# You won't believe a man can die **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [October 11, 2004, 11:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-wont-believe-a-man-can-die/268607 "2004-10-11T11:17:20Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Evil\_Death](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ecccb3/32.png) [@Evil\_Death](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Evil_Death)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2004, 11:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-wont-believe-a-man-can-die/268607/1 "2004-10-11T11:17:20Z")
Actor/director Christopher Reeve, best known as Superman, died yesterday at the age of 52. Cause of death was heart failure, probably as an after-effect of an infection Reeve suffered in a pressure wound. RIP. ---
**Author:** ![norinew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/eb9ed0/32.png) [@norinew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/norinew)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2004, 12:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-wont-believe-a-man-can-die/268607/2 "2004-10-11T12:40:46Z")
That’s too bad. He was certainly an inspiration, going on with working and being so active after his tragic accident. I feel bad for his wife; they really seemed to love one another very much. ---
**Author:** ![Sampiro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2acd7d/32.png) [@Sampiro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sampiro)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2004, 1:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-wont-believe-a-man-can-die/268607/3 "2004-10-11T13:47:56Z")
Man, that’s so depressing. He was such an optimist. My heart majorly goes out to his family (and to Robin Williams, who loved him like a brother). ---
**Author:** ![singular1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ba9def/32.png) [@singular1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/singular1)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2004, 3:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-wont-believe-a-man-can-die/268607/4 "2004-10-11T15:28:31Z")
This is a incredibly disgusting thread title. Jesus. :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![norinew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/eb9ed0/32.png) [@norinew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/norinew)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2004, 3:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-wont-believe-a-man-can-die/268607/5 "2004-10-11T15:43:46Z")
> [@singular1](#): > > This is a incredibly disgusting thread title. Jesus. :rolleyes: I don’t believe **Evil Death** meant it to be disgusting. I personally took it as more of a reference that Reeve seemed, well, hard to do in. He was a fighter. I’m pretty sure no disrespect was meant by the thread title. ---
**Author:** ![AngelicGemma](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/439d5e/32.png) [@AngelicGemma](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AngelicGemma)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2004, 3:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-wont-believe-a-man-can-die/268607/6 "2004-10-11T15:46:51Z")
How sad. ☹ ---
**Author:** ![Evil\_Death](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ecccb3/32.png) [@Evil\_Death](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Evil_Death)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2004, 4:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-wont-believe-a-man-can-die/268607/7 "2004-10-11T16:06:20Z")
> [@norinew](#): > > I don’t believe **Evil Death** meant it to be disgusting. I personally took it as more of a reference that Reeve seemed, well, hard to do in. He was a fighter. I’m pretty sure no disrespect was meant by the thread title. Thank you, **norinew**. If I’d meant it to be disgusting, I wouldn’t have flipped the axis of the original quote. They told Reeve he’d never move below the neck again. He proved them wrong. They said Reeve would never work again. He starred in Rear Window, guested on Smallville and even directed a movie or two. You want to know what’s disgusting? That a man like that should be done in by an infected bedsore. ---
**Author:** ![nocturnal\_tick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/3d9bf3/32.png) [@nocturnal\_tick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nocturnal_tick)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2004, 4:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-wont-believe-a-man-can-die/268607/8 "2004-10-11T16:19:34Z")
I read the title and saw it as honoring the man’s perseverance. What exactly is disgusting about it? My condolences go out. ☹ The man was a symbol of overcoming the odds. His physical debilitation never stopped him from achieving so much. May his memory and his legacy live on. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2004, 4:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-wont-believe-a-man-can-die/268607/9 "2004-10-11T16:46:33Z")
For those who don’t get it, the title is a reference to the tagline for _Superman_: “You will believe that a man can fly”. This seems rather sudden, to me… Last I’d heard, he was still showing remarkable progress with battling his paralysis. ---
**Author:** ![Eve](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Eve](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eve)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2004, 4:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-wont-believe-a-man-can-die/268607/10 "2004-10-11T16:46:36Z")
[Thread Police](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=280241). Pull over, gonna have to cite you for that vague thread title.