Reflecting Back on the Superman Celebration Through the Years

Posted on April 24, 2024 by Chris Brockow

The annual Superman Celebration is held in Metropolis, Illinois during the second weekend of June and is the place to go if you are a big fan of the Man of Steel. My wife Helen and I have been attending the event for a very long time and, from my own personal experience, I can definitely say it is worth the trip.

I had been wanting to attend ever since I heard about the celebration in the Summer of 1987 when the media began covering the 50th Anniversary of Superman's debut in "Action Comic No. 1" in 1938. This is also when I first learned about the founder of the Super Museum, Jim Hambrick, on Entertainment Tonight and about Metropolis on local news channels.

Although I was initially doubtful at the time that I would ever be able to attend the celebration, eleven years later, Helen and I made the journey for my birthday in 1998. Words can't begin to describe the excitement I had that year which included meeting Mr. Hambrick and wandering through the Super Museum many times.

We also had the opportunity to watch the three-hour-long version of "Superman the Movie" which was hosted by Jim Bowers from CapedWonder.com and met actor Lane Smith who starred as Perry White in "Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman". I was captivated by the friendliness and the magic of Metropolis and couldn't wait to go back again.

Our next visit would be seven years later in 2005 which, in addition to more events being added to the celebration, saw a couple of dreams coming true including meeting actress Noel Neil (Lois Lane from "The Adventures of Superman" starring George Reeves) and her manager/autobiographer, Larry Ward whom we would both become very good friends with over the years.

Another dream coming true was meeting actress Margot Kidder - who starred in the role of Lois Lane in the Christopher Reeve films - and being able to purchase a Christopher Reeve replica cape which she had available at her table. After autographing the cape for me and discovering it was my Birthday, she put it around my neck and sang "Happy Birthday" making this one of the greatest moments in my life.

This year would also mark the first time I participated in and won Superman Jeopardy which is a trivia game show event hosted annually during the celebration by John and Alex Rinaldi from The USA Boxing News. Contestants are chosen from the audience and both John and Alex along with their sons and daughters ask Superman-related trivia questions with prizes given out to those on stage and in the audience. In my opinion, Superman Jeopardy is the best event during the celebration and John and I have become life-long friends.

Another great friend that I made in 2005 is actor Scott Cranford who was the official Superman of the Superman Celebration from 2000 - 2007. We have been attending the celebration every year since and have met many celebrities and fellow attendees that have also become life-long friends over the years including Brian and Cookie Morris, Sam Rizzo, Tim Gardner, Kenny Richardson, and actor Joshua Boultinghouse who become Metropolis' new official Superman in 2008.

An event that we also look forward to each year is the annual Superman Super Site Meet & Greet which is hosted by Neil and Jennifer Cole from SupermanSuperSite.com. Helen and I help out with the event each year which features various Superman and comic book themed door prizes given out to those in attendance when their raffle ticket number is called. It is a fun event and people get to meet and talk with one another during this time.

Over the years, Helen and I have also become very good friends with Morgan and Adam Siebert who are the co-curators of the Super Museum. The two of them put their blood, sweat, and tears into maintaining the museum - which was created and started by Morgan's father, Jim Hambrick - and, every year, add something new and special to the museum.

A major highlight of the 2009 Superman Celebration would see the ground breaking ceremony for The Noel Neil Statue which was in the planning stages for a long time and it was wonderful to finally see it coming into fruition. The following year would see the official unveiling of statue which was attended by Noel Neill herself as well various news outlets and a large crowd of fellow celebration attendees.

2010 would also see the start of my very own trivia show called "Stump The Superman Expert" which was the result of both John Rinaldi and Helen encouraging me to put together my own show in 2009. The Superman Celebration attendees really like the Q&A events with the celebrities as well as answering questions that the Rinaldi's throw out to the audience during Superman Jeopardy and I came up with the idea to combine the two and make the audience the stars of the show.

My excitement went through the roof when Superman Celebration co-chair Karla Ogle reached out to let me know that she was adding my show to the official schedule. I am so happy and grateful that the Stump the Superman Expert Show has been such a huge success and, over the past 14 years, I have heard people saying they look forward to both my show and Superman Jeopardy every year.

The Superman Celebration keeps getting better as the years have passed and in 2015, I had the opportunity to host the Q&A session with actors Michael Landes (Jimmy Olsen in "Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman" Season 1) and Marc McClure (Jimmy Olsen in the Christopher Reeve Superman films).

Unfortunately, 2017 was not a good year for me and Helen as we lost my father and so much turmoil was going on during that time. The Super Friends of Metropolis poured out their love and condolences for us and for that, I will be forever grateful. When we arrived in Metropolis that year, celebration co-chairs Karla Ogle and Lisa Gower came up to us, hugged us and gave their love to us. The same thing happened when we saw Sassy Ann Shenefield and her mother, Debra Ann Shenefield. These two have a lot of warmth to offer to everyone.

2018 was a very special year as both the Superman Celebration and "Superman The Movie" celebrated their respective 40th Anniversaries, The "Adventures of Superboy" television series celebrated it's 30th Anniversary, and it was Superman's 80th Anniversary. All that said, nothing could compare to what was going to happen during that years celebration as a healing took place between Helen and her daughter Joan who had not spoken to one another in almost 10 years.

Joan brought two of her grandchildren with her; one was Liam who is a special needs child with health problems. When we saw them, the healing started to happen and Liam was so excited to see his "Mom-Mom". The magic of the Superman Celebration brought a family back together and Helen and Joan have been talking ever since that time.

The 2019 celebration was a family vacation and, in addition to Helen and myself, Joan and three of our great grandchildren also attended. Seeing how much fun the children were having and showing them around the Super Museum and introducing them to all our friends was priceless and I thought that was one of the best celebrations ever. I loved taking our oldest great grandson, Justin, to meet actress Helen Slater (Kara Zor-El/Supergirl in "Supergirl The Movie") and Erica Durance (Lois Lane in "Smallville").

Sadly, the 2020 Superman Celebration was cancelled due to the Covid-19 pandemic but did return in 2021, albeit at later date and on a smaller scale which was like going back in time to how the celebrations use to be. The event featured the opening of Hidden Gems; a unique gift store which is owned and operated by Morgan and Adam Siebert

Thanks to Sam Rizzo from Superboy Legacy, Helen and I were able to meet actress Stacy Haiduk and actor Ilan Mitchell-Smith who portrayed the respective roles of Lana Lang and Andy McAlister on the "Adventures of Superboy" television series which ran from 1988 - 1992 and was the first live action Superman series since the 1950's "Adventures of Superman" television series starring actor George Reeves in the title role.

The 2022 Superman Celebration was back to normal and it was a very good celebration. After years of trying to get together with Sam Rizzo for dinner and just to hang out, that time finally came as Helen and I had dinner not just with Sam but also with actors Michael Manno and Douglas Meyers who portrayed the respective roles of Lex Luthor's best friend, Leo and Bizarro on the "Adventures of Superboy" television series.

2023 was another great celebration and Helen and I were able to have breakfast with actor Sam J. Jones who played the title role in the 1980 cult-classic film "Flash Gordon". In addition, I had the opportunity to host Sam's Q&A session as well.

Someone else who makes our trip to Metropolis worth while every year is Ericca Arthur who owns and operates Bliss Body Works. For many years, both Helen and I look forward to getting massages from Ericca.

As the 2024 Superman Celebration approaches, I am certain that it will be just as exciting as all the celebrations from years past. I want to thank Karla, Lisa, Morgan, Adam, Jim, the Rinaldi's and everyone at The Metropolis Chamber of Commerce for all the hard work and dedication to make the Superman Celebration something extra special.

See all of you June!