Christopher Reeve won the public’s admiration first as the high-flying Superman and later as a wheelchair-bound activist. Yet he was equally adept behind the scenes and savored directing the true story of a paraplegic girl who graduated from Harvard.

“If we can tell this one story really well about what it’s like to live with paralysis and have that seen in a dramatic form around the world, that would be a really worthwhile contribution,” he said in July.

“The Brooke Ellison Story” will premiere Oct. 25 on A&E. But Reeve’s greatest contribution was his example of hope. He transformed the tragedy of a 1995 horse-riding accident that left him paralyzed into a personal crusade for spinal-cord research.

His death Sunday, at age 52, stunned the world because he had remained an optimistic, vital force. Reeve went into cardiac arrest Saturday at his home and died at a hospital with his family around him.

Sen. John Kerry cited the actor’s support for stem cell research in Friday’s second debate with President Bush. “We lost a man who was truly America’s hero,” Kerry said in a statement Monday. “He met every challenge with a courage and character that broke new ground in this struggle.”

Dr. John McDonald, a Washington University neurologist who treated Reeve for five years, told CNN Monday that he was surprised by the actor’s death.

“Chris was just an amazing individual, and I think so dedicated to his rehabilitation,” McDonald said. “As a result, he’s changed not only his life and recovery, but I think everyone else with spinal-cord injury.”

McDonald stressed Reeve’s remarkable progress rather than the details of the actor’s death.

“In the end, he was able to move most of his limbs and recovered sensation throughout his entire body, something that wasn’t thought to be possible,” he said.

The Christopher Reeve Paralysis Foundation has given roughly $20,000 over the past six years to the Stepping Stone Medical Equipment Bank, which provides specialized wheelchairs to Central Florida.

“He gave a lot of our clients hope,” said executive director Kerra Price. “He was able to get in a wheelchair and be mobile again. He’s an inspiration to a lot of our clients to know they could regain their mobility and independence.” Reeve first won wide attention in 1978 as the star of the big-screen epic “Superman” in which he was equally adept as the bumbling Clark Kent and the dashing Man of Steel. He continued the dual role in three sequels.

“What seemed such a nice, simple, artless performance in “Superman’ was the finest kind of acting,” director Sidney Lumet once said. “Reeve’s timing – and humor – has to be just about perfect to make the character come off.”

Reeve’s other memorable films included “Somewhere in Time” (1980), “Deathtrap” (1982), “The Bostonians” (1984), “Street Smart” (1987) and “The Remains of the Day” (1993).

In an interview in this month’s Reader’s Digest, Reeve said he remained optimistic about walking again. “But I also know that, with time, I’m beginning to fight issues of aging as well as long-term paralysis,” he said. “So it seems more difficult to project than it was five years ago. But I haven’t given up.”

He said he and his wife, Dana, had grown closer since the accident. What kept him going?

“The love and support of my family, and the fact that I’m needed,” he said.

Later in his career, he found some of his best opportunities on television. He directed the HBO movie “In the Gloaming” in 1997 and appeared in an ABC remake of Alfred Hitchcock’s “Rear Window” in 1998. Reeve made two appearances on the WB’s “Smallville” about the teenage Superman.