RELEASE ON RECEIPT

ACTOR CHRISTOPHER REEVE TO GIVE 
U.VA. VALEDICTORY ADDRESS IN SPRING

	CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va., Nov. 11 -- Actor Christopher Reeve, who
was hospitalized in 1995 at the University of Virginia Medical Center
after a horseback-riding accident, will return to U.Va. as the keynote
speaker at Valedictory Exercises on Saturday, May 16 during graduation
weekend.
	He was selected by the student officers of the Class of 1998.
	Since the accident that broke two vertebrae in his neck,
leaving him paralyzed in his arms and legs, the popular actor has been
active in raising public awareness about spinal-cord injury and in
obtaining increased public and private funding for spinal-cord
research. 
	His rehabilitation has been so successful that Reeve has been
able to direct a movie.  In April, he made his directorial debut with
the HBO film "In The Gloaming," which received 11 Emmy and Cable Ace
nominations.
	Best known for his 1978 movie role as "Superman," Reeve is a
graduate of Cornell University.  He studied acting at the Julliard
School under the legendary John Houseman and made his Broadway debut
with Katherine Hepburn in "A Matter of Gravity."  The success of
"Superman" and its sequels not only established Reeve's reputation as
both a romantic and comic actor, but it gave him the opportunity to
find diverse roles in films such as "Street Smart," "The Aviator,"
"Deathtrap," "Somewhere in Time," "Switching Channels," "Noises Off,"
"The Bostonians," "Village of the Damned" and the Oscar-nominated
"Remains of the Day." 
	His four-and-a-half-week stay at U.Va. Medical Center
following the horseback accident in Culpeper brought more media
attention for any patient here since former President Lyndon B.
Johnson was hospitalized in 1972.  The actor received an outpouring of
sympathy and support from around the world.
OVER

Reeve -- page 2
 
	Reeve has served as a national spokesman on behalf of the
arts, business-leadership and the environment.  He has also worked for
such groups as The Creative Coalition, Save the Children, Amnesty
International and National Resources Defense Council. 
	The graduation committee of the class trustees is responsible
for obtaining the speaker for Valedictory Exercises based on
nominations from members of the fourth-year class.  
 	Valedictory Exercises, organized by the class, will include
the presentation of students and faculty awards and the 1998 class
gift.
###

	For more information on the ceremony contact class trustees
Mike Ludwick at (804) 243-2383 or Ryan Summers at (804) 977-9706, or
Katherine Jackson, University News, at (804) 924-3629.  Television
reporters should contact Sheri Winston in the TV News Office at (804)
924-7550. 



Nov. 10, 1997