Her connections at the track led to a contract with the Paramount movie studio.
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Neill began her career as a model in the 1940s, with her pin-up being the second-most popular among American G.I.s in World War II behind only Betty Grable.
Neill first appeared as the Daily Planet reporter in the 1948 movie “Superman” opposite Kirk Alyn as a 15-chapter serial, said THR. She appeared in films including “Mad Youth” and “Are These Our Parents” and then appeared in “Music Man” and in a series of film and TV Westerns with directors including Vincent Minnelli, Cecil B. DeMille and Hal Roach.
Two years later, she came back in the same role for “Atom Man vs. Superman”, based on a comic book.
The show hit the air just as television was becoming a social force in the United States and became a favorite of generations of children, with a long life through reruns.
“Noel truly was Lois Lane…” For one thing, her Lois suspected that Clark Kent was Superman and often said so. Her final appearance on screen was in Superman Returns in 2006.
Although Neill had dozen of film and television credits, it was her role as Lois Lane that made her famous.
“Her work in The Adventures of Superman… best defined and cemented her legacy as ‘the intrepid reporter.'” Ward wrote.
The actress kept things low-key following the death of George Reeves in 1959.
When asked if she was glad that her career went in a different direction, she responded, “Oh sure, it’s been fun”.
I found out that the Neill family lived next to the Sathers.
Neill maintained her connection with the Superman franchise in the subsequent decades, making cameo appearances in the 1978 movie Superman, the 1988 TV movie Superman: 50th Anniversary and the 2006 movie Superman Returns.
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Actor Jim Beaver, known to Supernatural fans as hunter Bobby Singer, marked Neill’s passing on Twitter, saying, “My dear friend Noel Neill, Lois Lane to George Reeves’s Superman in the 1950s, has died at 95″.
