RIP Margot Kidder

Margot Kidder, an actor best known for her portrayal of Lois Lane to Christopher Reeve's Superman, has died at age 69.

RIP Margot Kidder, whose Lois Lane held a prominent place in my imagination when I was a child, and does still. pic.twitter.com/jTMioRfRDV

— Melissa McEwan (@Shakestweetz) May 14, 2018

I once wrote that, as a kid, I was certain Kidder's Lois Lane "was the coolest woman with the most amazing voice who had ever lived." I still think she's a solid contender.

I appreciated Kidder for her work, and also for speaking out about her mental illness. Though I disagreed with her campaign against pharmaceutical therapies, I deeply valued the words she often spoke about close we all were to mental illness, whether in our own lives or the lives of people we knew or people we passed on the street — and how cruel it was to pretend it was a distant problem that happened to other people.

"We are all, each and every one of you in this place, are a breath away from mental illness, homelessness, all of these things we tend to so look down on. Give that woman a couple of bucks...and say something to her. We are all one human family and we really have to take care of each other."

Indeed so.

My condolences to her family, friends, colleagues, and fans.

[Note: If there are less flattering things to be said about Kidder, they have been excluded because I am unaware of them, not as the result of any deliberate intent to whitewash her life. Please feel welcome to comment on the entirety of her work and life in this thread.]