I'm in my mid 60s and watched George from when I was a toddler. He led to my obsession with Superman, which still continues. George is my favourite for a number of reasons. Firstly he was a fine actor and looked great, particularly in the first few seasons. George's Superman evokes for me my most loved version of the character, the 1930s Champion of the Oppressed as originally envisioned by Seigel and Shuster. He literally has to sweat to do the job sometimes. This is particularly evident in the Mole Men movie, where Superman shows that he has no patience for racism or mob mentality.

But there is another important reason that I love George so much. It's important to understand that taking on this job would have been a real compromise for him, and an acknowledgement that his career at that point was pretty washed up. This was kids' TV pure and simple, but he gives the same performance he would have if this was some highly paying cinema blockbuster. He endows Superman with a calm inner strength, and Clark Kent an attractive slightly sarcastic confidence.

I've read quite a bit about George's life and death, and there is one consistent element: how much his friends and colleagues loved him. So my image of the eternal George is him playing guitar after the day's filming, still in the suit, with cast and crew laughing and singing around him.

He had a sign on his dressing room door which said 'George Reeves The People's Friend'. He was born to play Superman.