Noel Neill, first actress to play Lois Lane, dies at 95

Noel Neill, 1920-2016, was the first actress to star as Lois Lane on the big screen in Superman.

Neill’s biographer, Larry Ward, confirmed her death, the New York Times reported.

Neill first took on the role as the Daily Planet reporter in the Columbia movie serial Superman in 1948. Curiously, however she was not the original Lois Lane on the long-running Adventures of Superman with George Reeves.

Neill’s Lois often fell into the trap of victim as women characters often did in superhero movies of the time (and frankly, often still do) – numerous episodes revolved around Superman’s efforts to save her.

In real life, Neill’s father was, as well, serving as the news editor of what would become the Minneapolis Star-Tribune, according to reports; at one time, she apparently wanted to be a reporter herself. After a while, though, the lure of Hollywood proved too strong and she ended up taking on the job as roving-reporter Lane instead.

Her first marriage, to makeup artist Hal Lierley, was annulled.

She made nearly 100 films and worked with directors like Cecil B DeMille and Vincent Minnelli and actors Bob Hope, Gene Kelly, and Crosby.

In the early days of Superman, the character of Lois Lane represented a portrait of an ambitious professional woman that was relatively rare in the popular media.

She started dancing and singing as a little girl and throughout the mid-west in the 1930s Neill performed at county and state fairs. “She gets to be her own character without the male gaze thing that can come with a lot of superhero characters”.

Reflecting on the old TV series, she said it had not been a demanding role.

She then appeared in the sequel, Atom Man vs Superman. She’s in love with Superman, but there’s not a lot of romantic or sexual attraction directed at her.