July 3 – Anniversary of Superman Day

nPostednon July 3, 2014

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Todaynis the anniversary of the very first actor to play Superman.

n (Hisnname was Ray Middleton.)

nInnthe very first Superman costume.

n (Itnsaid “Superman” above the “S” on his chest.)

n (Andnit included lace-up boots.)

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nMiddletonnplayed Superman at the World’s Fair on this date in 1940 (or somenpeople claim 1939). There was a special edition of DC Comics on salenat the fair, and publicists were hoping that a personal appearance ofnthe man of steel would spark interest and promote sales.

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Therenwas a Super-boy and Super-girl contest, a live radio show, and anparade with floats, elephants, and of course Superman himself! Therenwas also a release of 10,000 balloons, some containing coupons fornSuperman-themed prizes. (I’m pretty sure that wouldn’t be allowednnow, since balloons are dangerous for wildlife.)

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nBynthe way, some people celebrate a modern Superman Day (sometimesncalled Man of Steel Day) on June 12, and there is a four-day festivalncalled Superman Celebration in Illinois each year, also in June. n

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nMynfavorite story about Superman in the 1940s is the one about thenfictitious hero bringing down the real-life villains, the Ku KluxnKlan. Of course, Superman had a lot of help – a real-life heronnamed Stetson Kennedy.

See also True tale of the Baby Blue

After World War II was over, thenwhite-supremacy organization the Ku Klux Klan had a huge upswing innpopularity. Membership was increasing by leaps and bounds, local lawnenforcement was loathe to take on the well-connected group, and thenKlan’s political power was growing as well.

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nKennedyndecided to infiltrate the Klan so he could expose its secrets, butnlike I said, the police didn’t want to even try to build a casenagainst the Klan.

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nThat’snwhen Kennedy got creative. He turned to the writers of the hugelynpopular Superman radio show. It was one of thosenright-places-at-the-right-time situations, because the Supermannwriters were in need of villains. The Nazis had been battled andnvanquished (by Superman and in real life) – what now? thenwriters wondered.
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Thanksnto Kennedy’s research, the Superman writers crafted a 16-episodenseries titled “Clan of the Fiery Cross.” The villains of thenseries were men in white hoods – men who had all manner of secretncode words, special handshakes, and solemn rituals that were exactlynthe same as the ones used in the real KKK. n

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nSupermannfought against the Clan, and he won. Little boys who wanted to benjust like the Man of Steel playacted some of the action that they’dnheard on the radio show, and in so doing made those secret code wordsnand rituals seem silly and childish. People began to laugh at thenKKK’s ceremonies, seeing it as a bunch of grown men wearing sheetsnand indulging in overdramatic foolishness. Rather that the KKK losingnfavor because it was anti-human rights, it lost favor because it wasnridiculous. n

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nButnthe good news is, it really did lose a lot of its mystique andnpopularity. Recruiting fell to zero, the organization’s charter wasncanceled, members started skipping meetings in droves, and whenevernthe members tried to appear in public in their white hoods, onlookersndidn’t shrink away in fear or clap their hands in support –ninstead, they laughed and pointed fingers.

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nSomenhistorians say that Superman (and Stetson Kennedy) pretty muchndestroyed the KKK’s growth and vastly reduced its size and influence.

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nThatnalone is a very good reason to say hooray for the Man of Steelntoday!
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nAlsonon this date: