The movie and TV community has lost another one of its beloved stars over the holiday weekend, withNoel Neill, the first actress ever to playLois Lane, passing away at the age of 95, in Tuscon, Arizona. Her manager and biographerLarry Wardconfirmed the actress' death through Facebook last night. Here’s what he had to say in a statement below.
“Noeltruly was Lois Lane, and for many of us, she was the first working woman seen on television. Few of her fans actually knew her real name, almost always simply calling her “Lois” to which she would unfailing answer with a bright smile and a kind word. It was more than a role to her.”
Varietyreports thatNoel Neillwas born in Minneapolis, Minnesota, and that she originally wanted to be a journalist like her father, who was the editor of a local newspaper. In 1940, she was hired by actorBing Crosbyto sing at the Turf Club, located inside a Del Mar, California race track, whichBing Crosbywas a co-owner of. In 1941, she signed a contract with Paramount Pictures, and she hosted and performed on several experimental programs that aired locally in Los Angeles throughout the 1940s. She also appeared in a number of film and TV westerns for iconic directors such asVincent Minnelli,Cecil B. DeMilleandHal Roach.
In 1948,Noel Neillsigned on to play Lois Lane for the first time in the four-hour serialSupermanstarring alongsideKirk Alynas the Man of Steel. She went on to reprise that iconic role in 1950’sAtom Man vs. Supermanbefore she was cast as Lois Lane a third time in the 1953 TV seriesAdventures of Superman. She replacedPhyllis Coateswhen that actress left the show after being offered a role in a different series.Noel Neillwent on to appear in 78 episodes through the show’s six season run, between 1953 and 1958.
While the actress retired from acting after the series ended, she did come back for an uncredited role as Ella Lane inRichard Donner’s 1978 classicSuperman, while voicing Alexis in a 1991 episode of the animated seriesSuperboy. She also had a brief appearance as Gertrude Vanderworth inBryan Singer’s 2006 movieSuperman Returns. A statue of the actress as Lois Lane was dedicated to her in Metropolis, Illinois in 2010.
