Kirk Alyn was born as John Feggo Jr. on October 8, 1910, in Oxford, New Jersey, to working class parents from Austria-Hungary.

Alyn started as a chorus boy for Broadway plays, appearing in notable musicals such as Girl Crazy, Of Thee I Sing, and Hellzapoppin' during the 1930s.

[6][7] Alyn also featured in movie serials, including Federal Agents Vs. Underworld Inc. (1948), Radar Patrol Vs. Spy King (1950) and Blackhawk (1952).

Alyn recalls the day producer Sam Katzman asked him to play Superman: I thought it was a publicity stunt.

[3] The serial consisted of 15 episodes which recounted Superman's arrival on Earth, getting a job as a reporter at the Daily Planet newspaper, and meeting Lois Lane and Jimmy Olsen.

This serial also included a sequence involving an eerie alternate dimension, not unlike the Phantom Zone, which would not appear in the comics for another 11 years.

By contrast, his successor George Reeves played the dual roles more alike, as pointed out in Gary Grossman's book, Superman: Serial to Cereal.

Apart from featuring in some similar comic book-type serials, he had few roles in television series and movies, some even uncredited, until he retired.

They were married in 1942, and had three children: daughters Terri O'Brien and Elizabeth Watkins and son John Feggo III.