Noel Neill has died

5 July 2016

Noel Neill has died.

Noel Neill

The 95-year-old actress - who was the first person to play reporter lois Lane in 'The Adventures of Superman' TV series - passed away at her home in Tucson, Arizona, after a long illness on Sunday (03.07.16).

Her biographer Larry Ward announced the sad news on Facebook and remembered her as "kind, selfless and hardworking".

He posted: "It is with great sadness that I report the passing of my very close friend, actress Noel Neill, the original "live action" Lois Lane from Superman. Noel passed away yesterday at her home in Tucson, Arizona after a long illness. She was 95...

"As Noel's close friend, companion and biographer, I found Noel to be generous with her time and the same person off the screen as she appeared to be on the screen. Her stamina was legendary as she happily made personal appearances and attended book signings well into her 90th year. She was kind, selfless, hardworking, funny with a quick wit, and assertive - all the same qualities that embodied the character of Lois Lane.

"Noel truly was Lois Lane, and for many of us, she was the first working woman seen on television. Few of her fans actually knew her real name, almost always simply calling her "Lois" to which she would unfailing answer with a bright smile and a kind word. It was more than a role to her. "Lois" was someone she believed in and a character she happily and warmly embraced.

"Noel Neill maintained that bright, perky and engaging personality up until her death.(sic)"

According to Larry, Noel will be laid to rest in a private service but a public memorial will take place later this year.

The actress had a string of small roles in the 1940s and then in 1948, she was cast alongside Kirk Alyn in the first 'Superman', a 15-part movie serial, before the pair returned in 1950 for 'Atom Man vs. Superman', but when the 'Adventures of Superman' was adapted for television, neither of them retained their role.

However, when Phyllis Coates left after one season, Noel replaced her as Lois alongside George Reeves as Superman.

The show went off air in 1958 and plans for a new season were scrapped after the actor's apparent suicide in 1959. Noel then ended her career.

She previously said of her decision: "I just figured I'd worked enough.

"I didn't have any great ambition. Basically, I'm a beach bum. I was married, we lived near the beach. That was enough for me."

But when Christopher Reeve starred in the 1978 'Superman' movie, Noel had a cameo as Lois' mother.

The actress married Harold Lierley in October 1943, but the marriage was annulled shortly afterwards. She was then wed to William Behrens for nine years until 1962, tying the knot with Joel Taylor a year later. They divorced in 1971.