Hollywood Kryptonite: The Bulldog, the Lady and the Death of Superman Book

Hollywood Kryptonite explores the mysterious death of actor George Reeves in 1959 and uncovers a spectacular Hollywood scandal. Reeves became a hero to millions of baby boomers as TV's first Superman, who was "more powerful than a locomotive," but who wound up dead in his Benedict Canyon home, a supposed suicide. Like Clark Kent, Reeves was leading a double life. The truth about Superman was his involvement with ex-showgirl Toni Mannix, wife of powerful MGM vice-president Eddie Mannix. Mannix, an ex-bouncer and tough guy with mob connections, was so feared that he was called "the Bulldog" behind his back. Enter Leonore Lemmon, a sultry New York debutante and the youngest woman to be thrown out of the Stork Club for brawling. Reeves was stirring a dangerous cocktail, and this volatile mix, the authors believe, led to his destruction - a murder virtually ignored by the LAPD. In Hollywood Kryptonite, acclaimed biographers Kashner and Schoenberger delve into the evidence, interviewing all the major players in the drama, including those who have broken a three-decade-long silence to finally tell their tale.