Superman Day at the New York World's Fair
"Superman Day" was celebrated at the New York World's Fair in Flushing Meadows, Queens on Wednesday, July 3, 1940. The event was sponsored by Superman Inc. and Macy's Toyland. The New York Times reported 3,000 people in attendance. The attendance at the World's Fair on "Superman Day" was approximately 36,000.
An estimated 1,000 children competed in races, rope-skipping contests, and
various other events to determine a "Super-Boy" and "Super-Girl" of the day.
The celebrity panel of contest judges included famed bodybuilder Charles Atlas
and Broadway performer Ray Middleton.
Contest winners William Aronis and Maureen Reynolds were awarded trophies and
a meeting with Superman creators
Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster. Semi-finalists were given two complimentary passes to the
"Superman Adventure"
from Macy's Toyland. Other participants received a "Superman Day" Certificate
of Merit.
Both of Superman's creators attended the festivities. As a fan of
bodybuilding, Joe Shuster was most excited to have met Charles Atlas. Jerry
Siegel and Detective Comics co-founder Jack Liebowitz were filmed together that day.
The Kodachrome color footage of the event is from the Siegel estate.
A midday parade was led by the first actor to portray Superman in costume.
Photos of the unknown Superman were published in
Amazing World of DC Comics #7 (July–August 1975). Editor Allan Asherman
asked readers for help identifying the mystery man. Many sources credit
contest judge Ray Middleton based on information received by Asherman, but the
secret identity remains under debate.
Middleton starred as George Washington and Abraham Lincoln in the World's Fair
production of "American Jubilee" from May 11, to October 27, 1940. Milton
Braker of The New York Times reported Middleton as a judge, but was
unable to identify Superman. Bracker also reported that the Superman actor wore a helmet. Later that afternoon, Middleton was photographed by different sources in front of the "American Jubilee" entrance. According to a 1946 interview with Bud Collyer, the costume was filled by a "brawny, muscle-bound ex-pugilist."
The Superman float was accompanied by a procession of Boy Scouts, clowns, and
midget autos from the Theme Center to what is now Meadow Lake Bridge in
Flushing Meadows Corona Park. During the parade, 10,000 balloons were released
containing 150 randomly inserted Superman prize coupons. A trio of trained
Asian elephants were provided by "Frank Buck's Jungleland" exotic animal
exhibit. DC Comics owner Harry Donenfeld was filmed riding one of the
elephants.
"Superman Day" was organized by Allen Ducovny and Robert Joffe Maxwell,
developers of
The Adventures of Superman
radio serial. "The Man of Tomorrow" seemed like an obviously choice for the
"The World of Tomorrow" theme. The producers sought to attract sponsorships
and network syndication for the new program. Ducovny and Maxwell co-wrote the
iconic opening: “Faster than an airplane, more powerful than a locomotive, impervious to
bullets. ‘Up in the sky – look!’ ‘It’s a bird.’ ‘It’s a plane.’ ‘It’s
Superman!’ ”
A transcription disc of the July 3 episode, "Hans Holbein’s Doll Factory" part
5 of 6, was played twice during the day in an event hall. WOR 710 gave away free Superman comic books during the afternoon awards presentation.
The following afternoon, a ticking satchel disguised as a radio was discovered
in the British Pavilion. Detectives Ferdinand Socha and Joseph Lynch moved the
bag to an area behind the Polish Pavilion. At 5:20 PM, the dynamite inside
detonated, killing both officers. A British agent was suspected of planting
the bomb to disrupt the July 4 celebration and provoke America into entering
World War II. The
terrorist act remains unsolved in the New York Police Department open files.
The New York World's Fair permanently closed on October 27, 1940. The
first giant Superman balloon appeared in The 17th Annual
Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade
on November 21, 1940, in New York City.
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In high school, Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster published a one-page preview of
the 1933 Chicago World's Fair in their early fan magazine,
Science Fiction: The Advance Guard of Future Civilization. "The World Fair '33" was printed in issue No. 4, mailed to subscribers in
February 1933. The issue includes a fictional review of the RKO feature
King Kong. The print run was limited and very few copies still exist.
"Superman at the World's Fair" is featured in the 96-page
New York World's Fair Comics (April 1939). The 12-page story was
written by Jerry Siegel and illustrated by the Joe Shuster Shop. The team also
contributed a 12-page feature for Slam Bradley, an earlier Siegel and Shuster
feature. Superman appears on the cover of
New York World's Fair Comics with blonde hair. The cover image was
penciled by DC editor Vin Sullivan and inked by Fred Guardineer.
A second 96-page issue of New York World's Fair Comics was released in
April 1940 with another 12-page Superman feature. "Superman at the 1940
World's Fair" was written by Jerry Siegel and illustrated by Jack Burnley, the
first Superman artist hired by DC from outside of the Joe Shuster
Shop. Siegel also contributed stories for Slam Bradley and the Red,
White, and Blue team. The cover by Jack Burnley depicts the first appearance
of Superman with Batman and Robin. A similar image was later used
on advertising materials for the
Superman Junior Defense League of America
and Superman Victory Kid Club.
In February 1941, DC released a quarterly magazine titled
World's Best Comics featuring solo stories for Superman and Batman. The
second issue was renamed World's Finest Comics and the series remained
in publication for 45 years until the Crisis on Infinite Earths crossover event in 1986.
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Asherman, Allan. "Superman at the World's Fair." Amazing World of DC Comics, vol. 2, no. 7, National Periodical Publications, Jul-Aug 1975.
Bracker, Milton. "'Superman' Day is Held." The New York Times, 4 Jul.
1940, p. 13.
Brown, Tweed. "He Makes Like Superman." Tune In, Sept. 1946, pp. 27-29.
Daniels, Les.
Superman: The Complete History: The Life and Times of the Man of Steel.
Chronicle, 2004.
Hayde, Michael J.
Flights of Fantasy: The Unauthorized but True Story of Radio & TV's
Adventures of Superman. BearManor Media, 2009.
"Kids Compete for Superman Awards." World's Fair Daily, no. 54, 3 July 1940, p. 1.
Kobler, John. "Up, Up and Awa-a-y! The Rise of Superman, Inc." The Saturday Evening Post, 21 Jun. 1941, pp. 14-15, 73-76.
Pasko, Martin. The DC Vault: A Museum-in-a-Book Featuring Rare Collectibles from the DC Universe. Running Press, 2008.
"Kids Compete for Superman Awards." World's Fair Daily, no. 54, 3 July 1940, p. 1.
Kobler, John. "Up, Up and Awa-a-y! The Rise of Superman, Inc." The Saturday Evening Post, 21 Jun. 1941, pp. 14-15, 73-76.
Pasko, Martin. The DC Vault: A Museum-in-a-Book Featuring Rare Collectibles from the DC Universe. Running Press, 2008.
"Police Die in Blast - Timed Device Explodes After It Is Taken Out of
Pavilion." The New York Times, 5 Jul. 1940.
Ricca, Brad.
Super Boys: The Amazing Adventures of Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster–the
Creators of Superman. St. Martin's Griffin, 2014.
Siegel, Jerry. Creation of a Superhero. Draft. 1979.