Where Was James Dean From

Where Was James Dean From
More than six decades after his untimely death, James Dean remains one of Hollywood’s most enduring and enigmatic icons.
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More than six decades after his untimely death, James Dean remains one of Hollywood’s most enduring and enigmatic icons.
It's been more than 60 years since his tragic death and still Hollywood is looking for “the next James Dean .” The young actor made only three movies in his career – East of Eden (1955) where he played the bad boy brother in the “Cain and Abel” retelling, his signature role as an angst-fueled teen in Rebel Without a Cause (1955), and Giant (1956) where he stepped into the cowboy boots of a nonconformist ranch hand. All of his movies became Hollywood classics, but he only saw one, East of Eden , completed.
He was only 24 years old on September 30, 1955, when he was driving down Route 466 in his Porsche 550 Spyder and a car collided with his, killing him almost instantly. The young star's life and career was cut short, but his premature death contributed to the legend he would become. Rebel Without a Cause and Giant were released posthumously, and Dean came to epitomize the sensitive, troubled rebel who fans still connect with today. Who was the man behind the brooding Hollywood sex symbol? Here are 7 revealing facts that might give you a clue.
Dean was born in Marion, Indiana on February 8, 1931. Dean's father Winton left farming to become a dentist and moved the family to Santa Monica, California. But when Dean’s mother died from cervical cancer when he was 9, the family broke apart. His father sent him back to Indiana to live on his aunt and uncle’s Quaker farm, and this was the beginning of an estrangement between father and son that would haunt them for the rest of their lives.
He was the symbol of sexy cool onscreen, but off-camera the 5’8," 135-pound star had some quirky and dirty (as in unwashed) habits. Dean supposedly didn’t care much about his public appearance and went for the disheveled look. At one formal luncheon, he showed up barefoot and in filthy jeans and was known to appear at rehearsals in pants held together with safety pins. He was also known for having pretty extreme mood swings, according to friends, who said he also had the habit of calling or visiting them late at night. “He’d be up one minute, down the next. He was uncomfortable in his own skin,” one of them said.
Just hours before his crash, James Dean takes a cigarette break at a gas station next to his beloved silver Porsche 550 Spyder that he named Little Bastard.
Dean respected another brooding actor of the day, Marlon Brando . While Dean was just emerging in Hollywood, the slightly older Brando had major success as Stanley Kowalski in A Streetcar Named Desire (1951), his iconic role as a motorcycle gang leader in The Wild One (1953), and he won an Oscar for On the Waterfront (1954). Dean attempted to call Brando and see him socially, but Brando rebuffed his attempts at a friendship. “I gave him the name of a [psycho]-analyst, and he went. At least his work improved,” Brando said.
In his short career, Dean played fictional non-conformists who played by their own rules, but if he had lived he may have taken on the role of a real-life outlaw. He read and re-read the book The Authentic Life of Billy the Kid and frequently spoke of wanting to portray the Wild West gunslinger in a film.
Before he made it in the movies, Dean worked a lot on live television. A fan of improvising, he went off-script on one show and threw a few ad-libs at one of his co-stars, actor and future president Ronald Reagan , who was totally confused by Dean's acting method. Reagan wasn’t the only one who disliked Dean’s spontaneity. "Just make him say the lines as they’re written,” one actor said once.
Although Dean was briefly engaged to actress Pier Angeli, his sexuality has been a matter of debate. A number of biographers doubt his relationship with Angeli was a physical one. Some biographers believe he was bisexual; others characterize him as a homosexual who had one or two brief affairs with women. It was rumored that his first sexual experience occurred as a teenager when a local minister seduced him.
When he wasn’t acting or racing cars, Dean liked to practice magic tricks. A smoker, who was often photographed with a cigarette dangling from his mouth, Dean put a magical spin on his tobacco habit: he would put an unlit cigarette and a flaming match into his mouth and then pull out a burning cigarette. Another reason why Dean was smoking hot.
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In September 1955, actor James Dean was driving his brand-new Porsche 550 Spyder to an auto rally in Salinas, California, when he was involved in a head-on collision with a 1950 Ford Tudor. James Dean, only 24 years old, died in the crash. Although already famous for his role in "East of Eden," his death and the release of "Rebel Without a Cause" caused James Dean to soar to cult status. James Dean, forever frozen as the talented, misunderstood, rebellious youth remains the symbol of teenage angst.

James Dean had appeared in a number of television shows before getting his big break in 1954 when he was chosen to play Cal Trask, the leading male role in the film "East of Eden" (1955). This was the only one of Dean's films released before his death.

Quickly following "East of Eden," James Dean was signed to play Jim Stark in "Rebel Without a Cause" (1955), the film for which Dean is best remembered. Immediately following the filming for "Rebel Without a Cause," Dean played the lead role in "Giant" (1956). Both of these films were released after Dean's death.

As Dean's movie career began to take off, James Dean also started to race cars. In March 1955 Dean raced in the Palm Springs Road Races, and in May of that year he raced in the Minter Field Bakersfield race and the Santa Barbara Road Races.

James Dean liked to go fast. In September 1955 Dean replaced his white Porsche 356 Super Speedster with a new, silver Porsche 550 Spyder.

Dean had the car specialized by having the number "130" painted on both the front and back. Also painted on the back of the car was "Little Bastard," Dean's nickname given to him by friend Bill Hickman, who was Dean's dialogue coach for "Giant."

On September 30, 1955, James Dean was driving his new Porsche 550 Spyder to an auto rally in Salinas, California, when the fatal accident occurred. Originally planning to tow the Porsche to the rally, Dean changed his mind at the last minute and decided to drive the Porsche instead.

Dean and Rolf Wuetherich, Dean's mechanic, rode in the Porsche. Following were photographer Sanford Roth and Bill Hickman, driving a Ford station wagon that had a trailer for the Spyder attached.

En route to Salinas, Dean was pulled over by police officers near Bakersfield for speeding around 3:30 p.m. After being stopped, Dean and Wuetherich continued on their way. Two hours later, around 5:30 p.m., they were driving westbound on Highway 466 (now called State Route 46), when a 1950 Ford Tudor pulled out in front of them.

23-year-old Donald Turnupseed, the driver of the Ford Tudor, had been traveling east on Highway 466 and was attempting to make a left turn onto Highway 41. Unfortunately, Turnupseed had already started to make his turn before he saw the Porsche traveling quickly toward him. Without time to turn, the two cars smashed nearly head-on.

The injuries among the three involved in the crash varied greatly. Turnupseed only received minor injuries from the accident. Rolf Wuetherich, the passenger in the Porsche, was lucky to be thrown from the Porsche. Although he suffered serious head injuries and a broken leg, he survived the crash. Dean, however, was killed in the accident. Dean was just 24 years old at the time of the wreck.

To this day, James Dean is the only person to receive two Academy Award nominations posthumously. In 1956, he was nominated posthumously for Best Leading Actor for his role in "East of Eden." This was a historic first. In 1957, Dean was again posthumously nominated for Best Leading Actor, this time for his role in "Giant."

Many Dean fans wonder what happened to the smashed Porsche. After the accident, the crumpled car was toured around the United States as part of a driver safety presentation. However, en route between two stops, the car disappeared. In 2005, Volo Auto Museum in Volo, Illinois, offered $1 million to anyone who currently had the car. So far, the car has not resurfaced.

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Car crash that killed American actor James Dean

^ Jump up to: a b Wasef, Basem; Leno, Jay (2007), Legendary Motorcycles , Motorbooks International , pp. 13–19, ISBN 978-0-7603-3070-8 , retrieved 2012-05-20

^ Raskin, Lee (2005). James Dean: At Speed . Phoenix, Ariz.: David Bull. pp. 47–48, 68–71, 73–74, 78–81, 83–86. ISBN 978-1-893618-49-7 .

^ Jump up to: a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q Raskin, Lee (2006). James Dean: At Speed . David Bull Publishing. ISBN 978-1-893618-49-7 . OCLC 1085998138 .

^ Raskin, Lee. " 'Little Bastard': The Silver Spyder Porsche/Dean Mystery Revisited" . Retrieved September 21, 2011 .

^ Hunter, O. V. (State Traffic Officer, California Highway Patrol), September 30, 1955. Form 215 (Notice to Appear) number D730248 issued on that date to Dean. Picture of yellow copy viewed October 4, 2017.

^ Middlecamp, David (30 September 2005). "Photos From the Vault" . SanLuisObispo.com . San Luis Obispo Tribune. Archived from the original on 6 October 2013 . Retrieved 6 October 2013 .

^ Jump up to: a b Beath, Warren Newton (1988). The Death of James Dean . Grove Press. ISBN 978-0-8021-3143-0 . OCLC 19574407 .

^ Keith Elliot Greenberg (1 August 2015). Too Fast to Live, Too Young to Die – James Dean's Final Hours: James Dean's Final Hours . Applause Theatre & Cinema Books. p. 144. ISBN 978-1-4950-5041-1 . OCLC 907104147 .

^ Springer, Claudia (17 May 2013). James Dean Transfigured: The Many Faces of Rebel Iconography . University of Texas Press . p. 71. ISBN 978-0-292-75288-7 . OCLC 849085225 .

^ Stone, Matt; Lerner, Preston (30 November 2012). History's Greatest Automotive Mysteries, Myths, and Rumors Revealed: James Dean's Killer Porsche, NASCAR's Fastest Monkey, Bonnie and Clyde's Getaway Car, and More . Motorbooks. pp. 183–184. ISBN 978-0-7603-4260-2 . OCLC 781679690 .

^ Dixon, Wheeler W. (1999). Disaster and Memory: Celebrity Culture and the Crisis of Hollywood Cinema . Columbia University Press . p. 9. ISBN 978-0-231-11317-5 . OCLC 475539750 .

^ George Perry (27 October 2011). James Dean . Palazzo Editions, Limited. p. 14. ISBN 978-0-9564942-7-6 . OCLC 779863049 .

^ Jump up to: a b Steve Chawkins (October 1, 2005). "Remembering a 'Giant' Fifty years after James Dean's death, fans gather at the site of his fatal crash" . Los Angeles Times . Archived from the original on October 25, 2013 . Retrieved 21 December 2014 .

^ Beath 2007, p. 51

^ Frascella, Lawrence; Weisel, Al (2005). Live fast, die young: the wild ride of making Rebel without a cause . Simon & Schuster. p. 233. ISBN 978-0-7432-6082-4 . OCLC 1022713571 .

^ Jump up to: a b c d e f Beath, Warren Newton; Wheeldon, Paula (2005). James Dean In Death: A Popular Encyclopedia of a Celebrity Phenomenon . McFarland. ISBN 978-0-7864-2000-1 . OCLC 936695433 .

^ Riese, Randall (1991). The Unabridged James Dean: His Life from A to Z . Chicago, IL: Contemporary Books. p. 534. ISBN 0-8092-4061-0 .

^ (1995, July 13/14). " Obituary: Turnupseed, Donald ", Tulare Advance-Register

^ YouTube

^ "Satellite view of 35°44'05.0"N 120°17'04.0"W" . Google maps . Google Map Data. 15 June 2022 . Retrieved 15 June 2022 .

^ Eyes On Cinema. Alec Guinness warned James Dean one week before his death: "Please, do not get into that car!" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v-nptoFE1Js

^ Guinness, Alec. Blessings in Disguise , Alfred A. Knopf, New York, 1985, pp. 34-35. ISBN 0-394-55237-7

^ Barris, Brett; Nason, Douglas (2015). King of the Kustomizers: The Art of George Barris . Last Gasp. ISBN 978-0-86719-809-6 . OCLC 907449846 .

^ Jump up to: a b Barris, George; Scagnetti, Jack (1974). Cars of the Stars . Jonathan David Publishers. ISBN 978-0-8246-0166-9 . OCLC 914721 .

^ Pomona Progress-Bulletin , Pomona, CA; Oct 24, 1956; pp. 6

^ "Muscle Car Songs" . Musclecarclub.com. Archived from the original on October 30, 2012 . Retrieved November 27, 2012 .

^ Porsche Panorama , Porsche Club of America, Inc; Little Bastard: Search for James Dean's Spyder, July 1984, Lee Raskin, pp. 12–16, 19–20. ISSN 0147-3565.

^ Henrichs, Steve;Marinello, Marco; Perrin, Jim, Raskin, Lee; Stoddard, Charles A; Zigg, Donald; Porsche Speedster TYP 540: Quintessential Sports Car , 2004, Big Lake Media, Inc., Incline Village, Nevada. ISBN 0-9746468-0-6 , pp.186–190

^ "The Stuff of Legend: James Dean's Final Ride" . Santa Clarita Valley Historical Society . February 15, 2009 . Retrieved October 1, 2018 .

The death of Hollywood actor James Dean occurred on September 30, 1955, near Cholame, California . Dean had previously competed in several auto racing events, and was traveling to a sports car racing competition when he crashed his car at the junction of California State Route 46 (former 466) and California State Route 41 . He was 24 years old.

In April 1954, after securing the co-starring role of Cal Trask in East of Eden , James Dean purchased a 1955 Triumph Tiger T110 650 cc motorcycle and, later, a used red 1953 MG TD sports car. [1] In March 1955, Dean traded the MG for a new 1955 Porsche Speedster purchased from Competition Motors in Hollywood, California . He traded the Triumph T110 for a 1955 Triumph TR5 Trophy three days after filming wrapped on East of Eden . [1] Just before filming began on Rebel Without a Cause , Dean competed in the Palm Springs Road Races with the Speedster on March 26–27. He finished first overall in Saturday's novice class, and second overall in the Sunday main event. Dean also raced the Speedster at Bakersfield on May 1–2, finishing first in class and third overall. His final race with the Speedster was at Santa Barbara on Memorial Day , May 30, where he started in the eighteenth position, worked his way up to fourth, before over-revving his engine and blowing a piston. He did not finish the race. [2]

During the filming of Giant from June through mid-September, Warner Brothers had barred Dean from all racing activities. In July, Dean put down a deposit on a new Lotus Mark IX sports racer with Jay Chamberlain, a dealer in Burbank . Dean was told that the Lotus delivery would be delayed until autumn. On September 21, as Dean was finishing Giant , he suddenly traded in his Speedster at Competition Motors for a new, more powerful and faster 1955 Porsche 550 Spyder and entered the upcoming Salinas Road Race event scheduled for October 1–2. He also purchased a new 1955 Ford Country Squire station wagon to use for towing the "Little Bastard" to and from the races on an open wheel car trailer. [3] : 101–102

According to Lee Raskin, Porsche historian and author of James Dean: At Speed , Dean asked custom car painter and pinstriper Dean Jeffries to paint "Little Bastard" on the car:

Dean Jeffries, who had a paint shop next to [George] Barris , did the customizing work which consisted of: painting '130' in black non-permanent paint on the front hood, doors and rear deck lid. He also painted "Little Bastard" in script across the rear cowling. The red leather bucket seats and red tail stripes were original. The tail stripes were painted by the Stuttgart factory, which was customary on the Spyders for racing ID. [4]
Purportedly, Dean had been given the nickname "Little Bastard" by Bill Hickman , a Warner Bros. stunt driver whom Dean befriended. Hickman was part of Dean's group driving to the Salinas Road Races on September 30, 1955. Hickman says he called Dean "little bastard", and Dean called Hickman "big bastard". Another version of the "Little Bastard" origin – corroborated by two of Dean's close friends, Phil Stern and Lew Bracker – is that Warner Bros. president Jack L. Warner had once referred to Dean as a little bastard after he refused to vacate his temporary East of Eden trailer on the studio's lot. And Dean wanted to get "even" with Warner by naming his race car "Little Bastard" and defiantly show that despite the racing ban during all filming, he would be racing the "Little Bastard" in between projects. [3] : 106

On September 30, 1955, Dean and his Porsche factory-trained mechanic, Rolf Wütherich , were at Competition Motors in Hollywood preparing the "Little Bastard" for the weekend sports car races at Salinas . Dean originally intended to tow the Porsche behind his 1955 Ford Country Squire station wagon, driven by Hickman and accompanied by professional photographer Sanford H. Roth , who was planning a photo story of Dean at the races for Collier's magazine. Because the Spyder did not have enough "break-in" miles prior to the race, Wütherich recommended that Dean drive it to Salinas to get more "seat time" behind the wheel. The group had coffee and donuts at the Hollywood Ranch Market on Vine Street across from Competition Motors before leaving around 1:15 p.m. PST . They stopped for gas at a Mobil station on Ventura Blvd. at Beverly Glen Blvd. in Sherman Oaks around 2:00 pm. The group then headed north on the Golden State Highway and then over the " Grapevine " toward Bakersfield. [3] : 111–115

At 3:30 pm, Dean was stoppe
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Where Was James Dean From

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