Dana Reeve Leaves Too Soon

Dana Reeve was known best in popular culture as Christopher Reeve’s wife. Being married to Superman overshadowed her own acting career, but after his accident, his paralysis let her step into the spotlight on a far bigger stage. For those lucky enough to know her before all of that, her passing late Monday at the age of 44 is a very personal loss.

As an actress, Dana had more success than most, getting work on “All My Children,” “Law & Order,” and “Oz” as well as performing regularly on and off Broadway. Acting is a tough profession in which to get work, and it’s tougher to keep jobs, and she took her auditions as seriously as her performances. While her husband was the movie star, Dana was at least his equal in talent (she studied at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, he at Julliard) and dedication. Luck, however, always enters into careers, and luck in the Reeve household was a mixed blessing.

After their wedding, they held a reception for family and friends at the Manhattan Yacht Club. It was quite a party, and not a Hollywood kind of affair at all – everyone was actually glad to be there. They were talented, well-off, and very much in love that night, and the potential of that time in their lives was truly unlimited. Quite simply, they were beautiful together.

Anyone can stay married when things are going well, but when the going gets tough, the divorce rate tends to rise. When Chris fell off his horse and was paralyzed, Dana showed that Chuck and Helen Morosini had raised one amazing woman (actually, they raised three). Taking care of Chris became the center of her universe, and her acting career was superseded by something much more important. When Chris died, she continued his work for the disabled as chairperson of the Christopher Reeve Paralysis Foundation.

Last August, non-smoker Dana announced that she had lung cancer, and this followed the passing of her mom from ovarian cancer shortly before that. Hope was something Dana carried with her everywhere, and hope last August became a very valuable commodity for those who knew and loved Dana. Sadly, hope wasn’t enough.

Given the way the world is, Dana will be remembered by most as the wife of Superman. Some will remember her work with doctors and hospitals, while others will recall her amid the smell of the greasepaint and the roar of the crowd. However, more than one person will remember her temping at her mom’s office in between acting jobs where the qualities that made her important in the larger world were on display: elegance, thoughtfulness, intelligence, charm and compassion.

© Copyright 2006 by The Kensington Review, Jeff Myhre, PhD, Editor. No part of this publication may be reproduced without written consent. Produced using Fedora Linux.

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