He played the Man of Steel on television, but in real life, George Reeves proved to be less than bulletproof.

Reeves was a handsome man and soon after arriving in Hollywood, he signed to a contract with Warner Bros.  However, after appearing in some B-movies and the flop <i>Lydia</i>, Reeves was released from his contract.  He freelanced for a while before being drafted into the Army during World War II.  He was transferred to the Army Air Forces and landed a gig on the Broadway show Winged Victory.  After leaving the Army, Reeves took work where he could find it, finally moving to New York after his 1949 divorce from Ellanora Needles (Wikipedia). 
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