See also Bush, George H. W.; Business and the
economy in the United States; Clinton, Bill; Down-
sizing and restructuring; Elections in the United
States, 1992; Employment in the United States;
Greenspan, Alan; Income and wages in the United
States.
Reeve, Christopher
Identification American actor and activist
Born September 25, 1952; New York, New York
Died October 10, 2004; Mount Kisco, New York
An established actor, Christopher Reeve became interna-
tionally recognized for his courageous advocacy of rights for
the disabled after a horse-riding accident left him nearly
completely paralyzed.
A working actor since fourteen, Christopher Reeve
had found his hunky good looks and self-deprecat-
ing charisma a fortunate combination as first a vil-
lain on the soap operaLove of Lifeand then most
prominently as Superman in a trilogy of highly suc-
cessful films in the 1980’s. Gifted with financial secu-
rity but restless for professional challenges, Reeve by
the early 1990’s was selecting film and theater roles
that worked against the Superman
persona. In addition, Reeve, a life-
long athlete, pursued high-risk hob-
bies including piloting, scuba div-
ing, and most notably horse riding,
particularly eventing, a demanding
three-day competition that com-
bines the finesse of dressage with
the speed of cross-country racing.
It was on May 27, 1995, during an
eventing competition in Culpepper,
Virginia, that Reeve was thrown
forward off his horse when it froze
before a rail jump. Reeve landed
headfirst, shattering the uppermost
vertebrae in his spine (actually sev-
ering his skull from the column). In-
stantly paralyzed, Reeve was unable
to breathe, and only urgent neuro-
logical care saved his life. Rehabili-
tation over the next months was an
excruciating and frustrating regi-
men: Reeve was confined to an elec-
tric wheelchair, nearly completely
immobilized and compelled to use a ventilator ex-
cept for brief periods.
His medical trauma, however, received interna-
tional coverage, and within a year of his injury Reeve
began making public appearances—most notably at
the 1996 Academy Awards—to advocate for the
rights of the disabled and increased funding for spi-
nal cord injury research. Along with his wife, Dana,
Reeve established the Christopher Reeve Paralysis
Foundation in 1996, which led efforts both to pro-
tect the insurance coverage of victims of such inju-
ries and to promote controversial stem cell research
as the best hope for genuine advances toward cures
for spinal cord injury. In 1997, Reeve returned to
filmmaking, directing the Home Box Office (HBO)
filmIn the Gloaming, a sobering look at AIDS. It was
nominated for five Emmy Awards. Reeve’s perfor-
mance the following year as the Jimmy Stewart char-
acter in a remake of Alfred Hitchcock’s 1954 classic
Rear Windowearned him a Screen Actors Guild
Award for best television actor.
Reeve published two inspirational best sellers that
urged victims of spinal cord injuries to live as inde-
pendently as possible even as he had begun to re-
claim limited muscle response in his fingers and to
feel hot and cold sensations. Despite his heroic re-The Nineties in America Reeve, Christopher 705
Christopher Reeve accepts the 1996 National Courage Award from the Courage Center
in Bloomington, Minnesota. After suffering a spinal injury from a horse-riding acci-
dent that rendered him a quadriplegic, Reeve became an advocate for the disabled.
(AP/Wide World Photos)