On September 28th, 29th, and 30th, 2003, I visited with artist Kenneth Kendall, Maila Nurmi (Vampira) and payed a visit to Chalome, CA where James Dean was killed in an auto accident.
I met with Mr. Kendall and purchased one of his beautiful hand-cast James Dean belt buckles. They are one-of-a-kind and I will treasure it! See the picture at right. Contact Kenneth Kendall through the James Dean Memorial Gallery if you would like to purchase a buckle - well worth it!
Mr. Kendall told me of the time James Dean visited him at his studio on Melrose Avenue in Los Angeles and asked if he could sculpt a head of him, as he had done of Marlon Brando. The final sculpture was later donated to the Griffith Observatory (See important link at bottom). I felt privileged to see some of this work. At right is a shot of me with Kenneth, and between us is the sculpture he did of James Dean as Bachir in the stage play "The Immoralist", for which Dean received a Tony Award as best newcomer of the year.
On the 29th I visited with Maila Nurmi, Vampira on '50's television, who I had met briefly once before. I ran into her, literally, at a restaurant, reminded her of our meeting, and she was gracious to visit with some friends and I for over an hour!
She posed for the picture at right in front of a poster of Dean that happened to be hanging at the restaurant. She told us of how Jimmy used to do little drawings on napkins at Googies restaurant on Sunset (now the Virgin Megastore at Sunset and Crescent Heights). One of the drawings he did is rumored to have gone on to become "Charlie The Tuna", seen in commercials and on the cans of Starkist Tuna! Apparently his drawing made its way from Googies into the hands of the marketing dept. and it evolved into Charlie!
She told us of how when she first saw the Porsche Jimmy had bought, she was "horrified", and thought it was an awful looking car. She left a note on the windshield saying something to the effect that "how could you be seen in such an awful looking thing!"
In addition to the visits with Kenneth and Maila, I visited several places around Hollywood that are connected to James Dean, including the old Competition Motors, where he purchased the Porsche Spyder he was driving at the time of the accident, the Griffith Observatory where "Rebel..." was filmed (under construction until early 2005), his Walk of Fame Star on Vine St., and the Villa Capri restaurant building, the offspring of the original Villa Capri that Dean used to frequent.
Watch for more artwork soon, including a large poster I am doing to commemorate the 50th Anniversary of Dean's success as an actor! Click HERE to return HOME.
