George Reeves considered himself to be very lucky to be ‘Superman’ on the 50’s television series. He confided in friends that the only way he could be happier would be if, ‘I knew for sure that I had one adult fan out there. 'I know the kids love me, but if I knew one adult who thought I was any kind of actor, I’d really be happy, he was heard to say’.

This had to be a tongue-in-cheek statement because Reeves had many people clamoring for interviews and appearances. And if they didn’t admire him for his portrayal of the man of steel on TV, maybe it was for his brief role in ‘Gone With the Wind’. Yes, look it up, Reeves was one of Scarlet O’ Hara’s handsome suitors in the epic.

I have always admired ‘the man of steel’ and thought fondly of George Reeves portrayal of Clark Kent / Superman. I have read a few books on George Reeves and seemed to think of him as a ‘good fellow’, much like me. I tape the show nearly every night at 4:00a and watch it the next day. After checking out some interesting Reeves and Superman sites on the internet, I thought I would investigate the information I knew about George Besselo (his real name) and the terrible act of violence that ended the 45 year-old actor's life. Not only was this the death of a fine man and friend of many, but the death of Superman, who was admired and loved by so many adults and children around the world!

In the years he played Clark Kent, ‘the mild mannered reporter for a great Metropolis newspaper’, and Superman, ‘a being with abilities for beyond those of mortal men, all in a never-ending battle for truth, justice and the American way’, Reeves not only had developed a large throng of followers, but seemingly, a particular one who sought him out, wanted to meet him and did. Toni Mannix was not just another fan of Reeves and after meeting each other, they began to see each other (date privately, she was married) but others knew they were in love. She even bought him that little sports car that is seen on many of the later episodes of Superman; he enjoyed driving so much he talked management into letting him use the car on the show!

In his private life, Reeves really loved Toni, whose husband was a VP at MGM. He and Toni were together, on the sly for years, but he could not convince Toni to divorce her husband (he had heart condition, and she wanted to stay until the end…and collect on all the stock, and the rest of his fortune) so George left her, but still wanted her. He then started to see Lenore Lemmon, and I believe his association with her could have brought about an abrupt and bloody ending to a wonderful actor who died just as his life was turning a corner.

Let’s stop here for a moment and look at George Reeves, the person, astrologically.

George Reeves (Besselo) was born the small town of Woolstock IA in January of 1914. He was much like Clark Kent, helping his parents and friends, staying out of trouble, and being a model student. Being the athletic type, he loved boxing, and fought out of an area-boxing club. This explains his powerful look and portrayal of a fighter on the show on occasion. He also was an actor in school, to no one’s surprise. One of his better performances came on a pair of crutches after spraining his knee. Not wanting to give in to the pain, he gave the locals a tremendous performance, giving all a glimpse of what type of person he was; dedicated, responsible and sort of a ‘superman’ when it came to his love of acting. He made friends easily and thru these friendships found work in Hollywood.

Though I have no accurate timing of his birth (at this time) I carefully will use the ‘Sun on the Ascendant’ method I use in many of my delineations of professionals whose personal data I cannot get. His Moon is located at 25 Aries in this chart. Were he born later in the day, the Moon would have gone on to Gemini (about 5pm). While the Aries Moon would seem to be a fit, being the ‘Superman’ type, mentioned to be full of energy and drive, the cerebral part of Reeves, writing and being a thinker would seem to be much like him too.

We know for sure that Reeves was a Capricornian. We can assume the role of Superman was one he could really fit into, being a leader rather than a follower, and exercising control over others. He may have been a great businessman and very organized in his life, even before he had a personal secretary. He showed many that he was a respectable and responsible person in his dealings with others. Jack Larson, who played Jimmy Olson said in an interview that Reeves, ‘often would give others in the acting profession and down on their luck, money. He would give nearly half of what he made away, and never was paid back in most cases. Not a lot of people knew that of George’. As Superman, he was able to fulfill an unconscious drive to keep people in line, commanding respect, and ‘run the show’. Let’s look at some of the aspects made in his natal, ones that would define what made Reeves the person he was.

One outstanding aspect in his chart was the Sun (in Capricorn at 14) opposing Mars (at 14 Cancer). Through this aspect, it would reveal not only his great interest in being athletic, but also why he was so full of energy. George was also big on staying physically fit, which showed in what a powerful looking man he was on the show. On the flip side, he could easily go after someone with an equal amount of verve if he felt they had it coming. No question this aspect surfaced too in his love of boxing, thru physically attempting to have your own way. I know all this first hand, because I have this natal aspect too.

This Sun was also forming a quindecile to Pluto. I could write an entire separate article on how this aspect may have played an important part in his death, but will give some brief details. The Sun is the giver of life in your chart. It is the essence of just who you really are, underneath all the emotions and details of your chart. When it has ties to Pluto, one can rarely escape the intensity, power struggles, beginnings and endings (death) and intrigue that Pluto entails. Briefly, George would have a tremendous drive internally (because of Pluto’s retrograde here) in being the best he could be and achieving some kind of mastery or power in life, even if it killed him doing it. One cannot estimate the power of Pluto in your own chart (or the power it has to ruin you, if you allow it). Since Pluto would rule his 10^th house, his career, goals, ego and even his public status would be of extreme importance to him. Not that it isn’t in your or my chart, but George would have practically nothing more important in his live to do but somehow achieve a certain kind of ‘power or intensity’ in his career, more often than not, unconsciously putting himself in a position of great danger doing so.

Move on to the Death of Superman, George Reeves