I worked on Somewhere in Time back in ‘79, and became friends with Chris (and Jane). As most of you already know, I spent three weeks as an Extra in all the 1912 scenes which included background people (with the exception of the park scene). There were few extras who worked as many days as I did. The days I wasn’t needed, I spent hanging with the crew, watching the filming. I even had the tremendous joy of spending an entire day off from filming, with Chris and Jane, flying in Chris’ plane to the mainland and going bowling with them for some needed recreation “off the rock.” That was one day in my life I will always treasure. (You can read the story of my extraordinary experience being involved with the film, “Barely in Time”, in the Articles section of the SIT Website. It’s also now an Appendix with over 60 photos from my album, in the new 45th Anniversary Edition of “The Somewhere in Time Story” making-of/legacy book). It was an honor to be friends with him for 25 years before he passed.

So, I often get asked, “What was Christopher Reeve like?” Ahh, well that IS a question. Everyone is able to enjoy the fantastic 1994 SIT Weekend when Chris joined us, by ordering the SIT Event DVD #3, Christopher Reeve Returns to Mackinac, through Somewhere in Time Gallery. This was 7 months before Chris was paralyzed. His visit there was so magnificent an experience, and so revealing of Chris’ character, it is a must-have DVD for all fans. I doubt the 675+ in attendance at the Grand, Saturday night October 29th, expected to come away so deeply impressed with the star of their favorite love story. He was honest, articulate, witty and bright.

I’ve said before that Chris is the kind of guy anyone would want as a friend. I’ve said that he exuded positive energy, had an optimistic nature, and a delightful childlike enthusiasm for whatever project or hobby he was involved with, a person whose genuine zest for life was apparent at all times. I never heard him complain about anything. And he was quite diplomatic, as the following story will reveal.

Filming on location for this picture afforded little time off, as we worked a six day week, up to 16 hours a day, with only Sundays free. One Sunday afternoon very early in the shooting schedule, two college age girls were playing frisbee on the lawn along the road up to the Grand, between the “theatre building” and the “theatre” building (which is actually the island’s school) and “Arthur’s cottage” (the tennis pro shop.) Chris was riding his bike along the road, and stopped, asking if he could join in the game. Naturally, the girls were thrilled to let him play, and after they had finished and he was about to ride off, one of the girls asked him to autograph the frisbee. He willingly obliged -- but then the two girls started to argue over which one of them would own the frisbee. To settle the dispute, Chris broke the frisbee in two, signed the other half and gave a piece to each girl!

Many have asked if Chris was ‘down to earth’. Well, consider this story: The majority of the island’s summer workers were college students, staying in cottages all over town, dormitory style. On a particularly pleasant day late in the afternoon, a group of guys living in one cottage near the Inn of Mackinac’s (now Mission Point Resort) buildings that were the film’s headquarters, decided to cook their dinner on a grill in the backyard. The aroma of barbeque chicken was wafting through the air, when one of the guys noticed a famous stranger, standing on the other side of the picket fence that fringed the yard. He greeted the guys with, “Sure smells good!”, whereby the stunned group promptly invited Chris to join them for the meal. After polishing off the chicken, Chris went into the kitchen and helped wash the dishes.

>As of 2011, I have a new story to relate about Chris during the time of Somewhere in Time’s filming. I was at an Ace Hardware store in Woodruff, WI, where our family summer cottage is. I was writing a check for my purchase, and my checks have DBA “Somewhere in Time” (the name of my antique business) on them. The cashier noticed it, and said, “I know that movie -- and I met Chris Reeve once, many years ago.” I asked, “Really? Where was that?” She went on to say that she used to be the dining room hostess at the Hilton Hotel in downtown Chicago. When Chris was in town filming the movie, both before and after filming wrapped on Mackinac, he was staying there. “He came into the dining room several times during that time. We came to be on a first-name basis.

>“I told him how much I enjoyed him in Superman and especially how over-the-top excited my son was about the movie. Chris asked my son’s name, and offered to call him on the phone to speak with him. He asked me what time would be best to call, and I gave him our phone number. Sure enough, he called on the agreed upon time. Though I usually answered all calls, I made certain my son answered the phone. Chris asked for me, and when my son asked who was calling, as I had trained him to do, Chris said, ‘Christopher Reeve.’ My son literally dropped the phone and came screaming, ‘Christopher Reeve is on the phone, mom!’ I went to the phone, then gave it to my son, and they talked for a while. Actually, Chris called him a couple times during that week.”

This next story has become somewhat of a legend on the island, but it has changed over time with details altered and some left out, in the many retelllings, as legends often do. Here is the real story, as I was there.

Chris was shooting Somewhere in Time in his break between Superman and Superman II, and so it was in his honor that the island’s only theatre (which was utilized for the play scene in the film) acquired the movie to show during his stay. I’d become a Christopher Reeve fan because of his wonderful dual portrayal as both Clark Kent and the Man of Steel. So I was on hand for this showing, of course. There was quite an electric quality to the air in that full theatre, with all of the audience whispering about whether Chris might actually attend. Sure enough, just before the house lights dimmed, Chris came in with a couple others and sat down in the third row, two rows in front of me. The audience signaled their excitement with applause, and the film began.

But unfortunately, the theatre experienced some technical difficulty for this very important showing, and the picture stopped, midway into the second reel. A few tense minutes passed before they got it running again, but then only picture without sound! If you know the film, it was where young Clark and his foster father, played by Glenn Ford, are having a heart-to-heart on the farm about keeping his powers a secret. It’s kind of a nice moment, and one of the few which reveals Clark’s family life. Imagine our disappointment -- with the film interruption happening when The Star was present -- turn into joy, when Chris calmly stood up and filled in the dialog for us, until the sound came back. This tale even made it into the area newspapers. (By the way, in Superman, Chris’ voice was dubbed in for the actor playing young Clark, because that young man had a strong southern accent. Chris knew precisely what the dialog was.)

I am a little reticent to tell this next story, as it is a tad embarrassing. It happened before Chris and I were on a first-name basis. All the extras would go to the wardrobe department and get into our selected costume for the day, then stop in the make-up room, where our hair was put up and our hats were positioned properly before we left in carriages for the set. It was in this room that the stars also had their make-up and hair done as well, as they weren’t provided private dressing rooms or trailers on this picture like they usually are. This particular morning we were preparing to shoot the breakfast scene on the lawn of the hotel. I had been instructed to wear the most unusual costume of the five I wore, the riding outfit. It included a dark green fitted waistcoat over a long black skirt, an ivory silk blouse with an ascot, a top hat with a green chiffon scarf tied in a bow around the back of it, high black boots and a riding crop to carry. I’d also been given a brooch to put on the ascot.

I was in the room with my fellow-extra friend Susan and her friend, who were standing in one corner waiting for me. Chris had just had his make-up completed. I hadn’t noticed he was standing at the all-glass wall, looking out. My hair and hat now finished, I started struggling with putting that brooch’s thick pin through the fine silk ascot, and was having a lot of trouble with it. I turned from the mirror and said, toward my friends, “Will someone please help me with this pin?” Whereupon Chris swung around and came over saying, “I will.”

Now picture this. I’m standing there, with Chris sort of bending down, his face practically in mine, with his large hands trying to get this silly pin through the ascot, while my so-called friends are making all sorts of ridiculous faces and contortions over this, behind him -- but in full view of me -- like school girls mimicking the thrill I must be having. So to keep from laughing, I am looking up at the ceiling. I didn’t know if I could endure this with dignity. The pin wasn’t cooperating, and after what seemed like an eternity, he stepped back and said hopefully, “How’s that?”, then promptly frowned disapprovingly. I turned to look in the mirror, determined to say it was wonderful no matter what it looked like, but finding it was really crooked, and before I could say anything, Chris said, “I’ll do it again.” Oh, yes, we repeated this memorable moment, until the pin was in its proper place. I thanked him, and he said, “Any time.” So you could say, Chris’ dedication to making this film even extended to his helping extras with their costumes!

I thought INSITErs would want to know the circumstances surrounding Chris’ arrival on the island for the 1994 Somewhere in Time Weekend. He’d been trying to attend each year since the first one, but was unable, due to his busy schedule. He told me when I saw him in November ‘93 in NY that he was ‘going to come next time’! And he did.

That fall, Chris was working on a remake of a very good sci-fi film, Village of the Damned (British, 1960) in Marin County, California. That Friday of our Weekend, his schedule called for a night shoot -- he worked all night long on Friday. He requested for Grand Hotel not to make his flight reservations until after noon on Saturday, so he could catch a few hours sleep before traveling cross-country to Mackinac. After arriving in Chicago via Northwest Airlines, he and his wonderful wife Dana, boarded a chartered plane which landed them right on the island’s airstrip. A carriage taxi then brought them to the hotel, about 8:45 pm. They were served a private dinner in their room. About 9:45 pm, INSITE Founder and Event Host Bill Shepard introduced him to the capacity crowd of about 700, Chris stepped through the curtain and the audience went wild with excitement. His brilliant mind was evident when he eloquently answered questions for over an hour, on a vast variety of topics, from ‘What would you say to a young person interested in getting into acting?’ to relating how he got into riding horses and his love for equestrian sport. He was joined toward the end by SIT Director, Jeannot Szwarc. Afterward, he met fans and posed for photos for nearly another hour. I took most of those photos of him with people, using their cameras. A small group of us then retired to a suite for a private cocktail party; Chris and Dana left at 1 am.

About 8 o’clock the next morning, (Sunday), Chris and Dana enjoyed breakfast in the dining room. As any visitor to Grand Hotel knows, the dining staff (as well as the chambermaid staff) was in that era, entirely Jamaican. They left their homeland in spring and spent six months on Mackinac. Most worked long hours every single day, with one day off a month. If a celebrity was in their midst, they were not allowed to approach them, let alone ask for autographs. They could not leave the dining room to meet the celebrity elsewhere in the building. Chris must have intuitively known this, for after he finished his breakfast, he called his waiter and said, “Bring your friends over, and I’ll take care of you.” Chris shook many hands, and even signed Jamaican money for some of the guys, (whatever they had on them) a memorable moment on their last day of the season. I found this particularly touching.

Following this, Chris came out to the Parlor, where an extremely long line had formed, and he signed autographs for nearly two and a half hours. He gave each fan the time they wanted with him, to take a picture and have a short exchange.

Then Jim and I, and Bill Shepard took him (and Dana) down to the lakeshore to see the “Is It You?” plaque, that INSITE had funded and unveiled the year before, where he talked candidly with the small group of attendees who came along. Jim kept the camera running as we walked back to the hotel. I was so impressed when Chris turned to one man in the group and remarked, “You were dressed as Robinson last night,” (something you can hear on the program; we had to leave it in). Imagine, after having done all that traveling, on little sleep, and meeting well over two hundred people the night before into the late hours, breakfast, meeting hundreds of fans in the morning while signing autographs — he could still remember what one guy wore the night before, and comment on it! That was the kind of man Chris was.

He still saved time for me, to have our interview I’d requested for the documentary. Though he always gave excellent interviews, I believe the one he gave me that day was one of his very best ever. It’s 17 minutes long, (with nothing edited out) on the 2-hour program mentioned earlier. Our conversation was intimate and Somewhere in Time specific, which makes it precious for fans.

What a whirlwind visit! After leaving the island by ferry, a van ride to the Pellston airport, boarding a Pellston flight to Detroit, our star endured a five hour layover in Detroit before flying back to San Francisco, to be able to work Monday morning! How’s that for devotion to us fans! Yes, he really wanted to be there with us. It was a landmark visit, for him, and for us!

I loved how on one of his early appearances on the Johnny Carson show, he related how he was able to switch from having a high-paying film role, to just meager salary as a stage actor. He said, “When I am working on a movie, I drive a sportscar and live in the Hollywood Hills, and when I’m working onstage in New York or in Williamsburg, I have a studio apartment with fruit crates as furniture.” Not many stars could do that! Money didn’t mean much to him, the work did. He just loved acting, for the challenges it afforded him. He worked against ‘type,’ to be able to take on a variety of roles, not always to the benefit of his career.

After having been offered many coveted roles in films right after Superman, most being of the action-hero genre that paid so very much more — at the protestations of his own agent — he chose playing Richard Collier in SIT instead, because of the wide range of emotions and the difficult balance required in portraying a classically romantic lead. In our interview, we chatted about this, because it’s not that stories such as SIT are not written, (or were, back then, not at all now) but, that leading men don’t want to play them. Showing vulnerability and deep attachment ‘can go off’ and become ‘unwatchable’ if going too far, in a romance, as he said. I offered it was so much easier to play ‘macho’ roles, and he agreed. Just looking strong and playing action is not much of an acting challenge. And Chris was all about taking on challenges. Aren’t we all so glad he chose to portray Richard Collier in SIT?

Perhaps my favorite Chris Reeve story is from one of our members, Paul Connors. Way back in 1976 when Chris was on Broadway (with Katharine Hepburn), in A Matter of Gravity, his big break, well before his rise to stardom in Superman, Paul and his brother Bill saw the play and were impressed with Chris. Paul thought after his stint in the army he might pursue acting. They waited for him outside the stage door to meet Chris after the show.

“Chris came out and we were able to chat with him for about 30 minutes. He was very gracious, warm and personable -- even then. When he finally had to go, he excused himself, offered his hand and looked each of us in the eye to make sure we knew he was sincere. I was very impressed with that and his overall kindness toward two brothers who were complete strangers to him. The second time I met him was SEVEN years later, also in NYC and after SIT came and went from theaters, around 1983. I was with my brother again and Chris was giving a talk on acting to a small group at the New School. After the program, as we approached, he looked at us and smiled. He said, ‘I remember you guys — you’re the two brothers who waited in the cold to chat with me. You’re Bill, and Paul, right?’ He shocked me again when he remembered that I was a paratrooper. He asked, ‘Are you still jumping out of perfectly good airplanes?’ I was stunned because both times I met him I was in civilian clothing.”

Just ponder this a moment. By the time of their second brief encounter, Chris’ career had skyrocketed, he had become an international film star, and had literally met many thousands of people. Yet, he could recall the faces of two guys he met at his first important theatre gig — remember the conversation he’d had with them about flying, (one of his key passions) — even recalling their names! That’s the kind of man Chris was. He was always so focused on other people, never on himself, and he could remember people he met once, over years of time.

It is a source of pride for longtime INSITE members, (as well as it should be for those new to our group), to be able to say we (INSITE) funded his permanent tribute – Chris’ Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

Perhaps you can imagine the thrill of that awesome day, the culmination of two years’ fundraising and planning. We had to coordinate the date between the Walk of Fame Committee who approved our application, and of course, Chris. Since Chris lived in New York state, he would have to be in Los Angeles for some other reason, because we couldn’t afford to fly him in a special plane that could accommodate his chair. It finally all came together. The Star unveiling celebration, held April 15, 1997, garnered one of the largest crowds ever for a Walk of Fame Star, and made international news. Jane Seymour was one of our two chosen speakers, along with Glenn Close, his longtime friend, and star of Chris’ directorial debut film, In the Gloaming, which premiered the night before. (Some of us attended that as well). INSITE alone funded the tribute of his Star, and we can be really proud of that. This warmly satisfying program, A Star for Christopher Reeve captures the entire extraordinary day, and is SIT Event DVD #5).

Of course, fans know him for his unwavering work to promote research for spinal cord injuries after his own. But most do not know Christopher Reeve was known industry-wide for his extensive charity work, prior to his paralysis. He tirelessly gave his time and support of the physically challenged through Special Olympics, in his high-profile role in the Creative Coalition, making appearances in behalf of the NEA (National Endowment for the Arts) to drum up more support nationally for the arts. Additionally he campaigned for better drinking water for New York City.

He also went to Chile during the oppressive Pinochet regime — at a time when there were riots and dangerous upheaval. Hundreds of actors and other high profile artistic people were being given a deadline and the choice between execution and leaving the country for their criticism of the dictatorship. Chris singlehandedly carried a petition from Amnesty International, to Chile amidst this political crisis, soldiers with machine guns all over. Though he did not speak the language, he made his plea for freedom of speech. His visit there eased the pressure, and ended the time-critical standoff, saving those threatened with their lives, and freedom.

He was such a fine spokesperson, Dana said he had been encouraged to run for Congress, but Chris was satisfied doing what he could in between his many acting commitments.

Please remember this face: that Chris was standing up for good causes long before he himself was unable to stand – and became the dedicated advocate for those wheelchair-bound from paralysis.

He had no idea how handsome he was. His humility was genuine. Always just himself, without airs or attitude. He had that marvelous, elusive quality of ‘magnetism.’ You could not meet Chris and not like him.

When I was going to see him in person the first time since he was in his chair, I admit I was a little nervous, wondering if I would be okay — not indicating any ‘discomfort’ or awkwardness. As I approached him, and our eyes met, he recognized me immediately and grinned, just like always, saying a familiar ‘Hi, Jo’, and I instantly knew he was the very same guy – in that instant put at ease by him, with the realization he was the Chris I’d always known.

It was only after his terrible accident and paralysis that people the world over got to know what sort of a man Christopher Reeve truly was: genuine, unselfish caring about others, and always using his numerous talents in forward-thinking, positive ways. What he did for the “lost cause” of spinal cord injury research is now legendary.

Through sheer determination, because his diaphragm didn’t work, he taught himself to breathe without his ventilator for long periods. Chris remains a ‘medical miracle’, being the first person ever to regain movement beyond two years of being paralyzed. He was able to move his fingers and shoulder, —and even his legs (underwater) after 5 years of paralysis. That was due to extraordinary perseverance, and a regimen of exercise every day. He had such a long view — he wanted to be in good enough condition to receive any cure that could be found, even though he knew it was at least ten years away. He remained laser-focused and hopeful to the day he died.

His death, from an allergic reaction to an antibiotic he was taking for the second time, for stubborn bedsores, ended his life at age 52, from cardiac arrest, nine years after his accident. (Chris had a unique physiology. He often had the opposite reaction to drugs than what they were intended to do, and sometimes had allergic reactions the second time he took a drug.)

If one day there is a cure found for spinal cord damage causing paralysis, everyone will have Christopher Reeve to thank for it. Before his injury, there wasn’t any research being done. Chris located and united researchers throughout the world, working on various aspects of related nervous system disorders — created a network of communication, so that any advances could be quickly shared and utilized.

The Christopher and Dana Reeve Foundation continues his efforts, to raise money for research and also makes possible quality of life grants for those with paralysis and limited means for equipment. The foundation also provides resources for programs, equipment and advice for dealing with insurance matters.

When it came specifically to his feelings about INSITE, he told me twice, without my asking, that he ‘read every issue of INSITE cover to cover.’ Even his assistant, Laurie, told me after his injury that every time an INSITE issue arrived she would be excited and put it in front of Chris, “because it always makes him smile.” INSITE, and the enthusiasm for Somewhere in Time that ardent fans felt for the movie was very gratifying to him. When he came out onstage in 1994 SIT Weekend, he said, “This film holds the prime spot by the fireside in my heart. Because it’s hard to put your emotions in front of a camera and then for it to be greeted officially with the sound of one hand clapping, if you will. But you have proved the pundits wrong...and have created not only a special place for it, but such a swell of support. It moves me more than you can know. It holds the number one spot in my heart.”

Even though he only was able to attend once, he always wanted to keep informed about our events. When Jane joined us for the first time, in 2002, she had the idea of Chris participating via a phone call with her that all would hear. On Saturday night, when she revealed this plan to the audience, and she said, “I believe we have Chris on the line” we all heard him say, “I’m right here.” There was such an ovation in the audience, and more than a few wiped away tears at their speaking together in our presence. (Jane Seymour Returns to Mackinac, SIT Event DVD #6)

So it was that the existence of our fan society, our events and journal brought him great satisfaction. And for this we can always be grateful.

Now you know a lot more about our Somewhere in Time star. The man. The hero. The advocate. The friend.