The comic book character Superman has appeared in many types of media. Since his first appearance in 1938, Superman has appeared in radio, television, movies, and video games each on multiple occasions, and his name, symbol, and image have appeared on products and merchandise.
[edit] Portrayals
Among the actors who have played Superman (and/or his alter ego, Clark Kent) are:
[edit] Radio & other audio
- 1948: Superman a serial in 15 chapters starring Kirk Alyn and Noel Neill; recounts origin story; then fights the Spider Lady.
- 1950: Atom Man vs. Superman serial in 15 parts starring Kirk Alyn, Noel Neill and Lyle Talbot. Fights Atom Man / Lex Luthor.
- 1951: Superman and the Mole Men, feature film, starring George Reeves and Phyllis Coates.
- 1954: Stamp Day for Superman, short film featuring George Reeves and Noel Neill promoting Stamp Day for the U.S. Treasury.
- 1978: Superman, directed by Richard Donner and starring Christopher Reeve, Marlon Brando, Gene Hackman and Margot Kidder. Superman is ranked at no. 26 on The AFI's Top 50 Heroes list based on his appearance in this film.[1]
- 1981: Superman II, directed by Richard Lester and starring Christopher Reeve, Margot Kidder, and Terence Stamp.[2]
- 1983: Superman III, directed by Richard Lester and starring Christopher Reeve, Richard Pryor, Annette O'Toole and Robert Vaughn.[3]
- 1984: Supergirl, spin-off directed by Jeannot Szwarc and starring Helen Slater and Faye Dunaway. In the film, Superman as portrayed by Christopher Reeve appears on a poster, and Marc McClure repeats his role of Jimmy Olsen from the Reeve features.
- 1987: Superman IV: The Quest For Peace, directed by Sidney J. Furie and starring Christopher Reeve, Gene Hackman, Margot Kidder, and Mariel Hemingway.
- 2006: Superman Returns, directed by Bryan Singer and starring Brandon Routh, Kate Bosworth and Kevin Spacey.[4]
- 2006: Superman II: The Richard Donner Cut. New edit of Superman II, featuring around 70% new footage originally shot by director Richard Donner, including material featuring Marlon Brando.
- 2009: Watchmen: Under the Hood. Superman is shown to be one of Hollis Mason's biggest inspirations for becoming a superhero. In this film, which is a tie-in to Watchmen, he is portrayed as a fictional comic book character.
[edit] Television
- 1952 - 1958: Adventures of Superman TV series, starring George Reeves, Phyllis Coates (season 1) and Noel Neill (seasons 2 - 6).
- 1957: I Love Lucy - "Lucy and Superman" episode featuring George Reeves as Superman.
- 1961: The Adventures of Superboy unaired TV series pilot starring Johnny Rockwell.
- 1975: It's A Bird, It's A Plane, It's Superman, Televised production of the Broadway play starring David Wilson and Lesley Ann Warren.
- 1988 - 1992: Superboy television series, starring John Haymes Newton (1988–1989), Gerard Christopher (1989–1992) and Stacy Haiduk
- 1993 - 1997: Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman television series, starring Dean Cain and Teri Hatcher.
- 2001 - (present): Smallville television series, starring Tom Welling, Michael Rosenbaum, Allison Mack, Kristin Kreuk and Erica Durance.
[edit] Animated
[edit] Video games
Upcoming:
[edit] Theater & live appearances
[edit] Literature
[edit] Merchandising
- Sunnyland Refining Co., in 1983, marketed jars of creamy and crunchy peanut butter using the familiar image of Superman.
[edit] Theme park rides
Songs about or that reference Superman:
[edit] Longest portrayals
With approximately 170 one-hour episodes of recorded content over 8 seasons (as of April 2009), Smallville actor Tom Welling has the distinction of having portrayed the character of Kal-El/Clark Kent/Superman on-screen for a longer period of actual, recorded time than any other actor in history. This includes George Reeves, who portrayed the character during 104 half-hour episodes of the television series The Adventures of Superman, as well as in two motion pictures (approximately 55 hours of total, recorded content); and Dean Cain, who portrayed the character for 87 one-hour episodes of the television series Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman.
However, the record for the total amount of time any actor has portrayed the character (filmed or otherwise) remains with Bud Collyer, who voiced the character for approximately 1,514 15-minute episodes, and 8 half-hour episodes, of the early radio program The Adventures of Superman (approximately 382 hours of total, recorded content).
In all examples listed, the estimates do not account for commercial breaks and/or and recorded content in which the character did not actually appear during their respective programs.
[edit] References
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Portrays books
chhs.org
Superman Effervescent multivitamin for children
healthandfitnesswebsite.c...
Man Into Superman
cryonics.org
The Superman Syndrome and Breathing
breathing.com
A Not-So-Funny Side of ADHD - Actor Michael Richards
drplatt.com
Alternating Superman Exercise for Core Strength
sportsmedicine.about.com
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