SUPERMAN actor Christopher Reeve is celebrated on his what would’ve been his 69th birthday.
Google has decided to honor Superman star Christopher Reeve for his work as an actor, director, and humanitarian by giving him his own Google Doodle where he’s seen in a wheelchair wearing his red shirt.
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Who was American actor Christopher Reeve?
Reeve was best-known for his role as Superman, the Man of Steele, but he became a vocal advocate for spinal cord injuries after being paralyzed in an equestrian accident in 1995.
Through his non-profit, the Christopher & Dana Reeve Foundation, he worked to improve the quality of life for people living with paralysis by the traveling the world meeting with scientists, politicians, entrepreneurs and philanthropists.
He lobbied U.S. Congress for government funding of embryonic stem-cell research all while being determined to walk again.
His 1998 memoir You’re Still You, and I Love You, won a Grammy for its spoken version.
How was Reeve paralyzed?
At 42, his spinal cord injury left him paralyzed from the neck down after being thrown from a horse during an equestrian competition.
He would also depend on assisted breathing, while his doctors said it would be impossible to recover any movement.
Before his death at the age of 52, Reeve made some progress to improve his quality of life by recovering movement in one finger and sensitivity in his legs.
The New York City native died of heart failure in 2004.
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How much money did Reeve’s foundation raise?
Reeve and Dana, his second wife, started the Christopher & Dana Reeve Foundation in 1999.
The foundation, which has raised more than $130 million towards research, is dedicated to finding a cure for spinal cord injuries, advancing research, and improving the quality of life for people and families affected by paralysis.
The former CEO of the non-profit said Reeve, “became the voice, and above all the beacon of hope, of all those who live with paralysis.”
Reeve’s wife, Dana, who stood by his side and inspired his memoir, died of lung cancer in 2006.
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