Richard Potter

1. •Born: 8 February 1953
   

2. •Birthplace: Hartley, Iowa
   

3. •Married

The Beatles

The Beach Boys

The Bee Gees

The Moody Blues

The Rolling Stones

The Turtles

The Byrds

The Mamas and the Papas

Joni Mitchell

Carole King

Stevie Wonder

Lionel Richie

Neil Diamond

Bob Dylan

Simon and Garfunkel

Roy Orbison

Buddy Holly

Billy Joel

Garth Brooks

Dolly Parton

Dusty Springfield

Education

In my misspent youth, I received a PhD in philosophy from Brown University.  Once I finally realized that it’s very important to have a job, I went back to school and earned a MS in computer science from UNC-Chapel Hill.  Over the past several years, as time and my schedule have permitted, I’ve completed 18 hours of graduate level mathematics courses from UNC-Chapel Hill.

Interests

1. •George Reeves
   

2. •Superman
   

3. •Song writing
   

4. •Martial Arts: Tae Kwon Do, Hapkido, Taijiquan
   

5. •Scuba Diving
   

6. •Mathematics

Secret Identity

Mild-mannered principal developer for a great metropolitan software company in Cary, NC.

Musical Influences

Accomplishments

1. •First degree Black Belt in Tae Kwon Do.
   

2. •PADI certification for Advanced Open Water scuba diving.  (So far, the deepest I’ve gone has been to 110 feet and that was deep enough!)

Christmas, 1959

Bio

I grew up in northwestern Iowa, the youngest of four children.  When George Reeves died in 1959, I was only six years old and I wasn't aware of the sad event.  Ironically, it was at that time that I discovered Superman comics and the Superman TV show.  I immediately became addicted to both.  I don't remember which episode I saw first, but I do remember riding my bike home from school each weekday as fast as I could, so I wouldn't miss a minute of the Adventures of Superman.  The show was broadcast (in reruns by this point) every day at 4 o'clock out of Sioux City, Iowa on Channel 9.  My parents' TV set could only receive 3 channels in those days -- but fortunately, Channel 9 was one of them.  Neither my parents nor my older brother could understand my fascination with Superman and so watching the TV show and reading comic books became a guilty pleasure.  I must have been 8 or 9 when I learned that George had allegedly killed himself.  I'm pretty sure my older brother, fed up with the fact that I preferred to watch Superman on TV rather than go outside and play baseball, broke the news to me.  I believe he was attempting to get me to lose respect for George since in those days suicide was considered shameful.  But his strategy didn't work; even though the news threw me for a loop, I still couldn't stop being fascinated with George. 

My favorite super-heroes in October 2008.  (I swear I had nothing to do with this!)

And music is not the only thing that runs in the family!

Muti (aka Grace) with Ian

Ian, age 3 weeks

Our newest grandchild in November 2008:

You are also invited to join my mailing list.  In the future, when I release new songs or I’m scheduled to appear on American Idol (which should be right around the time when pigs fly),

I can contact you and let you know:

Portrait of the songwriter-in-training, circa 1969.

Dakota Rose, age 18 months

Kai, age 3

Jasmine, age 5

I guess that music just runs in the family!  My grandchildren in March 2008:

Jasmine’s self-portrait

With my granddaughter, Jasmine, age 4 ½ in Portland, OR August 2007

Grace in Charlotte, NC September 2007

Gee, except for the hair, the resemblance is uncanny!

Oh no!  Somebody spilled the beans about my secret identity!!

If you would like to hear other songs I’ve written, then I invite you to visit

RichardPotterSongs

My lovely wife, Grace and I on our wedding day.

Ian and his mom, Heather, at Geppi’s Entertainment Museum in Baltimore.  Believe it or not, but as soon as they got there, Ian asked to see the Superman statue and the wonderful collection  of Golden Age Superman comics.  Okay, would you at least  believe that he smiled when he saw the Superman statue and Golden Age comics?

Later I came across the original "The Adventures Continue" fanzine; I cannot tell you how wonderful it felt to discover I was not the only adult who still loved George and the old TV show.  I contributed to the first ad that ran in Variety to honor George's memory.

On Thanksgiving in 1988, I happened to run across a New Jersey station that was re-running TAOS as a Thanksgiving special.  Jack Larson was the host and I believe Noel Neil also made an appearance.  During the show, Jack made some comment to the effect that it was a shame that George didn't live to see his young fans grow up to be the adult fans he'd always wanted.  That remark triggered something in me and I went back to my bedroom and began to wonder what it would be like if I could actually talk to George.  What would I say?  I realized that the very first thing I would do would be to ask him the question, "Why did you do it?"  At that point, I picked up my guitar and began to compose my song, "Oh, George."  (I had grown up believing the "official" version of events and although I knew the circumstances of his death were controversial, it has always been difficult for me to believe otherwise.)

After watching the TV show, I'd go down to our basement where I would put on my home-made Superman costume, which consisted of a red crepe paper cape and cardboard S-shield which I had drawn by hand.  The S-shield had a slit through it, so I could push one of my shirt buttons through the slit and that would make the shield stay on my chest.  I also had a pair of Clark Kent glasses, which I made from a set of "Groucho Marx" Hallowe'en plastic glasses.  I spent many happy hours "flying" in my basement and changing back and forth between Clark Kent and Superman.

As I grew up, I continued to be a "closet" fan of the series although I didn't see the show for many years.  I also started to play the guitar and write songs, having been inspired by the likes of Lennon & McCartney, Bob Dylan, and Paul Simon.  Then one day in 1976 I ran across Gary Grossman's book, Superman: From Serial to Cereal and I thought I'd died and gone to heaven.

At the urging of my wife, Grace, I finally started to get my songs professionally produced in 2006.  The first song I chose to have produced was "Oh, George".  The following year, I wrote a song in honor of Noel Neill;  I was proud to be able to personally present her with a CD of her song when I met her at the Metropolis Superman festival in 2007.  I also wrote a song called "And She Loved Me", which is about my mother but also about the way George's death has always haunted me.  These songs are all individually available for download at Apple's iTunes and are included on my CD, "Surreal Love Songs."  All the money I've made from sales of these 3 songs has been contributed to the Myasthenia Gravis Foundation.

With the permission of Jim Nolt and Lou Koza, I converted the George Reeves Chronology at The Adventures Continue website into a digital calendar.  The George Reeves Calendar is free and available for Windows and Macintosh.  Click here if you’d like to obtain a copy.

Last but not least, I am the editor of this website, George Reeves Forever, where I supply original songs and artwork inspired by George Reeves and the Adventures of Superman, along with all sorts of other things.  One of the most popular features of my website is the collection of animated flying scenes from the show, all of which I created.  My animations have been copied all over the web.

Ian’s first Halloween, 2009.  Notice his excellent choice of costume!  He sure knows how to make his old grandpa happy.

Ian, Grandma Grace, and Grandpa Richard.  Grace would have worn her Supergirl costume, but it was at the cleaner’s.  Last time she smashed through a brick wall, it got dirty.