Reeve made his debut in the "Superman" movie series in 1978, after touring in stage works and with several TV credits under his belt. Instantly, he was a soaring star.

"He took the Superman role, quite frankly, as a career move. He felt, even with the risks it entailed, that it would mean he would get a greater recognition and he could bypass the cattle call.

"The risks, he knew, would be of typecasting, and he was always looking for lots of variety," Johnson said.

In 1987, ensconced in the public sensibility as upbeat Superman, Reeve mined the Clark Kent domain: He portrayed a naive journalist working undercover to write about New York's world of drugs and prostitution in "Street Smart."

Did Reeve ask his mother, a working journalist, for tips on his role?

"No! Chris did his own interpretation. He wasn't going to ask his mom; Mom only
worked for a weekly!" she said.

Johnson says her son's contributions are lasting and real.

"He worked in so many areas -- the Environment, with Bobby Kennedy on clean Hudson waters and, at great risk, he traveled to Chile on behalf of playwrights and actors threatened by the Pinochet government," she said. "He stood up and spoke for them, in a few words of Spanish. And he was asked to run for Congress after the accident. He considered it but decided against it because he wouldn't have had the strength or health to do it."

After his debilitating accident, Johnson said, her son continued his energetic involvement in good deeds, with his trademark sense of humor.

"He was marvelously interested in so many things," said Johnson. "He was willing to take risks, which probably did lead to his premature death. Maybe he should have started on horses, in a highly competitive sport, when he was a very young boy, not in his late 30s.

"I think one of the most important things that Chris did for many, many people was, after his accident and becoming a quadriplegic, he showed them that there is life after a spinal cord injury or after a stroke. You don't have to sit in the dark feeling sorry for yourself.

"I think that he touched many, many, many people and certainly that was an enormous contribution to the quality of life of the people who had been afflicted with something as restrictive or disabling as a spinal cord injury.

"He didn't just help quadriplegics like himself," added Johnson. "I know for a fact that a lot of others were kind of led to thinking their way into a happier, more productive life.

"And that may well be his most lasting contribution."