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Christopher Reeve Was ‘Bitter’ After Tragic Accident: It Wasn’t ‘Sunshine and Rainbows’
Twenty years after the tragic death of their dad at the age of 52, Christopher Reeve’s three children are paying tribute to their superhero dad in a new documentary.
Daughter Alexandra, 40, a Washington, D.C.–based lawyer, says her father was at first angry and resentful after the horrific 1995 equestrian accident that left him a quadriplegic at age 43.
“He would have been the first person to say he had moments when he felt bitter,” she says. “It certainly wasn’t all sunshine and rainbows. Of course, he had days when he got pissed off at the circumstances.”
The Superman star had always been a type-A personality, constantly pushing himself and his kids.
“With Dad, you had to make an effort,” elder son Matthew, 44, a filmmaker, says. “He had a low tolerance for low effort.”
After the accident, “he was now competitive with himself. If he breathed off the ventilator for 30 minutes on Tuesday, on Wednesday it would have to be 31 minutes.”
All three recall how their dad had always been an activist, and after being paralyzed, he worked tirelessly to raise money for people with long-term disabilities and for spinal cord injury research.
Will, 32, a T.V. journalist, says his father always retained his indomitable spirit. “Prior to the accident, he could never sit still,” he says. “The accident forced him to literally sit still, but figuratively, he still couldn’t. He continued to push himself in every way — to grow as a husband, father, contributor to society.”
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