Christopher Reeve's Widow Dies at Age 44

WHITE PLAINS, N.Y. - Dana Reeve, the singer-actress who married the strapping star of the "Superman" movies and then devoted herself to his care and his cause after he was paralyzed, has died of lung cancer, a year-and-a-half after her husband. She was 44.

Although Reeve had announced her cancer diagnosis in August — to an outpouring of sympathy and support from admirers around the world — her death seemed sudden. As recently as Jan. 12, she looked healthy and happy as she belted out Carole King's "Now and Forever" at a packed Madison Square Garden during a ceremony honoring hockey star Mark Messier, a friend.

"Unfortunately, that's what happens with this awful disease," said Maggie Goldberg of the Christopher Reeve Foundation, where Dana Reeve had succeeded her husband as chair. "You feel good, you're responding and then the downturn."

Reeve, who lived in Pound Ridge, died Monday night at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Medical Center in Manhattan, said foundation president Kathy Lewis.

Officials would not discuss Reeve's treatment or say when she entered the hospital. But Lewis said she visited her there on Friday, when Reeve was "tired but with her typical sense of humor and smile, always trying to make other people feel good, her characteristic personality."

"The brightest light has gone out," said comedian Robin Williams. "We will forever celebrate her loving spirit."

Former President Clinton and Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton described Reeve as "a model of tenacity and grace."

"Despite the adversity that she faced, Dana bravely met these challenges and was always an extremely devoted wife, mother and advocate," they said.

Christopher and Dana Reeve married in 1992. Life changed drastically for the young show-business couple three years later when Christopher Reeve suffered near-total paralysis in a horse-riding accident and almost died.

In his autobiography, "Still Me," Reeve wrote that he suggested early on to his wife, "Maybe we should let me go." She responded, "I'll be with you for the long haul, no matter what. You're still you and I love you."

Those were "the words that saved my life," Christopher Reeve said.

For his remaining nine years, Dana Reeve was her husband's constant companion and supporter during the ordeal of his rehabilitation, winning worldwide acclaim and admiration. With him, she became an activist in the search for a cure for spinal-cord injuries.

"Something miraculous and wonderful happened amidst terrible tragedy, and a whole new dimension of life began to emerge," she wrote in a 1999 book, "Care Packages: Letters to Christopher Reeve from Strangers and Other Friends." "What we had yet to discover were all the gifts that come out of sharing hardship, the hidden pleasures behind the pain."

After her husband's death in October 2004, Reeve said she planned to return to acting. She had appeared on Broadway, off-Broadway and regional stages and on the TV shows "Law & Order," "Oz," and "All My Children," and she'd had to give up a Broadway role when she was widowed.

"I am an actress and I do have to make a living," she said.

However, her mother died of complications from ovarian cancer and her own diagnosis came the next summer.

"I thought that after everything that she had gone through with Chris that she would have time to smell the flowers and be in the sun," said Sen. Diane Feinstein of California. "But apparently that was not meant to be."

From the start, Reeve expressed confidence she would beat lung cancer. And four months ago, wearing a long formal gown at a fundraising gala for the foundation, Reeve provoked wolf whistles from Williams and said she was responding well to treatment.

"I'm beating the odds and defying every statistic the doctors can throw at me," Reeve said. "My prognosis looks better all the time."

At about the same time, Reeve taped a PBS show, "The New Medicine," about how doctors are paying more attention to a patient's cultural values and lifestyle as part of treatment. In her introduction to the program, Reeve said, "It has become clear to me that high-tech medicine, with all its wonders, often leaves out that all-important human touch."

PBS said Tuesday that the show will be broadcast as scheduled March 29.

Survivors include the Reeves' 13-year-old son, Will; two grown stepchildren, Matthew and Alexandra; her father, Charles Morosini; and two sisters.

Goldberg said Will was "in the loving care of family and friends" and that his mother had arranged for his future.

The foundation said no plans for a funeral have been announced.

(1) North Carolina 91, (4) Maryland 80

GREENSBORO, N.C. -- With another conference championship in hand, top-ranked North Carolina can finally start thinking about making a run at the national championship.

Erlana Larkins had a career-high 26 points and 12 rebounds to lead the Tar Heels past fourth-ranked Maryland 91-80, giving the program its second straight Atlantic Coast Conference title and likely locking up a No. 1 seed for the NCAA tournament.

Ivory Latta also scored 26 to earn MVP honors for the second straight year for North Carolina (29-1), which ranks second in ACC history with seven tournament titles.

The win allowed the Tar Heels to avenge their only loss, a 98-95 overtime home defeat last month to the Terrapins (28-4). But more importantly, it allowed coach Sylvia Hatchell to use her gold scissors again, the same ones the Tar Heels used to cut down the NCAA championship nets in 1994.

The scissors apparently weren't used again until North Carolina beat Duke last season to win its first tourney title in seven years.

"I was happy to be able to use those gold scissors because they have a lot of special memories," Hatchell said, "and we would like to use them again."

It was one of the most memorable seasons in Hatchell's 20-year tenure in Chapel Hill. This season, the Tar Heels' athleticism, depth and trapping up-tempo style have kept them atop a league ranked No. 1 in RPI.

"I've got great kids, they're playing their hearts out for each other and for me," Hatchell said. "We're healthy, we're an exciting team, we've got great chemistry. This is the kind of team a coach dreams of because these young ladies are like my daughters."

It was a disappointing end to the tournament for the Terrapins, who have won a league-best eight titles but none since 1989. They advanced by beating second-ranked Duke in Saturday's semifinals to end a 14-game losing streak in the series, which might have put them in position for a top seed.

Jade Perry scored 18 points to lead five players in double figures, while Ashleigh Newman scored all 14 of her points in the second half. Marissa Coleman, the ACC's rookie of the year, also scored 14.

"They played like warriors," Maryland coach Brenda Frese said of Perry and Newman. "They played like champions. That's why this team is so dangerous when you see the players and the rotation. ... That's what you have to have to be a championship team."

Maryland certainly had reason to be confident after winning last month's thriller against the Tar Heels. In that game, the Terrapins rallied from a 14-point second-half deficit and forced the extra period on a buzzer-beating 3-pointer by Newman.

This time, North Carolina led nearly the entire way and didn't let up.

"Remembering that we lost to Maryland before was pressure on us," said Camille Little, who scored 11 of her 13 points in the second half after early foul trouble. "We felt like we had something that we had to do because we didn't want to lose at home this year."

The Tar Heels led by seven at halftime and increased that margin to as many as 13 points. Maryland got as close as three points late, but Larkins and Latta kept the Tar Heels from repeating that first collapse.

The 6-foot-1 Larkins, a first-team all-ACC pick, went 9-for-14 from the field and 8-for-10 from the line. Latta, a 5-6 point guard and ACC player of the year, also had four assists to go with five steals.

They even worked together in celebration, with Latta giving the ball to Larkins to dribble out the clock before the sophomore threw the ball skyward at the horn.

Behind Larkins, North Carolina controlled the inside with 58 points in the paint, including all 32 second-half points from the field. They also took a 48-37 rebounding advantage with 20 on the offensive boards -- an area of such emphasis that Hatchell promised to give her players T-shirts reading "WWR: Wild Women Rebounders" if they outrebounded the Terps.

After building a 42-35 lead at the break, North Carolina kept the pressure on by forcing the ball inside throughout the second half.

"Coach always tells us to get them off balance," Latta said. "See your driving hole, and if they come, dish it off to your teammate."

Maryland came within 79-76 on a layup by Newman with 5:19 left. But Larkins answered with a pair of free throws, followed by one of several runners in the lane from Latta. Then, Larkins grabbed a Latta miss and put it in for an 85-78 lead with 3:26 left to end Maryland's final flurry.