He Was Always Our Superman

TWO DECADES AFTER CHRISTOPHER REEVE'S DEATH AND NEARLY 30 YEARS AFTER THE ACCIDENT THAT CHANGED HIS WORLD FOREVER-THE ACTOR'S CHILDREN HONOR HIS EXTRAORDINARY LIFE AND LEGACY

- GILLIAN TELLING

When Christopher Reeve's children Matthew, Alexandra and Will were little kids, they believed there was nothing their dad couldn't do. The actor, who became a global sensation playing the title superhero in the 1978 film Superman, seemingly could do it all. A licensed pilot, he flew solo over the Atlantic twice.

He could sail a yacht, scuba dive, was an expert skier, ice-skater and tennis player and a competitive equestrian. He was also an accomplished pianist, a Juilliard-trained actor and a Cornell University graduate. Standing at 6'4", with his famous square jaw, he had quintessential movie star looks. "He had a massive brain," says actor Jeff Daniels, who worked with him in the 1980 Broadway play Fifth of July.

"With his intellect and his activism, if he hadn't had his accident, he absolutely could have been President." The accident permanently interrupted Reeve's physically active life. In 1995 a fall from a horse caused a spinal cord injury that left the then42-year-old paralyzed from the neck down.

The new documentary Super/Man: The Christopher Reeve Story, playing in select theaters on Sept. 21 and again on Sept. 25 (which would have been Reeve's 72nd birthday), shows a different side of Reeve: a devoted dad finding joy in the simple pleasure of talking with his kids and a man hoping to change the world as an advocate for the paralyzed community.

"Our dad would say a real hero isn't a movie star but an ordinary individual who finds the strength to persevere and endure despite overwhelming obstacles," says Will, 32. "Because heroism is so much more than superficial strength and a glossy image. It's about integrity, showing up for your family, persevering through hard circumstances and still having that joy for life. That was our dad."