Kirk Alyn

Kirk Alyn 19101999 was an American actor best known for being the first actor to play Superman in liveaction in Superman serial and Atom Man vs Superman as well as Blackhawk in the Blackhawk serial and Sam Lane in Superman The Movie 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 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 lowbudget 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 Radar Patrol Vs Spy King and Blackhawk Alyn played Superman for the first liveaction Superman movie serial released in 1948 The serial consisted of 15 episodes which recounted Supermans arrival on Earth getting a job as a reporter at the Daily Planet newspaper and meeting Lois Lane and Jimmy Olsen After playing Superman he again suffered casting problems Apart from featuring in some similar comic booktype serials he had few roles in television series and movies some even uncredited until he retired