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2007 TV News Archives

John Frederick

January 5, 2007: John Frederick Claims Superman Role

The DesMoinesRegister.com website has posted an article in their "Famous Iowans" series about a John Frederick, an actor who claims to have played Superman in 18 unaired episodes of the 1950s "Adventures of Superman" series as a way to pull George Reeves into line.

My personal investigations seem to point to Mr Frederick's claims being false. Here's part of the article, with my findings beneath...

    Frederick, now busy in retirement in Desert Hot Springs, Calif., says he filmed 18 episodes of the popular television series in the late 1950s as a studio threat to Reeves, who was increasingly unhappy in the role and felt he was being type-cast and excluded from better parts. Reeves allegedly was threatening to walk out on the series, Frederick says in his autobiography, "Name Droppings on Your Head."

    "A muddled message came ... the producers of the 'Superman' series would like to see me as soon as possible.

    "It was at a little studio on the street just south of the Paramount gate. ...It was a tiny office with two men in it. Hanging on a rack was the Superman costume. 'If it fits, you've got the part,' one said."

    The costume handed to Frederick did fit the brawny, square-shouldered actor, so he went to work.

    He writes: "The part I remember the most vividly was lying stretched out on something that looked like a barrel on my stomach, feet and arms outstretched, and wind machine blowing. I guess I was flying. God knows where. I didn't."

    Frederick adds: "Later I was told that the current Superman was making waves. ... I eventually figured it out that I was supposedly the threat that just might bring him back into the fold and hopefully his senses."

    Frederick says he never knew where the episodes he made ended up, but "I was Superman! ... And it paid well too!"

    Frederick says his work came to an abrupt halt with Reeves' mysterious death in 1959. Reeves allegedly shot himself , but many today say he was murdered and did not commit suicide.

I have contacted both Noel Neill (who played Lois Lane in seasons 2-6 of the TV series) and Jack Larson (who played Jimmy Olsen for the entire run of the show) and can report that Noel and Jack not only never worked with John Frederick, but neither has ever heard of him before. It stands to reason that if John Frederick filmed 18 episodes of the series, as he claims, that he would have had to have had some contact with either Noel or Jack.


2007 Television News

Listed below are all the Television News items archived for 2007 organized into various categories:

“Smallville” News:

“Justice League” and “Superman” Animated Series News: “Krypto: The Superdog” News: “Legion of Super-Heroes” Animated Series News: Other Superman Related Television News:

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