereals, presents The Adventures of Superman."

"And now, another exciting episode, in The Adventures of Superman."

"We'll return to The Adventures of Superman in just a moment."

"Don't miss the next thrill-packed episode in the amazing adventures of Superman."

The above (with the exception of the second item) were added for the second season and featured another voice actor named Charlie Lyons.

Series production

The show was syndicated. A total of 104 half-hour episodes were filmed for television with the first two seasons (26 episodes each) in black and white. The show was one of the first weekly television shows to switch to full color. For the first two seasons George Reeves' Superman costume was actually colored brown (for red) and grey (for blue) so that it would show better on black-and-white TV. When the series went to color a red and blue costume was made to match the look of the comic books. There were 13 color episodes filmed for each of the show's final four seasons. As reported in the 2005 DVD, the red and blue colors in Superman's costume were difficult to distinguish when viewed in black-and-white, and the designers made subtle coloration changes to try to overcome this problem. In the television industry (as in radio), syndication is the sale of the right to broadcast programs to multiple stations, without going through a broadcast network. ...

The budget for the series was relatively low; the series' actors were paid $200 per episode. TV historians state that the cast had to make repeated requests to the show's producers before they were given a $50 raise. The low budgets of the show were also reflected in the special effects used to simulate Superman's super powers and superhuman feats. Nearly every episode of the show had Clark Kent change into Superman, and run across a room to jump out the window (using a springboard, which was occasionally audible and/or visible). There would then be repeated stock footage of Superman flying through the sky. Although the use of the same flying footage over and over was obvious even to children watching the show, the footage was effective and well-done for its time, especially the shots used for episodes 27 through 52. Another notable feature of the programs, especially during the final 52 episodes, was that the characters always wore the same outfits thus allowing filming of multiple episodes at the same time. These apparent limitations were overshadowed by the sincerity and strong personalities of the players. Lasers were used in the 2005 Classical Spectacular concert Special effects (abbreviated SPFX or SFX) are used in the film, television, and entertainment industry to create effects that cannot be achieved by normal means, such as depicting travel to other star systems. ... -1...

Series history

The series had its genesis in the short feature Superman and the Mole Men, which was filmed and released to theaters in 1951. This low-budget film was successful enough to inspire the TV series; it was later edited and integrated into the series as a two-part episode. The first season was also filmed in 1951, and released (and copyrighted) in 1952. After a one-year hiatus, the second season was copyrighted 1954. The remaining seasons were copyrighted 1955 through 1958. Image File history File links Superman_Title_Cards. ... Image File history File links Superman_Title_Cards. ... 1951 (MCMLI) was a common year starting on Monday; see its calendar. ...

The series can be grouped into three collections which differ significantly in terms of content and style:

• Episodes 1-26: Black and white, Phyllis Coates as a very strong Lois Lane, given equal billing with George Reeves - Typically presented serious, action-packed, sometimes gritty and often violent storylines in which Superman fought tough gangsters and crime lords. There were a number of on-screen murders, and also a few villains who found out Superman's identity and inevitably met death, though not at the direct hand of Superman himself, of course. The shows were clearly influenced by the style of serials, often featuring over-the-top acting. The takeoffs and flying effects were of mixed method and quality, and sometimes the use of stuntmen was a little too obvious. Flying effects were done with Reeves stretched out on a stationary (and discernible) board with horizontally moving clouds rear-projected. Wires were initially used for the takeoffs. Later a springboard was used to more convincing effect. One takeoff through a window, originating with the episdoe "The Human Bomb", and in which Superman was carrying a stick of dynamite, was especially well-done, so it was spliced into nearly every episode at some point. Sharp-eyed viewers can of course see that same stick of dynamite in hand, as he leaps through that window in each episode.

• Episodes 27-52: Black and white, Noel Neil as a more subtle Lois Lane, and given secondary billing - The shows were generally serious in nature, with the violence tempered significantly, although there was still the occasional death of a villain, usually off-screen. The occasional sentimental or humorous story was more in evidence than in 1-26. The shows took on more of the approach of stereotypical 1950s television. The special effects mavens settled on the springboard for takeoffs, and used a pivoted support for Reeves in the "flying" pose which was very effective in presenting the illusion of swoops and dives. The take on the soundtrack was also different. In the other two groups, the Superman TV theme would invariably be played over every flying scene. In this group, tension-building or "hurry up" music was as likely to be used as the main theme, and sometimes no music at all except the ever-present "whoosh" of the flying sound effect.

• Episodes 53-104: Color - As the series progressed, it began to take on the light-hearted, whimsical tone of the Superman comic books of the 1950s. There were still a few serious episodes, but violence on the show was further toned down. The only gunfire that occurred was aimed at Superman, and of course the bullets bounced off. Unlike the black and white shows, Superman seldom engaged in fisticuffs with the villains, who were as likely to knock themselves out as anything. Takeoffs were done either by springboard or by Reeves running out of frame with just the "sound" of the takeoff played on the track. The flying scenes were effective but not as dramatic, as they lacked the swoop-and-dive feature of episodes 27-52. One dramatic effect that was used more frequently in the color shows was of Superman bursting through seemingly solid walls.

None of the regular Superman villains of the comic books made appearances on the TV show, and the bad guys on the show were usually generic "thugs." Some actors tended to appear repeatedly in that kind of role. Long-time character actor Herb Vigran played villains in each of the shows three groupings, and played them in the appropriate way for each, ranging from the sadistic to the serio-comical. Ben Welden also acted in each of the three groupings, usually as a somewhat dim-witted thug. A number of the other guest stars also appeared in multiple episodes, most often as a different character each time. One of the most recognizable was Sterling Holloway, the honey-throated actor best known as the voice of "Winnie the Pooh". Other guest players who landed a Superman episode early in their careers included Chuck Connors (later star of The Rifleman), John Beradino (long-time star of General Hospital), and Billy Gray (of Father Knows Best). Director Tommy Carr's brother Steve appeared as an unbilled extra in nearly every one of the first 26 shows. In "Czar of the Underworld", he played a movie director, and was even called "Mr. Carr" by the other characters. Herbet Herb Vigran (June 5, 1910 - November 29, 1986) was a well known character actor. ... Ben Welden (1901-1997) was an American actor who starred mostly in various comedic movies and television shows. ... Sterling Holloway (January 4, 1905 - November 22, 1992) was a perennial voice actor for the Walt Disney Studios, who began with a cameo role in Dumbo and later became a Disney legend as the voice of Winnie the Pooh. ... Winnie-the-Pooh in a drawing by E. H. Shepard. ... Chuck Connors Kevin Joseph Aloysius Connors (April 10, 1921 – November 10, 1992) was an actor and professional basketball and baseball player. ... Chuck Connors as The Rifleman The Rifleman was a television program that ran from 1958 to 1963. ... John Beradino, pictured with co-star Rachel Ames, in a still from General Hospital. ... General Hospital is the longest-running daytime soap opera on the American ABC television network, and is also the longest-running soap opera produced in Hollywood (having been taped at the Prospect Avenue ABC Television Center West and Sunset-Gower Studios). ... Billy Gray (born 1938) is an American actor best known as a child actor during the 1950s. ... Father Knows Best was an American TV and radio sitcom of the 1950s and 1960s. ...

George Reeves became so typecast as Superman that it was difficult for him to find other roles. When he eventually died an apparent suicide, much speculation resulted as to whether it was because of his failed career. It was also noted that he had suffered a concussion in an auto accident shortly before that event, leading some to suspect that his mental health had been compromised. In recent years new allegations have arisen that Reeves might have been the target of a "hit" due to having spurned a long-time lover with mob connections. The hypothesis is that the aforementioned car accident was also an attempted hit. There is no question that Reeves consorted with some questionable characters. These allegations are unlikely to ever be resolved, due to the passage of time and the deaths of apparently everyone who might know the truth of the matter, and suicide remains the official cause of death. George Bessolo Reeves (born George Keefer Brewer to Don Brewer and Helen Lescher) (January 5, 1914 – June 16, 1959) was an American actor, best known for playing the role of Superman on the television series The Adventures of Superman in the 1950s. ... Typecasting is the process by which an actor is strongly identified with a role or genre. ...

The shooting location for the Daily Planet lobby scenes was the former "Carnation Building" at 5045 Wilshire Boulevard in Los Angeles, California, a famous example of Streamline Moderne architecture. The Planet exterior during episodes 1-26 was a single piece of footage, used in nearly every episode, apparently also of the Carnation Building, and definitely not the Los Angeles City Hall which stood in for the Planet building in the later episodes. Nickname: City of Angels Official website: http://www. ... Bathers building, now a Maritime Museum at San Franciscos Aquatic Park, 1937 Marine Air Terminal, LaGuardia Airport, 1939 Streamline Moderne, sometimes referred to by either name alone, was a late branch of the Art Deco style. ... Los Angeles City Hall is the center of government in the city of Los Angeles, California. ...

The first 26 episodes featured many exterior shots, often at the RKO Pictures backlot called "Forty Acres", the same buildings later used on The Andy Griffith Show. As the show progressed, the episodes tended to be filmed mostly on soundstages. A coincidental connection between those two shows is that occasional Superman guest player Dick Elliot also played the mayor of Mayberry in some of its early episodes. The classic logo of RKO Radio Pictures. ... The Andy Griffith Show was an American television series that aired from 1960 to 1968. ... Richard Dick Elliot (1886-1961) was a character actor from the 1930s until the time of his death. ...

The show was popular enough for George Reeves to make a cameo appearance as Superman on an episode of I Love Lucy. In this episode (#165, on January 14, 1957 [1]), Lucy herself dressed up as Superman, in order to fulfill a promise of Reeves appearing as Superman at a child's party. Fortunately, the real Reeves showed up in costume and rescued Lucy from a dangling window ledge. After that misadventure, the following dialogue took place: I Love Lucy is a television sitcom that aired in the 1950s. ...

Superman: You mean to say that you've been married to her for fifteen years?

Ricky: Yeah, fifteen years!

Superman: And they call me "Superman"!

This appearance also includes a surprising throwaway gag: although Reeves is playing himself, he casually pushes a piano with one hand!

The music score to the series, like other television series of the '50s and '60s, was taken from stock music libraries, often adaptations of music from B-movies. However, the only original music written for the series was the famous TV series march heard primarily at the main and end credits, and whenever Superman appears. The theme music was composed by Leon Klatzin (although there has been some dispute that this music too may have been adapted from an earlier unrelated musical theme).

Home Video releases

The first home video releases of the series by Warner Home Video were in the mid-1980s, in a series of VHS and LaserDisc packages called "TV's Best Adventures Of Superman". Each volume contained 3 selected episodes of the series, plus a select Max Fleischer Superman short (marking the only "official" release of such as Warner subsidiary DC Comics holds the original film elements). The rarely-seen episode "Stamp Day For Superman" is known to be in the public domain, and has been issued on low-budget video and DVD labels. The entire series has also been known to have been bootlegged on VHS and DVD. Pioneers LaserDisc Logo Laserdisc certification mark The laserdisc (LD) was the first commercial optical disc storage medium, and was used primarily for the presentation of movies. ... Max Fleischer (July 19, 1883–September 11, 1972) was an important pioneer in the development of the animated cartoon. ...

With the popularity of DVD, the first season of the series was released, with the title "Adventures of Superman", on DVD in North America in a five-disc set on October 18, 2005, with further seasons scheduled for release during 2006. A few days later, the Canadian branch of Warner Bros. (Warner Canada) issued a recall on Canadian issues of the first season set, due to many reports of missing booklets and a copying error that resulted in two discs containing identical material. Warner offered to replace the defective disc free of charge. [2] Subsequent releases of the DVD set appear to be correct. DVD-R writing/reading side DVD (also known as Digital Versatile Disc or Digital Video Disc) is an optical disc storage media format that can be used for data storage, including movies with high video and sound quality. ... World map showing North America A satellite composite image of North America. ... October 18 is the 291st day of the year (292nd in Leap years). ... Template:Diffgggtgerent calendars 2005 (MMV) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ... 2006 (MMVI) is a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... The WB Shield used from 2003 to present day Warner Bros. ...

The five-disc collection contains 6 episodes on each of the first four discs. The fifth disk contains a few odds and ends, and the two-part episode called "The Unknown People", along with the theatrical film pilot from which it was based, "Superman and the Mole Men". This affords the student of the show to compare the two. The musical track is different, and there are edits to shorten the feature into two half-hour episodes, noticeably the excising of Lois' comment that the creatures "look like moles", as well as trimming a lengthy (and tedious) chase scene. The flying effects are non-existent except for one brief sequence that resorts to (poorly done) animation as the serials did. The quality of the prints overall is somewhat uneven, but noticeably superior to the choppy versions often used on TV in recent decades.

Notable by its absence are extras that "could have been": the mid-show break announcement that "We'll return to the Adventures of Superman in just a moment", and the extended closing segment, "Stay tuned for the next thrill-packed episode..." Those items were added later when Kellogg's became the sponsor, and the DVD creators decided to omit all of that and return to the original versions of the episodes, restoring a few scenes that Kellogg's had required the series producers to cut due to excessive violence. Some of the episodes have commentaries by two different authors, and while they point out some interesting oddities that the casual observer would miss, they also both make the mistake of identifying the Planet building as the L.A. City Hall, which it was not during the first 26, but only later, although they do correctly identify the "Planet" lobby entrance with the Carnation Building.

The second five-disc DVD set, episodes 27-52, or "Season 2", were released on January 17, 2006. Extras include a feature on Noel Neill, commentaries on a couple of the episodes by Neill with Jack Larson, and a rarely-seen special episode called "Stamp Day For Superman", focused on promoting U.S. Savings Stamps along with the typical nick-of-time rescue of Lois from a dangerous criminal.

The typically truncated intros (due to chopping out the "Kellogg's" reference) appear to have been "solved" by attaching the 1952 version of the introduction, to varying degrees of success. Observant fans will note that although the entire show is normally presented (such as the radio/serial-type intro to Beware the Wrecker, often missing from TV prints), in at least one episode, Around the World, there is a key scene missing, in which Superman uses his X-ray vision to find a piece of glass lodged in the blind girl's (Judy Ann Nugent) optic nerve.

The third DVD set, episodes 53-78, or "Seasons 3 and 4", are scheduled for release in June of 2006, coincidentally (or maybe not) about the same time frame as the scheduled release date of the new Superman feature film.

Panic in the Sky

The best-remembered episode of the 104 is probably Number 38, Panic in the Sky. On the DVD commentary, Neill and Larson pointed out that that episode is the one that Neill used to present on the college lecture circuit. They also reported that it was Superman aficionado Jerry Seinfeld's favorite episode. Also, tellingly, it was the one episode, aside from the obligatory story of the infant Kal-El's arrival on earth, that was actually re-made for future Superman series, first in the 80s-90s Live-Action Superboy (TV series) as "Superboy Lost", and again later in the 90s Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman: the January 2, 1994, episode All Shook Up, an irreverent reference to what happens to the Man of Steel. Jerry Seinfeld Jerome Jerry Seinfeld (born April 29, 1954 in Brooklyn, New York) is an American actor, writer and observational comedian from Massapequa, New York, a Long Island hamlet. ... Superboy was a half-hour, live-action TV series based on the fictional DC Comics character. ... Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman was a live-action television series based on the Superman comic books. ...

The storyline is gripping and has some modern overtones to it: An asteroid is headed for the earth, and humanity is powerless to stop it. The Professor at the Metropolis observatory explains the situation to Superman, who then flies into space and collides with the big rock, deflecting it into an orbital path around the earth. While the world celebrates, Superman manages to fly back to earth and change into his Clark Kent business suit instinctively, but the collision has given him a severe concussion and amnesia. To make matters worse, the now-orbiting asteroid is wreaking all kinds of havoc, and must be destroyed somehow... and Superman is nowhere to be found.

The rest of the episode has Clark/Superman trying to figure out who he is, several times coming perilously close to inadvertently revealing his secret identity to his friends and colleagues (who are baffled by Clark's loss of memory). At the critical point in the show, and for the only time in the series, the superhero is seen wearing his Superman costume as well as Clark's horn-rimmed glasses, seeming very vulnerable indeed. In a moment of frustration, he bangs his fist on an end table and obliterates it. He realizes that he must, in fact, be this "Superman" everyone has been talking about, and as he removes his glasses, he has a glimmer of recollection of the Professor and the observatory. Again acting on instinct, he leaps out of the window and flies to the observatory, where the Professor is waiting with a small but powerful bomb that Superman must fly to the asteroid in the hope of destroying it for good.

Although the special effects connected with the asteroid are of mixed quality, the episode also contains some of the very best takeoff and flying sequences in the series. It also gives George Reeves a rare chance to expand his dual characterizations beyond their usual formula.

External links

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to:

The Adventures of Superman

• Superman episode guide and trivia
• Fan site with episode guide and other details
• Adventures of Superman at IMDB
• Adventures of Superman at TV.com
• Adventures of Superman at Bygonetv