Christopher Reeve is remembered for his legendary acting in movies such as Superman and Street Smart, and for the horrific injury that brought his career to an end.
In 1995, Reeve became a quadriplegic after being thrown from a horse during an equestrian competition in Culpeper, Virginia. He was confined to a wheelchair for the rest of his life.
Following the accident Reeve was faced a life or death situation as he prepared to undergo an operation at the University of Virginia Medical Center to reattach his skull to his spine.
With his chances of survival rated at just 50/50, Reeve later told Barbara Walters that he had 'wanted to die', however that all changed thanks to actor Robin Williams.
Ahead of the operation, alone during the night, the door flew open and in hurried a squat fellow with a blue scrub hat and a yellow surgical gown and glasses, appeared speaking in a Russian accent.
The man announced that he was a proctologist and was going to perform a rectal exam.
But all was not as it seems, the doctor was in fact Williams, reprising his character from the film Nine Months. Reeves later wrote of the incident: "For the first time since the accident, I laughed. My old friend had helped me know that somehow I was going to be okay."
Reeve died in 2004 after a cardiac arrest and Williams died in 2014 after committing suicide. Both were acting legends, the likes of which we may never see again.
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Featured image credit: PA
Featured Image Credit:Topics: Robin Williams