Superman has become such a successful film and TV "franchise" since the 1978 film starring the late Christopher Reeve that the early days of the character are often overlooked. First appearing as a comic book in 1938 and quickly followed as a comic strip in 1939, it made its theatrical debut as a radio serial in 1940 and hit the silver screen in 1941 as a cartoon, the first of 17 produced by Famous Studios between 1941 and 1943. Superman first appeared in human form in the 15-part 1947 film serial "Superman" starring Kirk Alyn in the title role and Noel Neill as Lois Lane, a role she would forever be identified with. Noel recently celebrated her 91st birthday. Superman returned to the silver screen in the 1950 15-part film serial Atom Man Vs. Superman, again with Alyn and Neill in the starring roles. In 1951, the b-movie Superman And The Mole Men was filmed starring George Reeves and Phyllis Coates in the lead roles. This was quickly turned into a vehicle for the new kid in the entertainment world: television. The Adventures of Superman, again starring Reeves and Coates, debuted in September 1952 as a syndicated show but mainly carried by ABC stations. The 1951 film was split into 2 parts and aired as the last two episodes of the first season. There was a delay in the start of the production of the 2nd season while a sponsor was sought and Coates made commitments to other projects so Noel Neill returned as Lois Lane. The show would continue for 6 seasons and become an icon of 1950's television, well-remembered by baby boomers in the early days of the electronic babysitter. 102 episodes were made and the final one was aired in late April 1958. About the first half of the episodes shot, in my opinion, were targeted towards a more general audience with those that followed being aimed at somewhat younger crowd with some morality themed episodes. Television was discovering several new genre/markets in the mid-50's.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Superman_%281940s_cartoons%29
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