Everyone knows Christopher Reeve as Superman, and is aware of his courage in the face of his disastrous, and ultimately life-ending, spinal cord injury.   But few know the young Chris Reeve of Princeton, New Jersey.   I recently had the opportunity to talk with his stepsister, Katie Johnson-Hill (Moeller) of Salt Lake City, to find out more about the boy who became a superman in every sense of the word. Additional comments come from Christopher's mother, Barbara Johnson, where noted.

Q.      How did you become Christopher’s stepsister, and when did that occur?

A.     My father, Tristam Johnson, a very successful stock broker, married Chris’ mother Barbara Reeve in 1959.  Chris was 7 and I was 14 at the time.  My siblings and I lived with our mother in Utah, but spent many summers in New Jersey with our father, so I spent a lot of time with Chris from 1959 on.   During the summer months we lived together and played together.

 Q    What are your earliest memories of Chris as a child?

A.     I remember playing house with all the kids at the family home in Bay Head, New Jersey. There were eight of us including Chris; me and my three siblings, Barb’s two boys Chris and Ben, and Dad and Barb’s two boys Kevin and Jeff. We’d drape blankets off these big tall beds in the guest room and make awesome houses. Chris and I always played the dad and mom. My second memory, years later, was of him sitting at the piano playing.

Q.     Was he a good pianist?  (Chris' mother recalls that he started piano lessons at the age of eight with a neighbor, John Diehlenn, who was his first and only piano teacher. Chris was largely self-taught.)

A.    He was very accomplished.  I can still see him sitting at the piano playing beautiful tunes. That’s one of the things I miss.  He used to play some of my favorite songs.

Q.    What are some other things you liked doing?

A.    We all spent many summers at the Bay Head house, which was right on the beach.   Chris loved sailing and tennis.  I wasn’t into sports like Chris and Dad. As an adult, even after his accident, Chris enjoyed sailing.  He was also into horseback riding.  I remember going riding with him on the Williamstown, Massachusetts property, just the two of us.

Q.    Did he always want to be an actor?

A.    He started acting in junior high and high school in Princeton and loved it.  I remember watching him in some of his Princeton productions. Years later I also saw him in Boston in a play with Kathryn Hepburn!  He was tall and so handsome.  I think he was a favorite actor to many.  As a young mother I remember watching the soapies on TV. He was on “Love of Life” and he was one nasty character.  I often called him in NYC to chew him out and tell him he was just awful, because he played the part so well. One day he even broke a wine glass in his hand.

Barbara Johnson, Christopher's mother, remembers that her son went to the newly founded Drama division of the famous Julliard School, and she also recalls that he played his soap opera role very convincingly:

"He loved to tell the story of the time when he was getting a cup of coffee at a rest stop on the New York Thruway, on his way to or from skiing, and a woman came up to him, shook her fist at him and said, 'Don't you treat your mother that way!' completely mistaking the actor for the character."

Q.    Did he ever come visit you in Utah?

A.    Yes, he came to visit me, my husband Ed, and my children.  This visit was after he had accepted the role of Superman.  I remember alerting the Salt Lake Executive airport of his arrival in his jet of which he was the pilot. During this visit I was very concerned about providing as much privacy for him as possible. It was fun watching Cottonwood Club members’ faces when we went over for a swim!

Q.     How did you find out about his accident?

A.     My sister Beth called me.  We knew within minutes.   I remember being in my office.  It was Memorial Day, 1995.  His injury was so severe, we didn’t know from one minute to the next if he would live. That day was a very, very scary day; so were many days to come.

“A Cure for Spinal Cord Injuries in our Lifetime”
Q.    You have been instrumental in starting the Utah Chapter of the Christopher and Dana Reeve Foundation. Why?

A.     I loved my brother Chris. For many adult years especially I enjoyed my sisterly relationship with him. I miss him.  Ever since Chris’s passing, I’ve wanted to do something to support Chris and the foundation he started. Now I have some time to do it.

As a result of the Reeve Foundation’s Paralysis Task Force, a new report found that 1,275,000 Americans live with paralysis resulting from spinal cord injuries – five times the previous commonly used estimate of 250,000! These are incredible new numbers. I think the research that is being done now is very exciting and that we can find a cure for spinal cord injuries in our lifetime.

I am a total supporter and involved in the foundation’s focus on quality of life for those with spinal cord injuries. My goal is to help the Utah chapter be successful, and to be an important part of the Foundation.

Note: Author Bob Wassom is on the board of the Utah Chapter of the Christopher and Dana Reeve Foundation.

In family photo, left to right: Katie’s father and Chris’s step-father Tristam Johnson, Tristam Johnson, Jr., Beth Johnson, Kevin Johnson, Tom Laabs-Johnson, Jeffrey Johnson,  Christopher Reeve, Katie Johnson-Hill, Benjamin Reeve, and Christopher’s mother Barbara  Johnson.