Ok. She was elderly and got some pedigree facts wrong. Gilmore was known for embellishing facts including in other books so I think her premise about Gilmore and embellishment of Dean relationship was essentially correct. I never heard that she had any personal animosity against Gilmore. She was just pointing out how some people used Dean’s death for financial benefit. Brackett did same thing by getting finders fee years after Dean death. Warners did not want Dean image tarnished by homosexuality which was possible even years after Dean death. Warner also had financial incentive to keep this quiet. As stated in film Casino “it is always about the dollars”. Shame Dean who was great artist, did not live a longer life so he could have fought these innuendos. His corpse was even violated by Jack Simmons in the funeral home before his burial. Bill Bast, his most close friend, stated that in Dean documentary
this reminds me very much of the story of Paul McCartney's Cavern bass stolen in 69 during the Get Back sessions and missing until just a year ago, thanks to some diligent detective work much like what you're doing here with the Porsche.
Once again Jason great work!!!! You would think that after 68 years, the truth would be further away. But your work shows great efforts and results. Your info about George Barris is right on. He never let the truth interfere with his self promotion. Barris claimed he customized the Spyder but it was well known that Dean Jeffries did the customizing. Barris also claims he was advisor to Rebel. Also not true. He may have known Dean but was not part of his circle or very close. I heard rumor that Barris had Spyder crushed in metal compactor in 1960. Dean’s death and interest in him was starting to dissipate and he was not mentioned much in 1960s. He achieved a revival in the 70s with documentaries and the Dalton book. Interestingly, the first time I saw Rebel was on tv in 1974. In the tv guide, it only game the film 3 stars. The same with East of Eden. Now these films receive 4 stars. What happened critics? Anyway Barris had car destroyed because muscle cars were starting to become popular and he probably thought (wrongly) that interest in Dean had run its course. Time has increased interest in Dean in every facet of his life and your scholarship has resulted in the truth coming out. I.e Brackett. When Dean died, he had no one to speak for him against the charlatans with agendas other than the truth. I would request that you look into author John Gilmore. Vampira who was close to Dean, said in last printed interview before her death, that Gilmore did not even know Dean. You can find these interviews online. There are two parts and Part 2 discusses Gilmore and also Jack Simmons another self promoter. I have brief email correspondence with William Bast, Dizzy Sheridan and Jack Grinnage in that they discussed various aspects of Dean’s life in truthful emails.
Thanks for your kind words. You're probably right, and the most likely scenario is that Barris junked the car in secret and tried to scam some insurance money by claiming it vanished. John Gilmore is an interesting case. After reading his various books and interviews, my feeling is that much of his later work is heavily embellished with a great deal of fantasy, but his first Dean book contained some specific details that suggest that there is a core of truth, at least insofar as he and Dean probably knew each other in New York and may have had a brief relationship. The trouble is that it's hard to pick out which bits are true from so much that seems to be a literary fiction. “Bill Dakota” (a.k.a. William Cern), the tabloid publisher specializing in gay rumors (many of which he fabricated), claimed in his memoir that Gilmore was a serial exaggerator who made up some of his claims or appropriated details from other people's experiences. One reason I think it's true that they knew each other is that Gilmore quotes Dean saying things that he (Gilmore) wouldn't likely have recognized, such as when he quotes Dean paraphrasing a passage from Gerald Heard's "Pain, Sex, and Time," which Gilmore does not seem to have read or known much about.
Thanks for reply. When you have time read Vampira interview online. After you read let me know if you think Gilmore may have totally embellished his relationship (if any by Vampira) with Dean. Looking forward to you book. Your recent articles are very informative. I hope you left out some info for book. Take care.
I'm familiar with Nurmi's final interview, but some of what she said then simply wasn't true. Gilmore was born in 1935, so he was 18 when he met James Dean in New York in 1953 and couldn't have been a minor in 1955. He had already been a child actor. He was raised by his grandmother, so he wasn't living with his mother. It's possible Nurmi conflated some details with another person.
Ok. She was elderly and got some pedigree facts wrong. Gilmore was known for embellishing facts including in other books so I think her premise about Gilmore and embellishment of Dean relationship was essentially correct. I never heard that she had any personal animosity against Gilmore. She was just pointing out how some people used Dean’s death for financial benefit. Brackett did same thing by getting finders fee years after Dean death. Warners did not want Dean image tarnished by homosexuality which was possible even years after Dean death. Warner also had financial incentive to keep this quiet. As stated in film Casino “it is always about the dollars”. Shame Dean who was great artist, did not live a longer life so he could have fought these innuendos. His corpse was even violated by Jack Simmons in the funeral home before his burial. Bill Bast, his most close friend, stated that in Dean documentary
this reminds me very much of the story of Paul McCartney's Cavern bass stolen in 69 during the Get Back sessions and missing until just a year ago, thanks to some diligent detective work much like what you're doing here with the Porsche.
Once again Jason great work!!!! You would think that after 68 years, the truth would be further away. But your work shows great efforts and results. Your info about George Barris is right on. He never let the truth interfere with his self promotion. Barris claimed he customized the Spyder but it was well known that Dean Jeffries did the customizing. Barris also claims he was advisor to Rebel. Also not true. He may have known Dean but was not part of his circle or very close. I heard rumor that Barris had Spyder crushed in metal compactor in 1960. Dean’s death and interest in him was starting to dissipate and he was not mentioned much in 1960s. He achieved a revival in the 70s with documentaries and the Dalton book. Interestingly, the first time I saw Rebel was on tv in 1974. In the tv guide, it only game the film 3 stars. The same with East of Eden. Now these films receive 4 stars. What happened critics? Anyway Barris had car destroyed because muscle cars were starting to become popular and he probably thought (wrongly) that interest in Dean had run its course. Time has increased interest in Dean in every facet of his life and your scholarship has resulted in the truth coming out. I.e Brackett. When Dean died, he had no one to speak for him against the charlatans with agendas other than the truth. I would request that you look into author John Gilmore. Vampira who was close to Dean, said in last printed interview before her death, that Gilmore did not even know Dean. You can find these interviews online. There are two parts and Part 2 discusses Gilmore and also Jack Simmons another self promoter. I have brief email correspondence with William Bast, Dizzy Sheridan and Jack Grinnage in that they discussed various aspects of Dean’s life in truthful emails.
Thanks for your kind words. You're probably right, and the most likely scenario is that Barris junked the car in secret and tried to scam some insurance money by claiming it vanished. John Gilmore is an interesting case. After reading his various books and interviews, my feeling is that much of his later work is heavily embellished with a great deal of fantasy, but his first Dean book contained some specific details that suggest that there is a core of truth, at least insofar as he and Dean probably knew each other in New York and may have had a brief relationship. The trouble is that it's hard to pick out which bits are true from so much that seems to be a literary fiction. “Bill Dakota” (a.k.a. William Cern), the tabloid publisher specializing in gay rumors (many of which he fabricated), claimed in his memoir that Gilmore was a serial exaggerator who made up some of his claims or appropriated details from other people's experiences. One reason I think it's true that they knew each other is that Gilmore quotes Dean saying things that he (Gilmore) wouldn't likely have recognized, such as when he quotes Dean paraphrasing a passage from Gerald Heard's "Pain, Sex, and Time," which Gilmore does not seem to have read or known much about.
Thanks for reply. When you have time read Vampira interview online. After you read let me know if you think Gilmore may have totally embellished his relationship (if any by Vampira) with Dean. Looking forward to you book. Your recent articles are very informative. I hope you left out some info for book. Take care.
I'm familiar with Nurmi's final interview, but some of what she said then simply wasn't true. Gilmore was born in 1935, so he was 18 when he met James Dean in New York in 1953 and couldn't have been a minor in 1955. He had already been a child actor. He was raised by his grandmother, so he wasn't living with his mother. It's possible Nurmi conflated some details with another person.