NEW YORK – “Superman” actor Valerie Perrine has died. She was 82. Filmmaker Stacey Souther confirmed his friend’s death in a Monday Instagram post that links to a fundraising page to afford the performer “the farewell she deserves.” Perrine was perhaps best known for her role as Lex Luthor’s personal assistant Eve Teschmacher in 1978’s “Superman” and its 1980 sequel “Superman II.” According to ...

Actress Valerie Perrine arrives to the 2013 Genesis Awards Benefit Gala at The Beverly Hilton Hotel on March 23, 2013, in Beverly Hills, California.

Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty Images North America/TNS

NEW YORK – “Superman” actor Valerie Perrine has died. She was 82.

Filmmaker Stacey Souther confirmed his friend’s death in a Monday Instagram post that links to a fundraising page to afford the performer “the farewell she deserves.”

Perrine was perhaps best known for her role as Lex Luthor’s personal assistant Eve Teschmacher in 1978’s “Superman” and its 1980 sequel “Superman II.”

According to Souther — who made a 2016 documentary about Perrine called “Valerie” — she battled Parkinson’s disease for 15 years before dying in her Los Angeles home “surrounded by love.”

“She was a serious actress who happened to possess the beauty of a goddess — and Hollywood rarely knew quite what to do with that combination. But audiences always did. They loved her without reservation,” Souther wrote.

He said the star’s brother, who also has Parkinson’s, supports the GoFundMe initiative.

According to Souther, Perrine began experiencing involuntary shaking in 2011 that worsened with the onset of an illness that led to professional and financial difficulties. The Texas native appeared in two episodes of the FX series “Lights Out” in 2011. She worked once more on the 2016 film “Silver Skies,” according to IMDb.

Her previous screen credits include the role of comedian Lenny Bruce’s wife Honey Bruce opposite Dustin Hoffman in the 1974 biopic “Lenny.”

Perrine was awarded the Cannes Film Festival Award for Best Actress for that performance.

She also appeared in the movies “The Electric Horseman” and “The Cannonball Run” as well as the television programs “Walker, Texas Ranger,” “Nash Bridges,” and “Just Shoot Me!”

Souther told TMZ that Perrine spent Sunday watching herself in old films. She added that Perrine was deeply affected by the February 2025 death of her good friend and “Superman” co-star Gene Hackman, who played Superman’s nemesis.

“She Made You Believe a Man Could Fly,” Souther wrote on the GoFundMe page for Perrine’s final expenses. “Now We Need You to Believe in Her.”

Perrine was engaged to “the love of her life,” gun collector Bill Haarman, who died from an inadvertent gunshot wound a month before their planned 1969 wedding, according to the Hollywood Reporter. She soon after began dating hair stylist Jay Sebring, who was murdered by the Manson Family cult in filmmaker Roman Polanski’s Beverly Hills home. Perrine had reportedly been invited to the party where the killings occurred, but was unable to attend.

Her final wish was to be buried at Forest Lawn Memorial Park in the Hollywood Hills, according to Souther. That cemetery is the final resting place for stars including Elizabeth Taylor, Gene Autry, Buster Keaton and Steve Allen.

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