Mini biography

Joe Shuster was born in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. At age 9 he and his family moved to Toledo, Ohio, where he met and befriended his future partner Jerome “Jerry” Siegel. Siegel and Shuster were both avid science fiction fans, publishing a fanzine in the mid-1920s. It was during this period that they read Philip Wylie’s book, “Gladiator”, about a mysterious character with superpowers and invulnerability. They created a strip for their fanzine (Shuster drawing, Siegel writing) featuring a super-powered villian, but later made him into a hero. In 1936, they tried, unsuccessfully, to turn it into a daily comic strip. About the same time, both young men got a job working for DC-National (now DC Comics), working on such titles as Doctor Occult, Slam Bradley, and Radio Squad.

In 1939, DC editor Sheldon Meyer decided to give the two young men a chance, and published their character Superman a new comic title, “Action Comics”. Superman was an almost imediate hit, spawning his own eponymous title within a year, then going on to be featured in virtually every type of media.

Shuster and Siegel continued working on Superman for many years, but became increasingly resentful of the profits that DC-National made off their character (because of the practice at the time, the creators had signed away all rights to the character to the publisher). In 1946, Shuster and Siegel sued DC for a share of the rights to Superman (their lawyer was Albert Zugsmith). The case dragged on until 1948, when the two men settled for royalties only on the Superboy character. They were also required to sign away any future claims to the Superman character.

Shuster was bitter about his treatment, and decided to leave the comics field. In 1975, after the Superman movie raised new interest in the character, the two men once again sued DC for recognition and royalties. DC, with much prodding from publisher/editor Carmine Infantino, re-instated Siegel and Shuster’s name on the masthead as creators, and awarded the two men an annual stipend of $35,000. Shuster died in 1992, nearly blind and still bitter about the treatment he’d received.

Filmography

Untitled Superman Returns Sequel (2009) (announced) (characters)
Superman Returns (2006) (characters)
World’s Finest (2004) (character)
Superman: Shadow of Apokolips (2002) (VG) (characters)
“Justice League” (2001) TV Series (characters: Superman, Lois Lane, Lex Luthor)
“Smallville” (2001) TV Series (creator: “Superboy/Superman” comic book and characters)
The Batman/Superman Movie (1998) (TV) (Superman character)
Superman (1998) (VG) (characters)
“Superman” (1996) TV Series (characters)
Superman: The Last Son of Krypton (1996) (TV) (characters)
“Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman” (1993) TV Series (characters) (creator)
“Superboy” (1988) TV Series (characters)
“Superman” (1988) TV Series (characters)
Superman 50th Anniversary (1988) (TV) (characters)
Superman IV: The Quest for Peace (1987) (characters)
“SuperFriends: The Legendary Super Powers Show” (1984) TV Series (character Superman) (uncredited)
Superman III (1983) (characters)
Superman II (1980) (characters)
“The World’s Greatest SuperFriends” (1979) TV Series (character Superman) (uncredited)
Superman (1979) (VG) (characters)
Superman (1978) (creator: Superman)
It’s a Bird, It’s a Plane, It’s Superman (1975) (TV) (characters)
Superman (1973) (characters)
Süper adam (1971) (uncredited)
“The Batman/Superman Hour” (1968) TV Series (Superman character)
“The New Adventures of Superman” (1966) TV Series (characters)
The Adventures of Superboy (1961) (TV) (characters)
The Adventures of Superpup (1958) (TV) (Superman concept)
Superman and the Jungle Devil (1954) (characters)
Superman Flies Again (1954) (characters)
Superman in Exile (1954) (characters)
Superman in Scotland Yard (1954) (characters)
Superman’s Peril (1954) (characters)
Stamp Day for Superman (1954) (characters)
“Adventures of Superman” (1952) TV Series (characters)
Superman and the Mole-Men (1951) (characters)
Atom Man vs. Superman (1950) (characters)
Superman (1948) (characters)
Secret Agent (1943) (characters)
The Underground World (1943) (characters)
Jungle Drums (1943) (characters)
The Mummy Strikes (1943) (characters)
Destruction Inc. (1942) (characters)
Eleventh Hour (1942) (characters)
Showdown (1942) (characters)
Japoteurs (1942) (characters)
Terror on the Midway (1942) (characters)
Volcano (1942) (characters)
Electric Earthquake (1942) (characters)
The Magnetic Telescope (1942) (characters)
The Bulleteers (1942) (characters)
The Arctic Giant (1942) (characters)
Billion Dollar Limited (1942) (characters)
The Mechanical Monsters (1941) (characters)
Superman (1941) (characters)

Art Department – filmography

De Superman à Spider-Man: L’aventure des super-héros (2002) (V) (art work)

Miscellaneous Crew – filmography

The Iron Giant (1999) (creator: “Superman”)

Himself – filmography

The Making of ‘Superman: The Movie’ (1978) (TV) …. Himself

Archive Footage

De Superman à Spider-Man: L’aventure des super-héros (2002) (V) …. Himself