2009 Chiller Theatre Expo – Day 1
Noel Neill, who played the character of Lois Lane while starring with the screen's first two Supermen, has died at the age of 95. She passed away on July 3, 2016, in Tucson, Ariz. at her home. The actress kept working until the end, though — even finishing her career as "Aunt Lois" in a movie set to be released this year!
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Noel Neill
The beloved star started out as a singer, and also found fame as one of the nation's most popular pin-up models. She was still just a bit player in Hollywood for almost a decade before signing on to play Lois Lane in the 1948 serial "Superman," with Kirk Alyn in the lead. That was followed by 1950's "Atom Man vs. Superman."
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Superman & Lois Lane
Alyn gave up the role over a salary dispute, but Noel moved on to the hit television series "Adventures of Superman" — after actress Phyllis Coates left the role for another offer. Noel would play the Daily Planet reporter opposite
George Reeves for five seasons. Along with Jack Larson (who died in 2015 at the age of 87) as Jimmy Olson, Noel described her work as the series as spending "most of our time bound, gagged, and waiting for the bomb to go off."
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Warner Home Video introduces ‘Superman II: The Richard Donner Cut’ and the New ‘Superman’ DVD collections
Noel retired when the show went off the air in 1958, sparing herself the type-casting that eventually led to Reeves' tragic suicide in 1959. She came out of retirement for a small role in 1978's "Superman," and then did cameos in other productions in the franchise — including a role as Lex Luthor's doomed love interest in 2006's "Superman Returns."
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2007 WonderCon – Day One
The actress also stayed busy meeting fans on the convention circuit well into her 90s. Noel even managed a final role in the upcoming superhero spoof "Surge of Power: Revenge of the Sequel," where she worked alongside
Linda Blair and "Gilligan's Island" star
Dawn Wells.
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Actor Kirk Alyn as Superman to the rescue of Lois Lane (Noel Neill) in Superman (1948)
Noel passed away in Tucson, but she also spent some of her final years in Metropolis, Illinois — sharing the name of the city where Lois Lane got plenty of scoops. A statue of the actress still stands in the town.
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