He appeared in critically successful films such as Somewhere in Time (1980), Deathtrap (1982), The Bostonians (1984), Street Smart (1987), and The Remains of the Day (1993), and in the plays Fifth of July on Broadway and The Aspern Papers in London's West End.

[7] His grand-uncle, Franklin D'Olier Jr., was married to Margaret Winifred Lee, the maternal aunt of First Lady of the United States Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis.

Reeve said he chose Cornell primarily because it was distant from New York City and this would help him avoid the temptation of working as an actor immediately versus finishing college, as he had promised his mother and stepfather.

[16] Reeve joined the theater department in Cornell and played Pozzo in Waiting for Godot, Segismundo in Life Is a Dream, Hamlet in Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead, and Polixenes in The Winter's Tale.

[17] Late in his freshman year, Reeve received a letter from Stark Hesseltine, a high-powered New York City agent who had discovered Robert Redford and who represented actors such as Richard Chamberlain, Michael Douglas, and Susan Sarandon.

They decided instead of dropping out of school, Reeve would come to New York once a month to meet casting agents and producers to find work for the summer vacation.

[18] Reeve received favorable responses to his introductions and auditions arranged by Hesseltine but had to forgo several desirable opportunities because they began before school ended.

[19] The next year, Reeve received a full summer contract with the San Diego Shakespeare Festival, with roles as Edward IV in Richard III, Fenton in The Merry Wives of Windsor, and Dumaine in Love's Labour's Lost at the Old Globe Theatre.

"[25] Houseman then offered him the chance to leave school and join the Acting Company, among performers such as Kevin Kline, Patti LuPone, and David Ogden Stiers.

[35] Reeve's first role in a Hollywood film was a small part as a junior officer in the 1978 naval submarine disaster movie Gray Lady Down, starring Charlton Heston.

[36] During the Off-Broadway production of My Life, Stark Hesseltine told Reeve he had been asked to audition for the leading role as Clark Kent/Superman in the big-budget film Superman (1978).

"[43][44] Remembering Loden's earlier advice, Reeve also decided to "underplay" Superman: "I was six feet four, strong, and physically imposing; so I played against that, making him as casual as possible, letting the audience sense an implied power.

Reeve as playwright Richard Collier romanced Elise McKenna, a popular stage actress from the early 20th century, played by Jane Seymour.

In that same year, Reeve made a guest appearance on The Muppet Show, where he performed "East of the Sun (and West of the Moon)" on a piano for Miss Piggy, who had a crush on him.

After finishing Superman II, Reeve called Nikos Psacharopoulos, the artistic director of the Williamstown Theatre Festival, whom he knew since his apprentice days, and asked if he could join the company.

[67] The same year, Reeve portrayed corrupt Catholic priest John Flaherty making challenging decisions during World War II in Frank Perry's Monsignor.

[97][98] Reeve was part of a rotating cast in John Tillinger's production of Love Letters at the Promenade Theatre;[99] with Julie Hagerty, he also performed in San Francisco, Los Angeles and Boston in 1989 and 1990.

[100] In 1990, Reeve starred in the American Civil War film The Rose and the Jackal, in which he played Allan Pinkerton, the head of President Lincoln's new Secret Service.

In a review for Morning Glory (1993), one critic wrote: "Those who can't take Reeve seriously unless he's wearing a blue suit and a red cape will find themselves pleasantly surprised by the heft and subtlety he brings to his [role]. ...

[123] In 1997, Reeve made his directorial debut with the HBO film In the Gloaming with Robert Sean Leonard, Glenn Close, Whoopi Goldberg, Bridget Fonda, and David Strathairn.

In addition, he did not feel he was right for the other films he was offered and turned down the lead roles in American Gigolo, The World According to Garp, Splash, Fatal Attraction, Romancing the Stone, Lethal Weapon, and Body Heat.

Then, at an especially bleak moment, the door flew open and in hurried a squat fellow with a blue scrub hat and a yellow surgical gown and glasses, speaking in a Russian accent.

He gradually resolved to make the best of his new life, with a busy schedule of activism, film work, writing and promoting his books, public speaking, and parenting.

"[205][206] In 1989, Reeve's friend Ron Silver started the Creative Coalition (TCC), a liberal organization aiming to teach celebrities how to speak knowledgeably about political issues.

They were instrumental in starting residential recycling in New York, convincing the state legislature to allocate $1 billion to protect the city's watershed area, and stopping the building of a coal-fired power station near Albany.

[219] President George W. Bush limited federal funding to research only on human embryonic stem cell lines created on or before August 9, 2001, the day he announced his policy, and allotted approximately $100 million for it.

[223] In June 2004, Reeve provided a videotaped message on behalf of the Genetics Policy Institute to the delegates of the United Nations in defense of somatic cell nuclear transfer, which a world treaty was considering banning.

During his visit, Reeve called the experience "a privilege" and said, "Israel has very proactive rehab facilities, excellent medical schools and teaching hospitals, and an absolutely first-rate research infrastructure.

Reeve sought help from specialists at Albany Medical Center, who examined his leg, removing the dead tissue and putting him on powerful antibiotics, although he developed an allergy after eight days.

[267][268] On the 20th anniversary of Reeve's death, the Empire State Building was lit in blue, yellow, red, and orange colors in honor of the foundation's work and the wide release of the documentary.