In the seven decades since he crashed his Porsche Spyder into another car at the intersection of Highways 46 and 41 in Cholame in San Luis Obispo County, the legend of James Dean has taken on mythic proportions.
For a man who only lived to be 24 and made but three movies in a career that was tragically cut short, Dean’s story has been told and retold so often that the legend now rivals the life itself.
James Byron Dean — born Feb. 8, 1931, in Marion, Indiana — was well on his way to becoming a cultural icon when he died on Sept. 30, 1955, despite only one of his films, East of Eden, having been released at the time of his death.
But East of Eden, which premiered on March 9 of that year, propelled Dean into instant stardom.
His portrayal of tormented loner Cal Trask, trying desperately to win the love of cold, distant father Raymond Massey, struck a chord with audiences that continues to reverberate more than 70 years later.
If Dean had stirred audiences with his performance in East of Eden, his next film, Rebel Without A Cause, released less than a month after the fatal crash, cemented his status as a symbol of adolescent Weltschmerz.
His cry “You’re tearing me apart!” became the primal scream of mid-1950s youth who were trying to find their place in post-war America.
Dean’s outburst was similar in spirit to Marlon Brando’s reply in 1953’s The Wild One, when asked, “What are you rebelling against?” replied, “Whaddya got?”
Like Dean’s Jim Stark, Brando’s Johnny Strabler’s rebellion is existential. The problem isn’t one thing, but the system itself.
Dean had finished his scenes in his last film, Giant, just three days before he took his final ride.
He had purchased the Porsche, which he named “Little Bastard,” on Sept. 21, and on Sept. 30 he set off from Los Angeles with mechanic Rolf Wuertherich seated beside him, planning to compete in an auto racing event in Salinas on Oct. 2.
He and Wuertherich stopped for gas in Lost Hills — “James Dean’s Last Stop” — on Highway 46 and arrived in Cholame at 5:45 p.m.
As he rolled into the intersection of Highway 41 he collided with a 1950 Ford driven by Cal Poly student Donald Turnupseed.
Wuertherich and Turnupseed escaped with minor injuries. Dean, however, died almost instantly, and while a weak pulse was detected at the scene, he was pronounced dead at then-Paso Robles Hospital at 6:20 p.m.
At Dean’s funeral in Indiana on Oct. 2, the coffin was kept closed to conceal the extent of his injuries.
In the years since his death, Dean’s stature has only grown.
His life story has been told and retold in documentaries, TV movies and theatrical releases: In 1957, Warner Brothers produced a documentary titled The James Dean Story. 1976 saw made-for-television’s James Dean, and, in 1997, James Dean: Race With Destiny appeared in theaters. 2001 witnessed TNT’s James Dean, and a 1982 film about Dean’s legacy, Come Back to the Five & Dime, Jimmy Dean, Jimmy Dean, appeared, starring Sandy Dennis, Cher and Karen Black.
Dean remains the only person ever to receive two posthumous nominations for Best Actor, with a 1955 nod for East of Eden and 1956 for Giant.
In 1960, he received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. In 1999, he was named the 18th Greatest Male Actor of All Time by the American Film Institute, sandwiched between Kirk Douglas and Burt Lancaster.
There is a haunting epilogue to the Dean story: Less than a month after his death, a man named George Barris bought the wrecked Porsche.
Barris sold the engine to a professional race driver named Troy McHenry, who installed it in a Lotus Mark IX. Barris then sold the suspension and drive train to another professional driver, William Eschrich, who put them in his own custom-built Porsche.
On Oct. 2, 1956, both men took part in a race in Pomona. McHenry was killed in a wreck. Eschrich crashed but survived.
In 1957, Barris lent the car’s remains to the California Highway Patrol to use in an exhibit in a highway safety program. It fell from a display stand and broke a man’s leg.
In 1960, the Porsche Spyder disappeared altogether, and has never been seen since, leading some to suspect the “Little Bastard” had a curse on it.
In 1977 the James Dean Memorial sculpture of concrete and stainless steel was erected in front of the Cholame post office, not far from the crash site.
On Sept. 30, 2005, 50 years after the collision, this section of Highway 46 was christened the James Dean Memorial Junction.
It seems only natural that a larger-than-life figure like James Dean would live on after death.
Over the years people driving on Highway 46 have reported seeing a 1955 Porsche driven by an intense young man who appears to be in a hurry to get to wherever it is he wants to go.
I know if I ever see him I will get out of his way, for he is driving into eternity.