Kirk Alyn (1910-1999)

biography

Born John Feggo in Oxford, New Jersey, on October 8, 1910, Kirk Alyn became the screen's first Superman in the 15-chapter 1948 Columbia serial of the same name. Alyn had worked as an actor for many years prior to taking on his most famous role, with some success. After attending Columbia University, Alyn started his show business career as a dancer and then worked the vaudeville circuit and before moving to Broadway as a actor/dancer. In the early 1940s, he went to Hollywood to attempt to break into films. Soon after his arrival, in 1942 Alyn married actress-singer Virginia O'Brien, and the couple had three children before divorcing in 1955.


After spending several years in Hollywood beginning in the early 1940s, Alyn had appeared in a number of films, but mostly in small roles and uncredited parts. His first major role came in the 1946 Republic serial Daughter of Don Q. But Alyn's big break came in 1948, when the 37-year-old actor was chosen by Columbia to star as Superman in the 15-chapter serial Superman. In fact, Alyn had more success in the serials in which he acted for both Columbia and Republic than he did as a feature film lead. In 1949, Republic released the 12-chapter serial Federal Agents vs. Underworld, Inc., with Kirk Alyn in the lead role and costarring Rosemary La Planche, Miss America 1941. And in 1950, he starred in Republic's 12-chapter Radar Patrol vs. Spy King. After the release of Atom Man Vs. Superman, Alyn tired of the role and would only agree to continuing as the Man of Steel in exchange for a hefty pay raise. Columbia studio executives, notoriously tight-fisted, decided to replace Alyn with George Reeves. However, Alyn acted in one more serial for Columbia, the 1952 15-chapter Blackhawk.

the films of kirk alyn

Superman (1948)

Federal Agents vs. Underworld, Inc. (1949)

Atom Man Vs. Superman (1950)

Blackhawk: Fearless Champion of Freedom (1952)

later years

Kirk Alyn's career hid the skids after he parted company with Columbia in 1952. Serials were being replaced by television programs, and Alyn, now more than 40 years old, had great difficulty in finding roles. He tooks roles on TV programs and bit parts in films, but by the late 1950s he mostly abandoned acting and retired to Arizona. By the 1970s, Alyn saw a revival in his career and toured extensively to discuss his role in Superman. He also made appearances on television and in a few films, including a cameo appearance in the 1978 Warner Bros. release Superman. His final film appearance came in the horror film Scalps (1983; directed by Fred Olen Ray). Sadly, Kirk Alyn died of natural causes related to Alzheimer's disease at the age of 88 on March 14, 1999. He was survived by two daughters and a son.

kirk alyn films available from movies unlimited

Annie Oakley, Vol. 4 [DVD] DVD
Includes "Annie Meets Some Tenderfeet," "Sharp Shooting Annie," "The Tomboy," and "Sure Shot Annie." 105 min. total. Standard; Soundtrack: English. Plays All Regions.
You Were Never Lovelier [DVD](1942) DVD
"You'll Never Get Rich" co-stars Fred Astaire and Rita Hayworth reteam for this top-notch musical comedy. Astaire plays a down-on-his-luck American dancer who begins to fall for Hayworth, the reluctant-to-marry daughter of a wealthy Argentinean club owner who hired the penniless hoofer to romance her. With Adolphe Menjou, Isobel Elsom, Xavier Cugat; the Jerome Kern/Johnny Mercer score includes "Dearly Beloved" and "I'm Old Fashioned." 97 min. Standard; Soundtrack: English Dolby Digital mono; Subtitles: English, Japanese.
The Alice Faye Collection, Vol. 2 [DVD] DVD
Five-disc set includes "Hollywood Cavalcade," "Rose of Washington Square," "The Great American Broadcast," "Hello, Frisco, Hello," and "Four Jills in a Jeep."
Four Jills In A Jeep [DVD](1944) DVD
The "Jills" are Kay Francis, Carole Landis, Mitzi Mayfair and Martha Raye, four members of a USO show unit touring Europe and North Africa. Rousing musical comedy, based on the girls' real wartime exploits, also features Phil Silvers, Dick Haymes, and guest appearances by Alice Faye, Betty Grable, Carmen Miranda, and Jimmy Dorsey and His Band. Songs include "Crazy Me," "How Blue the Night," "Over There." 89 min. Standard; Soundtrack: English Dolby Digital mono; Subtitles: English, French, Spanish; isolated music score; deleted scenes; featurettes; photo gallery.
Superman: The Theatrical Serials Collection [DVD] DVD
Kirk Alyn soared across the big screen as the Man of Steel in these two classic serials. Follow the caped hero's exploits, from his origin on the planet Krypton to his fight against the malevolent Spider Lady and her ray gun, in "Superman" (1948); with Carol Forman, Tommy Bond, and Noel Neill as Lois Lane (a role she later played on TV). Next, it's "Atom Man vs. Superman" (1950), as the Action Ace battles a mysterious nuclear nemesis whose weaponry includes a flying saucer and deadly kryptonite. With Neill, Bond and Lyle Talbot. 30 chapters total; 8 2/3 hrs. total on four discs. Standard; Soundtrack: English Dolby Digital Surround stereo; Subtitles: French, Spanish; featurettes.
Hopalong Cassidy, Vol. 1 [DVD] DVD
Texas Ranger Hopalong Cassidy (William Boyd) tries to stop a ruthless mine owner who uses Mexicans as slave laborers, in "Border Patrol" (1943). Robert Mitchum, in his film debut, also stars. Then, damsel-in-distress Minna Gombell's wagon line will be a "Doomed Caravan" (1941), and only Cassidy can stop nefarious schemes of some rascally businessmen. With Andy Clyde, Russell Hayden. In "Fool's Gold" (1947), a gang of owlhoots is trying to lead the son of Hoppy's Army buddy into a life of crime, until Cassidy sets him straight. With Jane Randolph, Stephen Barclay. He's no Ali Baba, but Cassidy needs no magic words to deal with the "Forty Thieves" (1944) a crooked town boss brings in to tangle with the black-clad hero. Douglass Dumbrille and and future screen Superman Kirk Alyn also star. And, the titular "Hidden Gold" (1940) is actually out in the open, as are the villainous plans of the rannies who swipe it from miners and stagecoaches. With Hayden, Roy Barcroft. 5 hrs. total. Standard; Soundtrack: English Dolby Digital 5.1.
The Best Of Bud Abbott And Lou Costello, Vol. 2 [DVD] DVD
Abbott and Costello pull off a bank heist in "Hit the Ice" (1943); they star as plumbers who are mistaken as members of the social elite in "In Society" (1944); Bud and Lou are caretakers at an all-girl college in "Here Come the Co-Eds" (1945); the only big screen appearance of their "Who's on First?" routine is featured in "The Naughty Nineties" (1945); Lou plays a vacuum cleaner merchant in "Little Giant" (1946); "The Time of Their Lives" (1946) has Lou as a falsely accused ghost; the problems of homecoming G.I.s are spoofed in "Buck Privates Come Home" (1947); it's fun on the frontier in "The Wistful Widow of Wagon Gap" (1947). 11 hrs. on two discs. Standard; Soundtrack: English Dolby Digital mono; Subtitles: Spanish, French; theatrical trailers.
When Worlds Collide [DVD](1951) DVD
George Pal's science fiction classic that set the precedent for today's spectaculars. A few human colonists race against time to build an escape rocket before the impending collision of Earth with a runaway planet. 81 min. Standard; Soundtracks: English Dolby Digital mono, French Dolby Digital mono; Subtitles: English; theatrical trailer; scene access.
The Eddy Duchin Story [DVD](1956) DVD
Tyrone Power stars as the pianist/bandleader who was the talk of '30s New York cafe society but whose personal life was marred by tragedy. Glossy, song-filled biodrama also features Kim Novak, James Whitmore, and the keyboard work of Carmen Cavallaro. Songs include "What Is This Thing Called Love?," "Till We Meet Again." 123 min. Widescreen (Enhanced); Soundtrack: English Dolby Surround; Subtitles: English, French; theatrical trailers; scene access.
Time Warp (1981)/Warp Speed [DVD](1981) DVD
TV Batman Adam West lends his square-jawed charisma to these two sci-fi spectaculars. First, an astronaut returns home to his family, only to discover he's trapped in a "Time Warp" one year in the future, and invisible to all around him. Co-stars Kirk Alyn (of "Superman" serial fame), Hildy Brooks. Next, it's "Warp Speed" ahead as a gorgeous psychic (Camille Mitchell) attempts to meld her mind with the memories lingering aboard a spacecraft (captained by West) missing its crew. David Chandler, Gela Nash also star. 182 min. total. Standard/Widescreen (Enhanced); Soundtrack: English Dolby Digital stereo; theatrical trailers.

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filmography

FILM
Scalps (1983) with Carroll Borland and Forrest J Ackerman; directed by Fred Olen Ray
Superman (1978) with Christopher Reeve and Margot Kidder
Beginning of the End (1957) with Peter Graves and Peggie Castle
The Eddy Duchin Story (1956) with Tyrone Power and Kim Novak
Blackhawk (1952) with Carol Forman
When Worlds Collide (1951) with Barbara Rush, Peter Hansen, John Hoyt, and Larry Keating
Gambling House (1951) with Victor Mature, Cleo Moore, Terry Moore, and William Bendix
Atom Man Vs. Superman (1950) with Noel Neill, Tommy Bond, and Lyle Talbot
Radar Patrol vs. Spy King (1950) with Jean Dean
Bride of Vengeance (1949) with Paulette Goddard, Macdonald Carey, Albert Dekker, and Raymond Burr
Federal Agents vs. Underworld, Inc. (1949) with Rosemary La Planche and Carol Forman
Superman (1948) with Noel Neill, Tommy Bond, and Carol Forman
Little Miss Broadway (1947) with Jean Porter
Sweet Genevieve (1947) with Jean Porter
The Trap (1947) with Sidney Toler, Mantan Moreland, Victor Sen Yung, Anne Nagel, and Minerva Urecal
The Time of Their Lives (1946) with Bud Abbott and Lou Costello
Daughter of Don Q (1946) with Lorna Gray
Call of the Rockies (1944) with Sunset Carson and Smiley Burnette
The Girl Who Dared (1944) with Lorna Gray and Grant Withers
Forty Thieves (1944) with William Boyd and Glenn Strange
Four Jills in a Jeep (1944)
Is Everybody Happy? (1943)
Overland Mail Robbery (1943) with Bill Elliott, George 'Gabby' Hayes, and Anne Jeffreys
Pistol Packin' Mama (1943) with Ruth Terry
The Man from Rio Grande (1943) with Don 'Red' Barry
You Were Never Lovelier (1942)

TELEVISION GUEST APPEARANCES
Battlestar Galactica, episode The War of the Gods: Part 1, originally aired January 14, 1979
The Donna Reed Show, episode No More Parties - Almost, originally aired February 26, 1966
The Donna Reed Show, episode Think Mink, originally aired October 7, 1965
Shannon, episode Uneasy Debt, originally aired May 14, 1962
Dennis the Menace, episode A Quiet Evening, originally aired February 25, 1962
Naked City, episode Burst of Passion, originally aired January 20, 1959
Buffalo Bill, Jr., episode Blazing Guns, originally aired August 24, 1956
Buffalo Bill, Jr., episode Silver Mine Mystery, originally aired August 16, 1956
Highway Patrol, episode Mental Patient, originally aired April 9, 1956
Highway Patrol, episode Released Convict, originally aired 1956
The Adventures of Champion, episode The Real Unfriendly Ghost, originally aired 1955
Annie Oakley, episode The Iron Smoke-Wagon, originally aired August 14, 1954
Annie Oakley, episode Annie Meets Some Tenderfeet, originally aired May 15, 1954
Lux Video Theatre, episode Call Me Mrs., originally aired March 11, 1954
The Adventures of Kit Carson, episode The Devil at Angel's Camp, originally aired October 6, 1951

kirk alyn film now showing

Watch Kirk Alyn in the 1946 Monogram Charlie Chan mystery The Trap