The Adventures of Superman was gearing up to go back into production in 1959 after a 2 year respite. All of the original cast was reassembled including George Reeves who was once again going to portray The Man of Steel. Reeves’ suicide / murder halted those plans. It was thought that kids just wouldn’t accept another actor in the role... and they were right
After all, Reeves appeared as Superman on an episode of I Love Lucy in 1957 where his character is only referred to as "Superman,” the actor's name wasn’t even mentioned in the end credits.
What to do?
If Superman was no longer viable how about Superboy? The Superboy comic book had been a very successful addition to National Periodical Publications' (DC Comics) lineup since 1949, the feature was so popular so he was also appearing as the lead character in Adventure Comics.
A pilot was filmed in 1961 with Johnny Rockwell (Too Soon To Love) cast as the Boy of Steel, a total of 13 scripts for The Adventures of Superboy were prepared but only this one was filmed. The stories all took place in the rural town of Smallville where Clark Kent / Superboy grew up.
In the show’s opening, Superboy’s origin is depicted, the narrator was Robert Johnson, who would later claim fame as that mysterious voice of the IMF on those self-destructing audio tapes on Mission Impossible.
All of the Superboy comic book characters created by Jerry Siegel are here: Police Chief Parker, Lana Lang, Martha Kent, Superboy’s cave he enters and exits from.
It’s easy to see why this show wasn’t greenlit - the half-hour pilot is slow and dreary, depressingly unexciting. Superboy doesn’t show up until 11 minutes into the episode, before that it’s mostly folks talking. Johnny Rockwell isn’t all that compelling an actor either, he certainly didn’t inhabit the role in the fully committed way George Reeves did.
One highly effective scene, however, has a car plowing into Superboy at full speed and getting smashed up in the process.
Subsequent TV iterations of Superboy were more successful, the 1988–1992 series Superboy ran for four seasons while Smallville lasted ten seasons, from 2001-2011.
Cast
• Johnny Rockwell as Superboy/Clark Kent
• Bunny Henning as Lana Lang
• Monty Margetts as Martha Kent
Guest cast
• Ross Elliot as Fred Drake
• Charles Maxwell as Gunner Ferde
• Robert Williams as Chief Parker
• Richard Reeves as Shorty Barnes
• Yvonne White as Miss Gibbs
• Stacy Harris as Jake Ferde
• Jimmy Bates as Jimmie Drake
• Ray Walker as Mr. Edlund
• True Ellison as Donna
What to do? 