The Adventures of Superman - A Comic Classic Becomes a TV ClassicFaster than a speeding bullet! More powerful than a locomotive! Able to leap tall buildings at a single bound! Look! Up in the sky! It's a bird! It's a plane! It's Superman! Released to theaters in 1951, Superman and the Molemen was the first feature-length movie based on the comic book hero. The movie starred George Reeves as Superman and Phyllis Coates as Lois Lane. At fifty-eight minutes, it was filmed in only 12 days. The movie was produced as a pilot for what would become known as "The Adventures of Superman." The movie was broken up into two parts and was retitled for television as "The Unknown People." The Adventures of Superman was sponsored by Kellogg's, the cereal company. Superman had been closely identified with the cereal since Bud Collyer voiced Superman on the radio serials. The Kellogg's TV commercials featuring George Reeves and other cast members have became pop culture classics, especially with the advent of YouTube. The budget for the Adventures of Superman was $15,000 per episode. The cast were each initially paid $200 of that which probably means they were thrilled to pick up some extra cash for some easy commercial work. Like the movie, the first 24 episodes were filmed in black and white and resembled the film noir crime dramas that were popular at the time. In those first episodes the producers were aiming for an adult audience. The show was quite violent and fairly fast paced. The actors delivered their lines with seriousness. Superman was all business in his pursuit of truth, justice and the American way. For the second season Whitney Ellsworth replaced Robert Maxwell as producer. The series under Ellsworth became less violent. The villains in the original season were really bad guys who deserved a good beating. The lawbreakers in the second season were becoming more cartoonish, and as a result Superman was more gentle. He also developed a sense of humor that became more pronounced as the series progressed. Jimmy Olsen was played by Jack Larsen. John Hamilton was Perry White. Robert Shayne was Inspector Bill Henderson. Noel Neill took over the Lois Lane role for the second season. She was a very good Lois, but she played it softer, less aggressive than the intense, hard edged Phylis Coates. For the third season the show was filmed in color which made the series look more like a comic book. By then the show had totally abandoned adults, and it went straight for the kids who were buying the comic books - which for us isn't really a bad thing. We can enjoy it for what it is: good old fashioned fun, with no pretense at being anything else. In 1956 two of TV's most popular characters were on screen together. George Reeves guest starred in an I Love Lucy episode titled "Lucy and Superman." That episode is one of the most requested of all of the "I Love Lucy" shows. The Adventures of Superman ran for six seasons, a total of 104 episodes, ending in 1958. Assembling an Adventures of Superman autograph collection will be challenging. George Reeves is the key to building a cast collection. He died on June 16, 1959 of what was ruled a self-inflicted gunshot wound. Many who have studied the facts of his death believe that he was murdered. George Reeves signed literally tens of thousands of autographs as Superman. While playing the role he was Superman to the public on and off screen. Kids idolized him. To cash in on his fame he made personal appearances from one side of the country to the other at ceremonies, auto shows, boat shows, county fairs and every other type of venue imaginable. Signing autographs was part of the job, so where did all of those autographs go? My guess is that after the kids left their homes, their mothers trashed the photos, provided the kids hadn't done so first when they believed they had grown too old for comic book heroes. No doubt there are still many many of Reeve's autographs in albums and on pages where the owner either doesn't make the Adventures of Superman connection or realize the value. Those autographs are probably deemed by the owner no more valuable than the roller derby stars, wrestlers, and forgotten big band musicians that are also in the books and among the pages. George Reeves was also appeared in one of the most popular (and most collected) movies of all time - Gone with the Wind. He had a small part as one of the Tarleton twins, Stuart. That part adds collectors to the pool of potential buyers, but it is certainly Superman that drives most of the value. A George Reeves signed photo should bring between $2500 and $3000. A good signed photo as Superman would maybe a good bit more. Signatures (cuts) will bring as much as $600 - $700. Cuts are desirable because they can be framed with other signatures from the cast around a nice original photo. Phyllis Coates remained a busy actress until the early 1960's, playing in mostly B-movies. In the 1990's she did a Lois and Clark episode, playing Lois Lane's mother. An autographed photo of Phyllis Coates would list in the $50 - $75 range. Signatures might bring as much as $30. During and immediately after the Adventures of Superman, Noel Neill did personal appearances as Lois Lane, many of them with George Reeves. Soon after George Reeves died, she quit acting and went into public relations. In the 1970's when the first Superman movie gave the character new life, she began doing fanfests and comic conventions. She is always a fan favorite, never tiring of talking about her days as Lois Lane. In 2003, Neill's authorized biography was published - Truth, Justice and the American Way: The Life And Times Of Noel Neill, The Original Lois Lane. In 2006 she had a small role in Superman Returns. Noel Neill was very generous with her autographs, signing through the mail for literally decades. That has kept her signed photos at a very reasonable range of $25 - $50. Signatures will bring about $10 - $15. Expect her autograph to get a lot higher. Jack Larsen has been retired for many years. He also had small role in Superman Returns. Like Noel Neill, he has been very free with his autographs since Jimmy Olsen. Signed photos list for about $25, signatures about $15. John Hamilton died in 1958, the year the Adventures of Superman ended. That makes his autograph very expensive. Signed photos are very rare. Signatures sell for between $350 - $400 dollars. Robert Shayne worked as an actor until 1977. He came out of retirement to play Reggie the news vendor in the Flash (TV series) in 1990 and 1991. He died in 1992. Shayne died in 1992. Signed photos bring about $100 - $150, a good one maybe more. Signatures bring about $25 - $30.
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