Mayo Kaan

Mayo Kaan (March 2, 1914 – July 9, 2002) was a bodybuilder who claimed to be the original model for Superman. Mayo is also the father of millionaire Valerie Kaan.^[1]

Superman Controversy

In November 1997 Mayo Kaan placed advertisements in several newspapers and magazines claiming that he was the first person to don the Superman costume and was the model for the Superman character. His claims were denied by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster, the creators of the Superman series.^[2] The publishers of the Superman comic, DC Comics, stated that Shuster and Siegel were the sole creators of Superman and that this was established years before Kaan's claims. Superman collector Danny Fuchs believes it was possible Kaan had "history confused", and that he had modeled for the Fleischer Studios animations based on Superman.^[3] An astute observer spotted an apparent inconsistency with Kaan’s photos – one shows him on the steps Hatch Shell in the Boston Esplanade but this structure wasn’t built in 1940, four years after he allegedly modeled for Shuster. ^[4]

References

1. ^ The Boston Globe article on Valerie Kaan
2. ^ Bisbee, Dana. "Obituary; Mayo J. Kaan, said to be inspiration for Superman", Boston Herald, Jul 11, 2002 p.057.
3. ^ Bisbee, Dana. "Obituary; Mayo J. Kaan, said to be inspiration for Superman", Boston Herald, Jul 11, 2002 p.057.
4. ^ http://www.supermansupersite.com/kaan.html

External links

• Picture and Article on Mayo Kaan
• Comic Book Urban Legends Revealed #148

Persondata
Name	Kaan, Mayo
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	March 2, 1914
Place of birth
Date of death	July 9, 2002
Place of death