Now, RR Auction in Boston is listing some never-released photos of James Dean's horrific and fatal car accident in his Porsche 550 Spyder. Dean was barreling down Route 466 at an estimated 85 mph when a young Cal Poly student named Donald Turnupseed, driving a Ford Tudor, decided to make a sudden turn on to Route 41. Photos larger than 8Mb will be reduced. You do not have permission to delete messages in this group, Either email addresses are anonymous for this group or you need the view member email addresses permission to view the original message, Imagine having to live with the knowledge you killed James Dean! Note: how Barris re-configured the crashed Porsche with his own sheet metal and beat it up to look like it was part of the original accident. Thanks for using Find a Grave, if you have any feedback we would love to hear from you. Guinness didnt know Dean (by this time, of Deans three movies, only East of Eden had been released) but Dean sure knew Guinness. This relationship is not possible based on lifespan dates. Taped theshow! Business was his hobby. As his star (and income) began to rise, he graduated to the Spyder 550, an ultra-low, rear-engined sports-racer that cost $7000 in the States, the equivalent of two new Cadillacs in 1955. from Paso Robles to Fresno to see a girl friend. Copyright 1995-2021 The Jalopy Journal: Steal our stuff, we'll kick your teeth in. Sir Alec (1914-2000) won an Oscar portraying Col. Nicholson in The Bridge on the River Kwai (1957), but he is best remembered by modern fans for portraying Obi-Wan Kenobi in the original Star Wars trilogy. Nelson arrived just in time to see an unconscious and dying Dean being placed into an ambulance. James Dean passed a car as he approached the intersection at high speed, driving another car off the road. The skid marks suggested that, as Turnupseeds Ford crossed over the center line, Dean tried to avoid the impact by steering the Spyder in a side stepping racing maneuver, but it was too late and the two cars collided almost head-on. Published Graveside services will be at 10 a.m. Monday in Tulare Cemetery.Remembrances may be sent to Hospice of Tulare County, 605 W. WillowAve, Visalia, CA 93201. Home; About. What did witnesses say about the accident? "Rob Petrie" wrote in message news:y8y%e.5861$oc.@newsread2.news.pas.earthlink.net> x-no-archive: yes>> "scottla" wrote in message > news:1128163290.@g44g2000cwa.googlegroups.com >>> I recall reading that the color of Dean's car was a factor. This browser does not support getting your location. "MGW" wrote in message news:nh1sj19i16jkosg2o@4ax.com http://www.snopes.com/autos/cursed/spyder.asp. Turnupseed was only slightly injured with facial bruises and a bloody nose. Donald Turnupseed was heading east and he began to turn onto Highway 41. "Nelson said. how fast it was moving. Sorry! The Porsches transaxle assembly (#10046), is currently owned by Porsche collector and restorer Jack Styles in Massachusetts. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. They stopped at a nearby Mobil station on Ventura Blvd. I mean, it was awful, but when your name is Donald Turnupseed and you kill a guy as famous as James Dean you'd think you'd take every chance to claim your rightful piece of the myth." See post #80 and forward by Trailer Park Playboy (Turnupseed's Grandson). That's not DonaldTurnupseed," said Wally Nelson, president of Turnupseed Electric inTulare. Mildly customized 1950 Ford owned by Donald Turnupseed. The presentalignment has no stop sign, a straight thru lane to Bakersfield and uses a left turn lane to Fresno rather than theoriginal "Y" layout with a stop sign. We need all the help we can get out there on the roads and being *seen* is the most important of all. As Reventlow and Kessler were leaving, they all agreed to meet for dinner that night in Paso Robles. The comments below have not been moderated, By At approximately 5:15 p.m., Deans party hit the road, driving west on Route 466 toward Paso Robles, approximately 60 miles away. Use Escape keyboard button or the Close button to close the carousel. He was interviewed by the Tulare Advance-Register newspaper immediately following the crash, saying that he had not seen Dean's car approaching, but after that, refused to ever again speak publicly about the accident. Don witnessed the tragic crash alongside his brother-in-law, and said: James Dean was sitting on the left side facing us, on the passenger side but that was after the damage had already been done. Dean tried to swerve, but collided almost head on with Turnupseed's 1950 Ford Tudor. Search above to list available cemeteries. It seems like iremember something about him getting arrested for flying in drugs in a small plane? Please reset your password. (jalopyjournal.com), What happened to Donald Turnupspeed's shoebox? Required fields are marked *. I'm takingfor granted that Exponent's record in court cases gives it somecredibility here, but you're right -- these are not facts. For memorials with more than one photo, additional photos will appear here or on the photos tab. > You said much the same thing here when we discussed this in 1999. Biography . In some circumstances, they can help, but there are legitimate (andlargely unstudied) questions as to whether we'd be better off ifeveryone left his lights on all the time. Remove advertising from a memorial by sponsoring it for just $5. According to Barris, during those years 1956 to 1960, a mysterious series of accidents, not all of them car crashes, occurred involving the car resulting in serious injuries to spectators and even a truck drivers death. When. First, Barris loaned the car out to the Los Angeles chapter of the National Safety Council for a local custom car show in 1956. I remember the night when Dad> reported the news at home. The accident had a profound effect on Turnupseeds family. CNN Sans & 2016 Cable News Network. Sure, it'scircumstantial evidence, but it works pretty well to show how Dean wasinclined to be driving that night. Imagine that, killing James Dean and never wanting to talk about it. Donald Turnupseed drifted into the oncoming lane and collided with James Deans car. Dean was driving directly into> the sun. A week after that dinner at the Villa Capri, James Dean was dead. Part of the way on scenic Highway 101 (which I highly recommend should you ever find yourself out that way) and part of the way retracing James Deans final drive. Failed to delete memorial. Your effort and contribution in providing this feedback is much Black-and-white images of the acting heartthrob's mangled Porsche 550 Spyder recently resurfaced in a Boston auction house to be sold. Discovery Company. Drag images here or select from your computer for Donald Gene Turnupseed memorial. Not much time to react for either driver. https://deadwrite.wordpress.com/tag/donald-turnupseed/, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Death_of_James_Dean, THE BARRIS STUFF | Page 3 | The H.A.M.B. Much more important to be ticketed than not wearing seat belts, imo. The accident killed James Dean and changed the world forever. Maybe I'm tripping on that. He talks of hearing the car is in Eureka. To add a flower, click the Leave a Flower button. A sophisticated computer analysis, however, shows that Dean was behind the wheel! what happened to donald turnupseed car. Please check your email and click on the link to activate your account. I have no choice but to drive with headlights in the daytime. Quickly see who the memorial is for and when they lived and died and where they are buried. U.S., Newspapers.com Marriage Index, 1800s-2020, California, U.S., Marriage Index, 1949-1959, Thank you for fulfilling this photo request. Live fast, die young and leave a good looking corpse. James Dean was the epitome of that 1949 quote penned by pioneering Chicago African American author Willard Motley. The group then headed north on the Golden State Freeway and then headed out on Interstate 5 (aka the Grapevine) toward Bakersfield. A German journalist was the last the call, Nelsonsaid. -T. Lehrer***~~~~-----------------------------------------------------------------------. The cars mirror finish was accented by the number 130 on the front hood, rear trunk and side doors and the name Little Bastard (designated as such by Dean himself) on the back. We will review the memorials and decide if they should be merged. Police pulled over the convoy and issued a pair of speeding tickets just outside Bakersfield. His mechanic Rolf Wutherich, who was in the passenger seat, was flung from the car and sustained serious injured. A copy is posted here in Woodland at Chubby's Diner with other Deanmemorabilia. Dean had been accompanied by mechanic Rolf Wtherich, who miraculously survived the fiery crash. There are other unconfirmed stories of Little Bastards post-accident life. Your account has been locked for 30 minutes due to too many failed sign in attempts. In that same race, a Dr. McHenry was killed when his race car went out of control and struck a tree. The sheer velocity of the impact flipped Dean's car into the air. Now ground-breaking technology has revealed that Dean didn't die as a daredevil driver. Dean did not>> have his headlights on, so it is likely that Turnipseed never saw him.>> To this day, I always turn on my headlights, even in the middle of the>> day, even when the sun is shining. And some strange thing came over me. With theaid of his late parents, Harley and Ruth Turnupseed, the Portervillenative built an electrical contracting business with commercial clientsacross the San Joaquin Valley and the central coast. https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/10990655/donald-gene-turnupseed. As this year's 40th anniversary of the crash approached, requests forinterviews continued. "The last 10 years he didn't do thatmuch," Nelson said. This evidence consists ofwhere the cars came to rest, and the level of damage they sustained inthe collision. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate, or jump to a slide with the slide dots. what happened to donald turnupseed cartennis tournament towels. Dean became a cultural icon following his starring role as troubled teenager Jim Stark in Rebel Without a Cause (1955). James Dean received a speeding ticket on Highway 99 about a hour before this wreck. On the back of the ground-level photos, Wtherich vs. Turnupseed-Dean-Coulter is written in pencil, referring to Wtherichs attempt to sue the insurance companies of both Dean and Turnupseed for a double fractured jaw and a severely torn left hip that required multiple surgeries, according to RR Auction. I refer you once again to the web page I cited. never mind that other drivers might not be able to see THEM? Today, the intersection has been widened and theres a left-turn lane to access Highway 41 requiring a stop and a 90-degree turn. He was headed to his Central . Donald Turnupseed spent his entire life refusing to talk about James Dean. There you will see the lipstick spotted grave marker covered by more kisses than the yard of bricks at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Guinness had already received an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor in The Lavender Hill Mob in 1951. Turnupseed developed a fondness for cars while a student at TulareUnion High School in the 1940s when he got a Model A, said Al Paggi,owner of Paggi Electric. 133, Loyal Friendship = FREE Car: 1927 Chrysler 60 and a Jaguar E-Type | Barn Find Hunter Ep. More by Drew Dorian, Your email address will not be published. Just to amplyfy my post. I should not have too tell anyone,that this was on the radio n all the news papers,plus some TV news,when it happened. It occurredwhen he pulled his 1950 Ford from Highway 46 onto Highway 41 nearCholame. His racing number, 130, is prominently displayed on the back along with a Little Bastard decal. Photo from James Dean: On The Road To Salinas, 2015 / Lee Raskin archives. In fact Little Bastard had caused upset almost from the moment Dean bought it. what happened to donald turnupseed car. Donald Turnupseed, at the time. what happened to donald turnupseed car. ' Dean laughed. Try again later. It is a small chunk of aluminum, a few square inches in size, that was allegedly pried off and stolen from an area near the broken windscreen while the Spyder was being stored in the Cholame Garage after the crash. One of the men mentioned, He had a closed-casket funeral to conceal his severe injuries from his hometown friends and family. These men had been underclassmen at Fairmount high school and relayed stories of encounters with Dean from their school days. Dean became a cultural icon immediately after his death. Rolf Wutherich, Dean's friend and mechanic (who . She was not decapitated like people say. Donald Turnupseed was likeable, but not outgoing even before the crash, Al Paggi, owner of Paggi Electric told the Advance-Register in 1995. As it happened; Great recipe for cabbage and ground beef dish; Musk exposes Twitter's censorship 'tyranny' The ghosts who came to dinner 'Blonde' soundtrack is a heartbreaker; The Second Coming; Meloni blasts Macron for getting rich off child labor; America First! Jayne Mansfield. Part of the a360media Entertainment Group. Your email address will not be published. Although tiny Cholame (population 116) makes Deans hometown of Fairmount, Indiana (population @ 2,600 in 1955) look like a metropolis, it would be hard to find a more typical California town. Where they are buried, driving another car off the road of Little Bastards post-accident life injured with bruises!, die young and Leave a flower, click the Leave a,! A 90-degree turn Jaguar E-Type | Barn Find Hunter Ep you for this... Photos tab a nearby Mobil station on Ventura Blvd on lifespan dates killing James Dean was dead Turnupseed! 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