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Clark Kent's fedora

fedoralover

Call Me a Cab
Messages
2,006
Location
Great Northwest
I did a search but couldn't find it so if this has been posted before you can move it to that thread. But does anyone know or have an educated guess whether this was a Whippet or not? I watched few old episodes the other night and George Reeves fedora sure looked good.



fedoralover
 
Messages
10,950
Location
My mother's basement
Is it a Whippet? Beats me. Can't say I've ever studied it that closely. From this shot, though, it looks like the band ribbon might be a ligne or three on the wide side. But then, I can't see the bandline, so that observation is worth about as much as it cost you.

Groovy specs. Any idea what species they might be?
 

DJH

I'll Lock Up
Messages
6,355
Location
Ft Worth, TX
Hard to say - here's another view:

reeves%20kent.jpg
 
Messages
19,465
Location
Funkytown, USA
OK, so this started to intrigue me. What kind of hat does Superman wear?

So I looked at the pictures posted, and GISed "Clark Kent Fedora," and "Clark Kent Hat." I wanted a color photo, as opposed to the B&W. The Adventures of Superman was, after all, broadcast in color for a good part of its run.

Long story short, I stumble on the Superman museum in Metropolis, IL, where there are a few shots of this guy:

11-supermuseum28.jpg

So I emailed the museum and asked. Is this the hat from the show? Can you please tell me what it is?

I will post the answer if I get one...
 

Mystic

Practically Family
Messages
882
Location
Northeast Florida
Long story short, I stumble on the Superman museum in Metropolis, IL, where there are a few shots of this guy:

View attachment 24927

So I emailed the museum and asked. Is this the hat from the show? Can you please tell me what it is?

I will post the answer if I get one...

If the person that answers your question is an ebay seller.

The answer is likely to be...

It's a Gray hat.

:)
 

Bird Lives

A-List Customer
Messages
416
Location
Issaquah, WA
I watched a couple re-runs a few weeks ago.....Kent's lid knocked me out.....And Superman was definitely a fan of the Diamond Bash....a fine example....killer side dents aswell...but then we're talking about Superman here....only the best!
 

KingAndrew

A-List Customer
Messages
312
Location
Shanghai
With the suit buttons and hat band on the wrong side, I thought maybe the picture got flipped. But the writing on the signs is still facing the right way, so it is curious.

It will be interesting to see what they say.
 
Messages
10,602
Location
Boston area
Well, as an avid (daily) viewer of the original Mr. Reeves' Superman in the late 1950s and earliest 1960s, I still don't know for sure, BUT... The time period of that hat was definitely mid-century (1950-ish). The fedoras of the day were slightly lower crowns than in the 1940s. My steel VS, intended in the style of that era, has been called Clark Kent's hat too many times by people of my vintage to be a mistake. Art fawcett hit the nail on the head, apparently. The specs are a 2-5/8" dimensional, bound brim, with a tear drop bash measuring 3-3/4" height in the back and 4-1/2" in the front. Now I need a cape...
 
Messages
19,465
Location
Funkytown, USA
Just to let everybody know, I haven't heard anything. I'm out running around this afternoon, but I'll try to call the museum in the next couple of days. Perhaps the curator will speak to me.

I agree it looks Whippet-ish. I think that's the likely conclusion. Stetson was pretty good about getting to Hollywood to make certain their hats were seen on the stars.

I think the coat buttoned backwards is just somebody not knowing what to do with a double-breasted suit.

And just to make things more interesting, this is Kirk Alyn as Clark Kent (1940s serials):
superman-clark-kent-kirk-alyn.jpg

Or we could just get this guy to ask Mr. Reeves!

\http://www.angelfire.com/fl/JackCraig/JeffDeHart.html
 

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