James Dean was killed in a car crash on 30 September 1955 when
his new Porsche Spyder crashed head on into another car. Dean's
passenger was thrown from the car and survived, but Dean was pinned
inside. He died in the ambulance on the way to the hospital. After
the accident, many fans refused to believe Dean was dead. A story
circulated that he was still alive although terribly disfigured,
and in true urban legend fashion this tale took on a life of its
own.
I won't go into all the James Dean as a cult idol stuff except to
say his mystique has staying power. For example, his tombstone was
stolen twice in 1983, and in 1985 had to be replaced because of
damage done to it by fans. Seems he was still the popular fella
despite having been dead for three decades.
Back to the "haunted" Porsche. The following "information" comes
from a newspaper article. Make of it what you will:
After the accident the Porsche was sold to a second-hand car dealer
who put it on public view (supposedly in support of a campaign for
road safety). He charged viewers twenty-five cents each to look at
it.
Car designer George Barris next bought the car and planned to sell
it for parts. When the car was delivered to his yard, it rolled
back off the truck and broke a mechanic's legs.
Troy McHenry, a Beverly Hills doctor, bought the Dean engine and
used it to replace the engine in his Porsche. The doctor was killed
in a crash the first time he took the car out.
(Troy McHenry died on 22 October 1956 during a automobile race at
the Pomona Fairground near Los Angeles. He was driving a Porsche
Spyder, but I've yet to determine if Dean's engine was in that
car.)
Another unnamed doctor bought the Dean transmission. He too was
later seriously injured in a car crash.
An unnamed New Yorker bought two of the Dean tires. His car crashed
when both tires mysteriously blew out at the same time.
The shell of the Dean car was being transported to a road safety
exhibition in Salinas when the truck skidded and crashed. The
driver was killed.
Stolen from the scene of that fatal accident was the shell of James
Dean's car. It's never been recovered.
Another version of the disappearance of the shell was reported in a
Los Angeles Times article on 30 October 1989. George Barris (the
guy who sold the car for parts) was quoted as saying the last time
he saw the shell was when he exhibited it in Florida in 1958. The
car was loaded on a truck afterwards, but eight days later when the
truck arrived at its destination, the car wasn't there. No mention
of an accident.
You decide.
