GLENDALE, Calif., April 24 -- Actress Margot Kidder, known best for playing Lois Lane in the 'Superman' movies, was found 'dirty and paranoid' while hiding in the backyard of a home, authorities said Wednesday. Kidder, 47, was taken to Olive View Medical Center in Sylmar for a 72-hour mental observation after police responding to a call about a woman acting strange found her late Tuesday hiding in the bushes near a woodpile. Kidder, who was reported missing by her manager Saturday, was wearing 'disheveled, cast-off clothing,' police Sgt. Rick Young said. She told police she 'had changed her clothes with a transient' and cut off her hair with a razor to alter her appearance because someone was after her. '(She) appeared dirty, frightened and paranoid,' Young said. 'She didn't want to tell us where she'd been, she just said someone was after her but she wouldn't tell us who.' Kidder had cuts and bruises on her face, which police said she probably received from hiding in bushes. Young denied reports that Kidder's front teeth had been knocked out and said the actress's dental bridgework was missing. Young said police did not believe a crime had been committed, but a follow-up investigation will be conducted in a few days when Kidder is able to answer questions. The Burbank Police Department had received a missing persons report for the television and motion picture actress by her manager after she missed a Saturday flight to Phoenix from Los Angeles International Airport and had not been seen since, Young said.
Young said Kidder's family had been contacted and were relieved to learn the actress had been found. Kidder was born in the Northwest Territories of Canada and was educated at the University of British Columbia. The dark-haired, deep-voiced leading lady came to prominence in the early 1970s. Besides playing opposite to Christopher Reeve in 'Superman' and its three sequels, some of her noted films include 'Quackser Fortune Has A Cousin in the Bronx' (1970), 'The Amityville Horror' (1979), 'Mob Story' (1989), and 'The White Room' (1990). Kidder made her debut in 1969 in 'Gaily Gaily.' She also directed the medium-length film, 'And Again.' In 1993, she married her third husband, director Philippe De Broca. Kidder was formerly married to writer-director Thomas McGuane and to actor John Heard.
