Kirk Alyn

Kirk Alyn (born John Feggo Jr.; October 8, 1910 – March 14, 1999) was an American actor, best known for being the first actor to play the DC Comics character Superman in live-action for the 1948 movie serial Superman and its 1950 sequel Atom Man vs. Superman, as well as fellow DC Comics characters Blackhawk from the Blackhawk movie serial in 1952, and Lois Lane's father Sam Lane in 1978's Superman.

Early life Kirk Alyn was born as John Feggo Jr. on October 8, 1910, in Oxford, New Jersey, to working class parents from Austria-Hungary. In his youth he lived in Wharton, New Jersey. A plaque commemorating his life in the borough is hung in the municipal building.

Career Alyn started as a chorus boy for Broadway plays, appearing in notable musicals such as Girl Crazy, Of Thee I Sing, and Hellzapoppin' during the 1930s.

Alyn (right) and Sidney Toler as Charlie Chan in the film The Trap (1946). He also worked as a singer and dancer in vaudeville before relocating to Hollywood during the early 1940s to act for feature movies, but he was successful only in gaining bit parts for low-budget movies before obtaining the role of Superman in 1948. During World War II, he served in the United States Navy.

Alyn also featured in movie serials, including Federal Agents Vs. Underworld Inc. (1948), Radar Patrol Vs. Spy King (1950) and Blackhawk (1952).

Alyn recalls the day producer Sam Katzman asked him to play Superman:

I thought it was a publicity stunt. I didn't think you could ever put Superman on film. They brought the people from D.C. Comics over and they said, 'Hey, he looks just like Clark Kent.' They said take off your shirt, so I did and flexed my muscles. Then the guy said, 'Take off your pants' and I said, 'Wait a minute.' I was 37 when I played Superman. I picked up that girl and ran up that flight of stairs like it was nothing." )

After playing Superman, he again suffered casting problems. Apart from featuring in some similar comic book-type serials, he had few roles in television series and movies, some even uncredited, until he retired.

Alyn was reportedly offered the part of Superman for the television version of 1951, but refused it. In 1971, he published an autobiography entitled A Job for Superman.

Alyn shared a very brief cameo with his serial co-star, Noel Neill, as Sam and Ellen Lane, the parents of the young Lois Lane for the 1978 feature movie, Superman. In a brief on-set interview, he explains his method of portraying Superman and Clark Kent, contained in a documentary narrated by Ernie Anderson, The Making of Superman: The Movie (1978).

In 1981, Alyn appeared as "Pa Cant" in the parody movie Superbman: The Other Movie, a role that lasted only seconds, as Cant dies from heart failure immediately after discovering the strange visitor from the planet "Krapton".

Alyn made his final movie, the horror movie Scalps, in 1983.

In 1988, he participated in the 1988 TV special Superman 50th Anniversary Special as himself. He also had a very brief appearance in a Battlestar Galactica episode.

Personal life When he first went to Hollywood, Alyn met another performer, singer, dancer, and actress Virginia O'Brien. They were married in 1942, and had three children: daughters Terri O'Brien and Elizabeth Watkins and son John Feggo III. They were divorced in 1955.

Death Alyn died on March 14, 1999, in The Woodlands, Texas, at the age of 88 from Alzheimer's disease. He was cremated. His ashes were scattered off the coast of California.

Honors Alyn was the Grand Marshal of the Metropolis, Illinois Christmas parade and Annual Superman Celebrations several times. In 1985, DC Comics named Alyn as one of the honorees in the company's 50th anniversary publication Fifty Who Made DC Great.

Alyn received the Inkpot Award in 1974.

Filmography Year Title Role Notes1930 Fast and Loose Man Seated at Table in Speakeasy Uncredited1942 My Sister Eileen Portuguese Merchant Marine Cadet Lucky Jordan Pearl's Boyfriend You Were Never Lovelier Julia's Groom 1943 Aerial Gunner Officer in Canteen Action in the North Atlantic Brazilian Gun Captain Swing Shift Maisie Victory Aircraft Official The Man from the Rio Grande Tom Traynor - Editor The Iron Major John Cavanaugh Uncredited Is Everybody Happy? Larry Thew Overland Mail Robbery Tom Hartley Mystery Broadcast Young Policeman Uncredited Pistol Packin' Mama J. Leslie Burton III A Guy Named Joe Officer in Heaven Uncredited1944 Four Jills in a Jeep Pilot Broadway Rhythm Escort Once Upon a Time Attendant Cowboy and the Senorita Lulubelle's Beau Goodnight, Sweetheart Reporter Forty Thieves Jerry Doyle Call of the Rockies Ned Crane The Girl Who Dared Josh Carroll Storm Over Lisbon Bandleader Uncredited1946 Daughter of Don Q Cliff Roberts Serial The Time of Their Lives Dandy at Party Uncredited The Trap Police Sgt. Reynolds 1947 The Beginning or the End Scientist Uncredited Little Miss Broadway Det. Lt. Mel O'Brien Sweet Genevieve Dr. Wright 1948 Superman Kal-El / Clark Kent / Superman Serial The Three Musketeers Aramis' Friend Uncredited1949 Federal Agents vs. Underworld, Inc Insp. David Worth Serial Bride of Vengeance Guard Uncredited Radar Patrol vs. Spy King Chris Calvert Serial1950 Atom Man vs. Superman Kal-El / Clark Kent / Superman Serial Gambling House FBI Man Uncredited1951 When Worlds Collide Rioter Bringing Guns 1952 Blackhawk Blackhawk Serial The Savage Orderly Uncredited1956 The Eddy Duchin Story Young Man at Wadsworths' Party 1957 Beginning of the End B-52 Pilot No Time to Be Young Mike, Gloria's Date 1967 Banning Bidder 1968 P.J. Supervisor 1970 The Great White Hope Man in German Nightclub 1978 Superman Sam Lane1983 Scalps Professor Machen (final film role)