BY GEORGE
Superman arrived on the small screen in 1952 in the stocky form of George Reeves. As in the comics of the time, which had become extra squeaky-clean in the wake of Congressional hearings, Reeves' Superman became a boy scout, fighting for ''truth, justice, and the American way.'' His not-very-impressive fighting skills (bullets would bounce off his chest, but he'd duck when the bad guy would throw his empty gun at him) nonetheless won Superman a new legion of fans. Running from 1952-58, The Adventures of Superman also featured Jack Larson (who cameos in Superman Returns as Bo the bartender) as cub photojournalist Jimmy Olsen. Reeves' mysterious apparent suicide (he was found shot to death in his bedroom in 1959) spawned speculation of a ''curse of Superman'' and a forthcoming Reeves biopic called Hollywoodland, which stars Ben Affleck as Reeves and is due in theaters this fall.