The First Live-Action Lois Lane, Noel Neill, Has Passed Away

Noel Neill, the first woman to ever play Superman's love interest Lois Lane in a live-action feature, was reported to have passed away by her friend Larry Ward on Facebook. Neill played Lois Lane in the television series Adventures of Superman starring George Reeves, which aired 1952-1958. Neill passed away in her Tuscon, Arizona home at age 95 after a long battle with illness.

Ward recounts Noelle Neill's life in a beautiful tribute to her memory. Neill was born in 1920 in the town of Minneapolis, Minnesota and acted in stage productions and gave rado perfomances from a very young age. She attended the same dance school as the famous Andrews Sisters and did many singing performances as a young adult.

In 1941, she signed on with Paramount Pictures. Her first leading role was in the 1944 film Are These Our Parents? She acted in nearly 100 films over her long and amazing career. She first played Lois Lane in the 1948 Superman movie serial by Columbia Pictures. She did an excellent job of portraying the character's whip-smart tenacity and was a hit in the role. She went on to appear in sequel serials and most famously, Adventures of Superman.

Neill was the daughter of a newspaper editor and has actually done news writing for Women's Wear Daily, so she was right at home as Lois Lane and had such a deep connection with the character she often told interviewers she was basically playing herself. And she really made her mark on the Superman mythos, because as Ward says, it's possible she was in more Superman projects than any other actor:

Arguably the most prolific actor in the Superman science fiction genre, Noel would also go on to work with Christopher Reeve in the 1978 film Superman, in the 1980s in the Superboy series with Gerard Christopher, the 2004 Jerry Seinfeld webisode Hindsight is 20/20; and finally, in Brandon Routh's 2006 feature film Superman Returns.

Neill won several awards, including the 2004 Golden Boot Award for Westerns, and there's a statue dedicated to her in the role of Lois Lane in Metropolis, Illinois. Ward says Neill was " kind, selfless, hardworking, funny with a quick wit, and assertive - all the same qualities that embodied the character of Lois Lane." He also notes the incredible impact she made in the role, saying "for many of us, she was the first working woman seen on television".

Noelle Neill was an incredible and inspirational woman and an unforgettable part of Superman canon. She will be deeply missed. A public memorial service for her will be held later this year.