Hall of Fame: Richard Potter

Thereabouts November of 2007, I attended a collector’s show in New York City. At a vendor’s table in a corner sat a mild mannered gentleman with a Lex Luthor visage surrounded by skillfully constructed photo montages, piles of CD’s and a trusty Macintosh laptop. After speaking with him a few minutes, I instantly knew I was speaking to a very unusual person. In fact if you were to look up the expression “renaissance man” in the dictionary, you would probably find a picture of Richard Potter. Like his hero George Reeves, Richard is a native Iowan. Although he has a successful career as a software developer, Richard’s passions are music, martial arts, mathematics and of course Superman. Call him Doctor Potter if you please; Richard holds a PhD in Philosophy from Brown University with a graduate degree in Mathematics from UNC-Chapel Hill.

When he is not busy software developing, Richard is an accomplished singer / songwriter who has an amazing ability to empathize with others. While admittedly he was too young in 1959 to understand the tragedy that the death of George Reeves had inflicted on the lives of children, he was inspired by the revelation that George lamented never having any adult fans. Out of this sad yearning was born the song called “Oh George”, which poignantly captures the heartbreak of a generation mourning the loss of their crimson caped hero. In honor of Noel Neill, he wrote “Noel” which aired on NPR’s Fresh Air station following an interview with Ms. Neill on April 8, 2009. The lyrics of all his songs speak from the heart with a remarkable sensitivity and compassion. These songs along with “And She Loved Me” dedicated to his mother, can be found on his CD entitled “Surreal Love Songs”. The money made from the sale of his songs goes to charity, most notable the Myasthenia Gravis Foundation for which George Reeves was the chairman in 1955.

Richard also spent a great deal of effort constructing the George Reeves calendar. Every day on The Friendly Adventures of Superman Discussion Board appears a notification of the day as it relates to the life of George Reeves. The calendar at www.georgereevesforever.com, is free, fun and functional.It is available in both MAC and Windows versions. It is filled with tidbits on George’s career along with interesting anecdotes on people who were influential to George in both his personal and professional life. In addition to the calendar, his website hosts an array of all things “super”--comic books, bubble gum cards, flying scenes from the series, artwork and more.

Richard Potter strives to live the principles inspired by The Adventures of Superman series and George Reeves life. Richard is intelligent, creative, fair, honest, entrepreneurial and compassionate. Richard never misses an opportunity to keep the memory of George Reeves alive. For this, we proudly induct Richard Potter into the George Reeves Hall of Fame.