“Death is another story. I will never make a joke about death. It is beyond my powers.”
Mario Puzo, Fools Die
I drove today through miles of rolling green hills down California Hwy 41, a road that meanders between land owned by the famous Hearst Family, to where it intersects with Hwy 46 near Cholame.
There isn’t much here now. One kilometer east and you will find the Jack Ranch Cafe.
Cattle grazing
…which is also owned by the Hearsts.
I assume there was even less back in 1955. Certainly fewer cars.
In September of 1955, at this intersection is where James Dean died in a car accident.
He only made 3 movies – he was 24 when he died, after all. And I have never seen any of them.
There are running arguments about who is the smartest person to have lived – Newton, Einstein, et al…arguments about greatest artists…arguments about greatest boxer….any superlative, really.
But there does seem to be consensus in one unquantifiable area. James Dean was the embodiment of cool. Long before The Fonz, was striking juke boxes, the restlessness and angst of the Silent Generation gave way to the rebellious spirit of the Baby Boomers, thanks, in large part to being provided with a unifying beacon that was James Dean.
Many will argue that The King was cooler, and, ok…sure…but he is “God-tier” cool. Elvis is who young men wanted to be, Dean is who they were.
Legend tells us that, one week before he died, he met fellow actor Alec Guiness. He showed him his new Porsche, that he had nicknamed, “Little Bastard”. Little Bastard had been customized by George Barris, the same fellow who would later give us The Batmobile.
Obi Wan is said to have responded, “If you drive this car, you’ll be dead in a week.”
And, to show that the universe is not without a twisted sense of duality, the personification of cool collided with and was killed by a man with a name so cartoonishly respresentitive of “hick” that it is hard to believe – Donald Turnupseed.
In 1977, Japanese artist, Seita Ohnishi, fulfilled what he he called, “a life-long dream” by completing construction of a memorial to James Dean and presenting it as a gift to the American People.
I never knew James Dean – he was before my time. When I looked up, I looked up to my father…my uncles, my older brother…each represented a standard for me to strive to achieve at a different stage of maturity. So, I have never gone in for celebrity culture. But, standing here, under “The Tree of Heaven” reading the words on the memorial, I admit I was quite moved.
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A Tribute To James Dean
by Seita Ohnishi
His name was James Byron Dean. He was an actor. He died in an automobile accident just before sunset on September 30, 1955 at the intersection 800 meters east of this tree, which has long been called the “tree of heaven.” He was only 24 years old.
Aside from appearing in several Broadway plays, he starred in just three motion pictures before he died: EAST OF EDEN, REBEL WITHOUT A CAUSE and GIANT. Only one, EAST OF EDEN, had been released prior to his death. Yet, before he was in his grave, he was already a myth. With the subsequent release of the other two pictures, he became a legend.
It is a fitting tribute to his brilliance as an actor that his movies continue to be shown throughout the world even today. Everyday somewhere, in a cinema or on television, his image lives on, an inspiration to millions everywhere, young and old alike. His fame is international, his impact, historic. He was the brief, living manifestation of a new era, the persona on which a whole generation pinned its hopes for a better tomorrow. He was more than merely a movie star. He was, and remains, a symbol.
I am only one of many who feel strongly that James Dean should not be forgotten. There are some things, like the hatred that accompanies war, that are best forgotten. There are others, like the love inspired by this young actor, that should be preserved for all time.
Yet this monument is not intended to be merely a tribute to James Dean. It is also meant to be a reaffirmation of the value of all human life. That is why, in accordance with an old Japanese custom, this marker has been placed at the site of the accident that took his life, to serve both as a memorial to this young man I so admired and a reminder to all that life is a precious gift to be preserved at all costs.
Indebted to the guidance of his closest friend, William Bast, I have at long last been ableto realize my dream. Having transported this monument across the Pacific Ocean from Japan where it was designed and made, I have had it erected on this spot and dedicated on this day. For me, there is no greater happiness. It is but a small token of the appreciation I feel for all that I have learned from America.
To all Americans who have given to me this opportunity, I express my heartfelt thanks. Especially to the Hearst family, on whose land this monument stands, for their consent and undertstanding, and to the people of this area for their friendship and cooperation, I offer my deepest gratitude.
September 30, 1977
Seita Ohnishsi
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