Dana Reeve Discusses Life Without 'Superman'

WHITE PLAINS, N.Y. – Christopher Reeve's (search) wife said she remembers how he dealt with his own tragedy as she tries to work through the "void in our home life" after his death.

"It was always his intention to keep life going even after adversity," Dana Reeve (search) told The Associated Press in her first interview since her husband died Oct. 10. "That was the spirit he lived by."

The woman who spent nine years caring for her famous husband — the one-time Hollywood "Superman" turned activist for spinal cord research after a horse-riding accident — says she will soon return to her own acting career.

A fund-raising dinner is planned Thursday for the Christopher Reeve Paralysis Foundation (search), where she has succeeded her husband as head of the board. Minnie Driver is the host, Paul Simon will entertain, Glenn Close will receive an award and other celebrities are expected.

Reeve said that while the evening, which was planned before Christopher Reeve's death, has evolved into something of a tribute to him, it's important "that we're also thinking about the future and about fund raising and about keeping his mission alive."

The foundation funds research on paralysis and works to improve the life of the disabled and has awarded $53.6 million in grants.

Reeve said she expects to continue her volunteer work, but said, "I am an actress and I do have to make a living."

She was performing in the Broadway-bound play "Brooklyn Boy" in California when she had to streak home to reach her husband's bedside before he died. She gave up the role for the New York run, but she said, "I definitely will be getting back to acting."

"That is a wonderful play; I was sorry to leave," she said. "But TV and movie schedules are always easier than a theater schedule, if you have a family."

Reeve and his wife had a 12-year-old son Will, and Dana Reeve said her husband left behind a personal legacy "as a father, a strong figure who was always part of our lives."

"The way to honor him," she said, "is to live the way he lived, and that was to be uncompromising."