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"I couldn't get another job," he told the Associated Press in a 1988 interview, turning to a career in voice-overs, commercials and dozens of uncredited screen roles.

But 27 years later, when it was Reeve's turn to soar over Metropolis, Warner Bros. brought him back to Hollywood to play Lois Lane's father. "This minor part looks like a job for Superman!" a studio executive allegedly said.

In the 1950s, George Reeves starred in the classic Superman TV series, and he, too, became a star.

Reeves had earned his stripes with supporting roles in "Gone With the Wind" and other well-regarded films. But as "The Adventures of Superman" series was winding down, Reeve found he was out of options and was contemplating a career in professional wrestling.

On June 16, 1959, Reeves was found in his Hollywood home with fatal bullet wounds and a .38-caliber Lugar by his side in what police determined to be a suicide.

Still, it's hard for a young actor to pass up playing the all-American hero, even if it's a dead-end job. Dean Cain, the star of the '90s show "Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman," still might break the Superman curse, but he has yet to find the right role.

If Cain needs inspiration for his comeback, however, he might turn to his own Lois Lane, Teri Hatcher, who found a second life as a "Desperate Housewife."

Maybe one day soon on Wisteria Lane, someone will point a finger and say, "Look in the sky! It's a bird! It's a plane! It's Dean Cain's second career!"