Drove the last half of James Dean's final drive on the 60th anniversary of his death. We started at the last place he stopped for gas and refreshments. Saw a bunch of people gathered there. They even had a guy dressed like James Dean driving a replica of his car. We decided to follow the group who was tracing Dean's final day. They started at Competition Motors where Dean picked up the Porsche. They were doing the trip in real time based on every where Dean went that day. We followed them as far as Paso Robles where Dean was supposed to stop and eat dinner. They completed their journey in Salinas, California. We stopped at the crash site that you mentioned in the video. We also went to the memorial and finally to another memorial in Chalome, California about a mile from the crash site. Took lots of pictures and hung around for about an hour then headed off. Glad we ran into this group of people. We all showed up for the same reason, even though some of us didnt know one another. We were all there for the same reason, to remember this great movie star. We just kind of lucked out and showed up at the right place and the right time and my family and I got to participate in the most important part of the James Dean last drive celebration.
I went to the gathering at the JD memorial in Cholame in 2005. There was one guy there who was dressed as James Dean with the classic Rebel red jacket, t-shirt, jeans, and sunglasses. Everything he was wearing wasn't LIKE what Dean wore, it was EXACTLY the same as James Dean's clothing. And he looked JUST LIKE James Dean. His height, build, the color of his skin, the shape of his face, his hair... He fully played the character, too, and never broke character. EVERY movement and inflection was Dean's! He smoked cigarettes just like Dean. I spoke to him, and he responded just like Jimmy. Even standing right next to him, I really couldn't tell that it wasn't James Dean himself! It was incredible.
12:55 the mechanic was conscious after the collision. There are photos of him at the crash where he is lifting up his head and apparently according to witnesses there at that time asking about Dean's condition. There is another RUclips video where someone pinpointed the exact traffic ticket location. Overall, a very good analysis by Forrest of this event.
The other occupant of Dean’s Ford station wagon was photographer Sanford Roth. He was accompanying Jimmy to photograph him at the races in Salinas for Look magazine. The color photo of Dean at the gas station was taken by Sanford Roth but it was not the last one. At least two other black and white photos were taken by Roth of the Porsche 550 Spyder and its two occupants after they left the gas station and were back on the road again. Roth took them from the Ford station wagon he was a passenger in which was being driven by Bill Hickman, a stunt driver and friend of Jimmy’s. At the accident scene Roth took photos of Dean on the ambulance stretcher being carried by two attendants to the waiting ambulance. He had been covered by a blanket. He also took photos of the wreaked Porsche and Dean’s mechanic laying on the ground next to it while the guy who hit Dean’s car, Donald Turnipseed looks on.
6:50 Lance Reventlow was the son of Woolworth heiress Barbara Hutton. He was later married to Jill St. John, and also died young in a plane crash in 1972.
@@sisterluke Plot thickens. Robert Wagner was married to Natalie Wood. She drowned off the coast of Catalina Island in California in November 1981 after she went missing from the Splendour, her family's yacht. Also aboard that night were Captain Dennis Davern, Wagner, and fellow actor, Christopher Walken. The next day, Natalie was found floating in the water wearing a red down jacket and flannel nightgown. After a two-week investigation, the death ruled an accident. But, in 2011, the LA County Sheriff's Department reopened the death investigation. In 2012 the Los Angeles Coroner's Office amended the death certificate, changing the manner of death from an accidental drowning to "drowning and other undetermined factors." Wagner was named Person of Interest in the case.
Thank you for your effort,u basically took me to the scene , I suppose they placed the memorial at a safe distance to possibly avoid some fan meeting the same fate as Dean:)
Take that road every day to get to work I never see no one stop there and the car didn't stop there the pictures of the crash are I the last gas station
He still might of died on that road at a diffeent place. Maybe, if he wasn't speeding, Turnupseed would have made that turn way before James Dean ever arrived.
I do agree , is total bizarre how time played critical rule in case of James Dean tragic accident , we are talking about les a minute, if that guy turned left just few seconds before James arrived , it is proof over again that destiny is engineered ! It is very sad he was gone way to soon , he was promising young fellow and good actor , RIP James !
Thank you for putting together this interesting and informative account of Deans last known movements. Using Google Earth and photo's from 55 add to the interest and offers greater clarity of then and now. Clear and concise narration throughout. Great job.
This is the clearest overview of what happened, from when James left his home, the stops he made, and finally a brilliantly detailed explanation of the crash site. Excellent work and an insightful location maps and photos. Thank you.
According to an old aerial photo, the intersection was right over that little creek, where the current transition lane from 41 meets 46. The 90 degree angle intersection was not there. Based on that photo, the memorial seems to be in the right spot, or at least very close to it.
It is very possible that both highways have been rerouted since then and the actual site is off in a grassy area now. The maps show what look like old roadbeds in the area.
Great job pointing out the places in the last hours of James Dean's life. That 1955 Porsche 550 Spyder was quite the car back in those days. Only 1212 pounds with 108 HP 4 cylinder engine the car was super lightweight. The Big Ford Mr Turnupseed was driving weighed probably 4 to 5 times more in weight. Also after the crashed 550 Spyder was shown in Florida 1960 the transport truck crashed killing the truck driver but the wrecked body parts of his 550 were stolen off the truck. So the wrecked 550 Spyder is gone somewhere out there !
I was born that day. 4 hours and 8 minutes after Dean's death, and I like to think that maybe our souls passed each other in those moments of incoming and outgoing of transit. And though I was born 1, 000 miles away, oddly enough I have ended up living somewhat near that intersection and have passed through it countless times. The actual James Dean memorial is located about a mile west of the intersection, directly in the little roadside establishment of Cholame. Part of the memorial structure is a polished metal mirror, and if you face the mirror it directly reflects back up the road to the location of the crash. I have stopped many, many times when passing through with a bottle of Windex and a clean towel to spruce up the memorial site and try to keep it nice (I've even waxed it a couple of times). Anyway, just per chance, I happened to be traveling that road on my 30th birthday, around 10 minutes before the time of crash. Knowing it was the 30th anniversary, the highway patrol had set up flares and warnings well ahead of the location from both directions (I was coming from the west). There were scores of people scattered everywhere in the area on foot, their cars parked along adjacent roadsides and fields, though it was clear that most of them were trying to gather to stand on the spot where Dean's car had come to rest. I just slowly weaved through the maze and went on my way. I'm sure it still happens every September 30th, but that was the only time I have ever been there at that moment, and it was very nice to see so many people there honoring Dean.
yes, your souls could have passed that day, even though I am convinced a soul doesn't enter the body at the time of birth. Your soul entered your body at time of conception. But you could have been very aware of all departing souls that day or before. Or even after. An infant probably has extremely heightened spiritual awareness. I like your story very much.
Very well presented & narrated. Thank you! It's difficult to imagine exactly what took place that tragic day by just reading accounts; seeing this makes it much clearer.
Looking at the old black and white photos of the intersection of CA SR 46 and CA SR 41, I think you’ve made an assumption that the 41 did not flow as smoothly into the 46 as it probably did. You indicated a little hook south at the very bottom of the 41. But the photos show a very smooth contour of the transition from the 41 to the 46. So I don’t think his wrecked car ended up in what is now the center area of the dirt triangle as you supposed. One has to realize that both of these roads were very narrow two-lane roads at the time, and that as can be seen at a lot of these early intersections of the time, minor roads were made to “peel” away from other roads. Only later would they reduce the fluidity of the transition in order to create a stop for the intersecting road as a means to make the left turns a little safer. For instance, northbound Union to Chester in Bakersfield. Or Southbound Van Nuys Blvd to Chandler in Van Nuys. So I think you can follow the curvature of the 41 better to imagine it’s intersection flow into the 46.
I appreciate your presentation! The photo's, time and dates, your descriptions and progressive narration certainly made sense and one can nearly feel themselves IN James Dean's 'day' as we moved along with him through this presentation. Bless his heart and this makes me, for one, feel closer to this gifted person many of us did/do not know personally but do feel more so now.
I have driven those routes on many occasions. However, this video fails to mention the beautifully designed James Dean Memorial built in 1977 by Seita Ohnishi from Japan. The memorial surrounds an oak tree in the parking lot of the Jack Ranch Cafe - a short distance west of where Hwy 41 and 46 merge. Unless there is a specific sign at the little roadside marker mentioned in the video, I don't think it relates to James Dean. Side note: During junior high school, I used to watch James Dean and Natalie Wood when they filmed Rebel Without a Cause at a mansion near where I grew up in LA.
Sarah W. Rah that’s so cool and never heard of any witnesses to the filming of Rebel ( except the other actors) and what a privilege you had!!.. did you get close enough to meet them or just watched from a bit of a distance??...is the mansion still standing ( I take it it’s the one with the empty swimming pool Dean Jumps into messing around) be great to google earth that and visit one day?!!... nice information 👍❤️
Why would he need to mention a memorial for? That's not what this video was about, so I wouldn't consider his video and research a failure by any means.
Forrest, as usual, you did a great job in detailing the events of James Dean's last day on earth. As a teenager in the mid-50's, Dean was a boyhood hero of mine and I remember wanting my mother to buy me a red jacket that summer to wear with a white t-shirt and jeans just like he did in Rebel Without a Cause.
Before Interstate 5 was completed it was normal to drive through the Central Valley farm fields to get to the Northern Calif coast. I made that drive myself several times. On September 30th at 5:45 pm the sun would have been in Dean's eyes making hard to see on coming traffic. This was just before the time change that occurs in October. This could have been another factor that created the fatal chain of events. Thank you for sharing all this information.
Going the other way the low sun should have reflected off the silver Porsche. The driver of the hefty American sedan was most likely looking up 41 to begin his turn. Dean, who was obviously flying by ground, would have covered more distance in less time than the other driver would be expecting. He most likely would have seen it as clear until a speeding car entered the picture
Something I wanted to bring to your attention: reading a google review of the memorial site, a guy named Jay writes: "the actual road Dean was going west on no longer exists. On 9/30/1955 he got off 99 and took the old US 466 and was killed where it intersected with CA 41. the current CA 46 which replaced US466 was built slightly to the north and the old 466 was abandoned and since reclaimed by nature." Indeed, if you look just slightly south of the current CA 46, doesn't it look like there's an old, unmaintained path that runs parallel to the 46? Is it possible that the actual intersection is behind that barbed wire fence to the south?
at 7:47 it looks like the OLD ROAD is above the current intersection. I was at the site sunday. Near the make shift memorial, there is an OLD ROAD....all cracked up from the past....this old road runs east to west.
This is old news to those interested in this stuff but Bill Hickman was also Steve McQueen's driving coach in "Bullitt" and the guy who drove the Charger in the great car chase. Also in "The Seven Ups". You did a great job pinpointing the exact point where the crash occurred. We visited the spot over 20 years ago and the roads are so modernized now I'd recommend anyone going there to watch this first. I kind of feel sorry for the other guy in the crash. Not only do Dean fans most likely blame him for their idol's death, but he has to go through life with the name "Turnupseed".
While filming Giant, Dean also filmed a short public service announcement with actor Gig Young for the National Safety Council. It featured Dean dressed as the young "Jett Rink" talking about how driving fast on the highway can be more dangerous than racing on the track. At the end of the segment, instead of saying the catchphrase "The life you save may be your own", Dean ad-libbed the line "The life you might save might be mine". en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Death_of_James_Dean
Very well done video. Unfortunately he died slightly more south of the intersection than you show in the video. He wasn’t driving on highway 46, it wasn’t built yet. If you look at Google maps there is a flat dirt section that runs parallel to highway 46. This was on US Route 466 and the road James Dean was traveling on at the time of his death.
Yes, you can still see 466 that paralleled the new 46 to the South by only a few feet. So the crash spot is under the road. Just drove 46 in early August, 2002, and while a lot of 46 is 4 lane, this section is not. Maybe in another 5 years. So I usually take 101 South from Paso. But 46 should have been fixed 40 years ago. Too many people have died needlessly. The reason for so much traffic on 41 is the Avenal State prison.
Another fantastic forensic accounting of a piece of history. Your videos are truly unique and bring the viewer along on a trip thru significant events that have been truly molded into our memories. Even though I'm late in finding your channel, I hope that there are many more to come! Thank you.
I think the old road was still visible paralleling on the north. It was common for Ca DOT to upgrade roads by building a new one next to the old one, back in the '60s.
I've been on that road many, many times. What remains of the old road parallels Rte 46 for several miles, going back east from the junction of 41 & 46. I'll put up two Google map links below, one street view that shows the old tarmac still in place on the south side of 46. The new roadway crosses over the old one at least twice (so it is on both the north and south sides of the new roadway, but it is clearly visible in the following Google Earth shot; About 4 miles East of the accident site; goo.gl/maps/4oTwDj9XKymWB9oy6 Street view of the same area; goo.gl/maps/fp7Fn8oQEpAYVBmU9 The old road is there, cut into the hillside.
I live only few hours away from this site, and pretty sure it can be seen on here (i haven't been out there in several years) but you can still see small section of the old 46. And i think the memorial was placed further away because it still gets visitors so safer then the excat spot of the wreckage (i also believe it came to stop in that dirt area). But good video
Rogent X That's o.k. Years ago I had a Great Aunt and Uncle who lived in Paso Robles. We would go see them every chance we got. Their daughter still lives in Atascadero. I miss them a lot. For their age they were really a hoot.
love your vids. just a friendly and subtle suggestion when utilizing the reference images: click on the ‘view image’ option so we can get the visual details you’re emphasizing for us to learn from. you’re a great presenter btw 👍🏽
a few additional notes. Seed entered real early into the turn like most people would he did not slow down as if to make a sharp left turn. He was a car guy and had just passed other cars that witnessed it from behind him. As he was sort of shaving the corner by entering early he then spotted Deans low tiny car and realized he was in his lane and veered back to the right trying to avoid him and dean swerved starting the car into a spin and hit the drivers side front of seeds car and flew up and over to where it came to rest. Neither car braked. Seconds before Dean passed cars and one noted their speed of 65 because they said Dean passed them as if they were standing still and the one guy saw what was coming and wife looked up for them both to witness the crash. He also confirmed Dean never hit brakes because it happens so fast. The farmer and wife estimated car was WELL over 80 mph or faster. Seed cannot be blamed because its normal to go left while someone is coming in your direction however the car was virtually invisible combined with small size can give perspective of normal car FURTHER AWAY. also the great speed of dean. Seed did not as much hit him as in the split second he was swerving back to avoid the turn-dean swerved and was virtually sideways when he then plowed into seed. so was seed also swerving in freak out manuever.
Wrong. There are skidmarks from BOTH cars indicating that they both saw each other in the last 2 seconds before impact. Their speed by the cops was estimated about 50mph at impact. Seconds before the impact, both cars were moving faster so the skidding helped slow down the vehicles to just 50mph.
There is an original segment of Old Highway 99 still in existence. It is now a service road for rangers that runs by the 5. It is called "The Old Road" on Google Map and runs parallel to the 5 just outside of LA starting just before the Lyon's Rd exit on the 5 north bound. Ive driven that section of old highway, The medians and highway markings are clearly from another era. It runs for a few miles then there is a gate blocking further traveling Northbound. I found it neat to drive on it, no traffic, and felt a lot of nostalgia knowing that Dean drove the very highway.
I've read a lot about JD and the accident. Looking at old photos and comparing them to the intersection as it is today, this video clears up a lot of questions..
Good work! I humbly disagree though with your resting place of the Porsche however. Even if Dean were only going the speed limit, the car would have gone considerably past where you speculate it ended. Odds are it was going very fast (and probably why the other guy miscalculated by making his left turn). The Porsche was hit on the left side, driver's side, was not head on impact, so it very easily could have rested where the memorial is. Thanks for the synopsis.
@@forresthaggertychannel4301 They know that Dean traveled 45 feet (roughly 3-4 car lengths) past impact point and Turnupseed traveled 36 feet-both in the general direction they were traveling. So if your impact point is correct, your stopping point is about right.
"That guy's gotta See us!!!" James Deans last words before impact. It's very sad that Rolf Wutherich committed suicide because of all the so-called guilt of surviving & Dean did not.....RMA
Look online at the accident pictures. You can see a telephone pole next to his car. On google maps, you can still see a telephone pole alongside of the road in the middle section you pointed out.
From what I understand that road was actually moved over. I think that the paved area on the sides may be the old road. We see that a lot here in New Mexico, when they developed the interstate, the new roads were moved over just a bit, and you can see the original roads over on the sides. I'm not sure though, I can't quite remember where I got the information, so I might be a bit off on what I had read. Great video! I have always heard of James Dean, but it was only a few years ago that I looked into his life. Now that I'm older it really touched me how young he was. Legend.
I heard the same thing. You can see in Google maps in this video the two roads coming together right where he's describing where the accident happened. They are inside the two main roads that now exist.
Watched an interview with Alec Guinness in which he recounted meeting James Dean in the first evening of his first visit to California. James Dean showed him his car and later in the conversation, Alec Guinness said to James Dean (and he said he doesn’t know quite why he said it), if you get in that car you will be dead by this time next week. Wild.
this was outstanding presentation one question i had was it certainly seemed a heck of a long distance from the gas station through the desert to the wreck point i'm surprised that little spider had a fuel tank big enough to make it that far especially if he was leadfooting it on the throttle
Great video maker! Great editing! I think you may be wrong, I think indeed he was hit right where the memorial shows, before Turnipseed hit him. You can see by the 1955 photo, with the cop over on the side of the road, that there were skid marks on JD's side of the road, indicating that Turnipseed was over the yellow line, but the skid marks actually start on Turnipseeds side of the road, which indicates that JD was on the wrong side of the road, and that Turnipseed may have pulled the wheel to the left after braking, moving the skid out of his lane into JD's lane, as an avoidance move, (or if his brakes weren't adjusted correctly, or if a tire were low, the car may not skid straight forward,) but that at the last moment, he pulled it back to the right with the sudden stop of the skid mark showing the exact impact moment and placement, which corresponds exactly with the memorial.
It is good that you are analyzing the skid marks, but you made a small mistake. Turnupseed's skidmarks that started on Turnupseed's side of the road were made by his REAR tires, not his front tires. This changes everything in your analyzations. JD was never in Turnupseed's lane.
@@allanholder1018 Interesting. Hardly recall this post, will have to look at the video again. But, if the back tires made the skid marks, that should indicate he may have deployed the emergency brakes rather than stepping on the brake pedal. Thank you
The old road was where the right lane of 41 is now, closest to the fence. So the memorial is in the place where the Porsche ended up.There are overhead photos taken for Wütherich's lawsuit that show the configuration at the time of the crash.
Wanted to add on the old overhead photo (Wütherich's) you can see the original intersection was just west of the wash, the gray area running to the north. That shows that the existing lane closest to the fence is where the old road was. The Y intersection was changed to the way it is now because it was dangerous.
Outstanding research. It makes the story even more mysterious. I never knew the details of that day. I suppose old county maps would show the exact intersection (spot of impact) and where the car ended up. Good points on the width of the roads back then as compared to today. Another poster pointed out that if the spots you narrowed down to are in fact the correct areas, it could put someone else in danger of an accident due to curiosity. Be careful folks! I think there should be TWO stops signs to slow everyone down at the intersection.
Well done. Some items: 1) There is no such thing as a "porsh". The name of the car is pronounced "Por-Shuh". 2) I have a book on Dean that shows his route as 101 north to Hwy 46 west. I have been both ways. The route you show would probably be right. A lot less conspicuous, two lanes, would have allowed them to run at higher speeds. I-5 didn't yet exist. 3) He did get a second ticket somewhere along the way. Years ago Blackwell's Corner had a facsimile (pre photo copy) of it on the wall with many pictures. 4) Your second pronounciation of Lance Reventlow's name is the correct one. 5) Your descriptions of the intersection as it was then is also correct. 6) A number of years ago I took the route on one of the anniversary's of his death. I timed it to get to the intersection at about the same time as the crash. In addition to getting a really creepy feeling as I went thru there, the sun was really low. He would have been looking right into it which is a factor no one has ever brought up. 7) I have seen car magazines of the time which show his car as having gone off to the left, stopping in a farmer's field behind a barbed wire fence. 8) The mother of my ex-fiance was an emergency room nurse at the Paso Robles hospital. Years later, before her death, she revealed to the family that she was on duty that night. Contrary to the rumors he had faked his death, the government had taken him prisoner because of his affect on teenagers, etc, she said she saw his body and he was 100 percent dead. 9) Despite the improvements to the intersection fatal accidents, most commonly vehicles turning left from 46 onto 41, continue. Each time there are calls to put a freeway thru there.
@@jam9297 Porsche(por-sha) is the name of the family who first designed & developed the Volkswagen, then Porsche cars. They are actually a design firm whose work can be seen in varied form through out the world, from Yashica cameras to water-cooled Harley-Davidson engines. I'm sure you would not like someone butchering your last name.
Why would the mother of your ex fiancé keep it a secret till before her death. How bizarre. Are you sure she wasn't suffering dementia? I find her confession hard to believe. She would have been talking about it well before then. Did someone pay her to keep silent for some reason?
Your explanation to where his car ended up made more sense, back then I don’t know how they could have miscalculated the location, I’m sure there were skid marks to show where the spider landed and I bet if someone went out there with a metal detector, there’s a possibility of some small debris that was never picked up!
how great presentation is that? he can't pronounce fucking Porsche ! he can check RUclips in a second ....,how the Porsche porununce ton of video is here ! and same ....with location names ..... he does not care all off them how their names spell.... I don't know why care for making fucking RUclips videos ?!
nice to know his details for that day. he did a lot if driving and may have been pretty fatigued and with that strange intersection. i don’t think it was his fault. Turnipseed should have seen him. rip, James Dean.
We have been in the cemetery twice, Fairmount, IN we went to the 2 car shows held every year in his memory. The James Dean run in Fairmount and the Duck Tail in Gas City, IN.Both are held at the end of Sep. After attending each 6 times since 1991 I would luv to go back again, they are wonderful shows and swap meets.
I forgot to mention the wonderful museum in Fairmount, It is dedicated to J-D with pictures, info, and movie artifacts. Located in a old home over 100 years old.... A must see if you go to Fairmount.
Great job. A little context for what it's worth. Locals refer to the intersection as the "Cholame Y" and the "Robles" of Paso Robles is pronounced "Ro-Bulls" not "Ro-Bless"
That's something I hadn't heard and quite possible. Though if you know anyone working in hospitals where and when death is pronounced many times gets skewed to maintain statistics.
After filling up at the gas station (near his home) Dean most likely drove on Route 99, out of Los Angeles, since the 5 freeway did not exist at the time. Route 99 ran from the southern border to Washington state. The only other route headed north to Salinas was the coast route 101. Route 466 (46 today) ran from Morro Bay to Kingman, Arizona. It was the first road to cross the Boulder (Hoover) Dam.
this is not the house where he lived. The address is correct but the original house had been demolished and a new McMansion is in its place. But a great video nonetheless!!!! Really enjoyed watching it
Excellent research and video. I've been past there many times - it's solemn. I wonder though about where Dean's car actually landed. If they were "breaking in" the engine (very, very plausible - especially on such a straight strip oh highway), how fast WAS he going? The kid likely was not good enough with his depth perception (being a younger driver) and simply thought he could make it (how many friends I've lost on bikes for the same reason?). That said; Dean also was headed West, at sundown, and likely also missed the kid - either due to the sun or watching his instruments. Either way, the world lost an important figure that day - for reasons we can only hypothesize on. You really did do an excellent job on this video. Thank you.
His car couldn't have stopped inside the dirt patch, because he was travelling at a very high speed and you can see from the picture that the Porsche was hit in the side, probably Dean was trying to avoid the collision by passing in front of the incoming car. It must have gone much farther than this patch of dirt. Great video though! Would love to see more like this one!
I drove that road, same time of day, 11 years to the day later. the sun was almost at road level right into Dean's eyes. he would have had difficulty seeing ahead of him. At the estimated speed Dean was covering 140feet every second. ONE FOOTBALL FIELD EVERY TWO SECONDS. (From tine of day of the receipt for the food stop to TOD of the accident and the distance between those 2 points it was concluded ~95mph.. The legal limit in 1966 was 45mph - 66ft/sec. How long dies it take to complete a turn at the "legal speed" and when you look at on coming traffic, YOU expect cars coming at you do be doing the limit. When the guy looked ahead and started his turn - Dean SEEMED to be far enuf away (several seconds at 66ft/sec) If Dean HAD NOT BEEN SPEEDING the guy could have safely made the turn!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
@M Detlef A football field in the USA is 300 feet long! 100 yards (10 - ten yard segments)!!. That's why the best seats in the stadium are on the FIFTY yard line - center of the field. Where did you go to school and did you make it past 4th grade? DUMBASS ASS ASS ASS!
@M Detlef PS at 140ft/sec it is slightly more than 2 seconds for a 100 yard distance. 2.143 seconds to be precise lest the numbers cops be upset like the kybd fuzz. SCC4B.
Judging by the pictures of the accident seen the memorial is the more likely place that the car came to rest. The car was by the fence and telephone poll. The location you suggest had no fence or pole. Also the speed of which he was probably going would probably made it very unlikely that Deans car would have stopped so close to the impact.
Why was Turnupseed not arrested? Surely that was man slaughter? It was a long straight road, how could he not see a car coming in the opposite direction. Love your channel, greetings from the UK.
Forrest Haggerty @11:45 If they put the mark where dean's car landed after the accident...then, it's probably the correct spot. It was a huge incident. So many people went there immidiately and know where the actual spot the car end up. And made vigil on the spot. If they put the spot on wrong location ...so many would have contested it by now. And why would they change the spot anyway? Dean's car was so small and lightweight and was travelling aproximitely 65 to 75 miles per hour. That's very fast. Given the right circumstances, it could have flown, roll and skid much further than where the spot is right now. Just my opinion by the way. I do however, appreciate you posting this. I travel along I-5 many times and only knew the general area of the accident but never knew the actual location. You did outstanding work...Thanks!
It’s weird RUclips suggested this video. I know the whole crash story but in the past couple of years, I hadn’t really came across anything regarding James Dean. But then literally in the past few weeks I’ve been seeing things about him randomly. At a toy store I saw what I believe was the same toy model car he drove along with the same number on the side so that got me thinking of him. Then at my local Denny’s, there’s a painting of James at a roadside gas station just hanging out smoking a cigarette next to the porche. I had not even gone to that Denny’s in years and I found myself there twice recently explaining to different friends who James Dean was. Now this video came up and I had not remotely watched anything in connection to him. Weird. Fun fact: I myself am from Salinas so that explains why our Denny’s has a James Dean painting :)
As a drag racer it's still common today to drive your race car to the track to break in the rings. About 20 years ago I had a fresh set of C&A moly "gapless" rings in the engine and they just didn't want to seat. Drove 120miles to the track but got rained out. On the trip home not even 1 mile from the house I noticed a change in tone from the exhaust. The throttle felt twice as responsive. Did the "michigan left" where you turn into the u-turn from left lane to go opposite direction on boulevard style road then approach your turn and in this case turn right into neighborhood (hence the michigan left, and yeah it sounds a little goofy). It was after the turnaround when I snapped that throttle open and Bang Wow! The rings seated felt like another 200 horsepower! Rest in Peace James Dean.
i disagree with your opinion o the resting site of the spyder. if what I assume is correct, dean was hauling ass. that little porche would've ended up much further down the road, no disrespect
I agree that he must have been very fast and the impact with the other car could have catapultet him much further. I enjoyed this video very much. Well researched.
Hwy. 46 is one of the deadliest highways in CA. In recent years it has been widened to 4 lanes most of the way to Paso from I5 which has reduced the death toll dramatically. RIP JD
That doesn't surprise me. So many people make dangerous passes there. I haven't been on either 41 or 46 for some time but I used to travel on it somewhat regularly. I lost count of the number of near misses I saw, all because some idiot got impatient and tried to pass five cars at once or pass on a blind hill/corner.
Good video. There are pictures of Turnipseed's Ford sitting at roughly a 45 to the intersection. It was totally mangled from the firewall forward. The worst of the damage was on the left side of the vehicle. Some pictures also show Dean's car in a dirt shoulder next to a wire fence. The brunt of the damage was also along the entire left side. After seeing this I am sort of confused. I remember reading the police accounts that Turnipseed said he didn't see Dean because of the sun. Unless I'm totally daft the sun should have been at Turnipseed's back. 49 Fords weren't heavy cars, but they were pretty stout. Dean was probably driving way too fast in a small silver bullet. In this case driver error on both sides.
Tanjay Miller. True. His car wasn't totally stock. Day/night mirrors were rare back then. Since his car wasn't totally stock it could have had dual exterior mirrors also. I'm going to do some playing later.
If you pause at 7:29 you can see the sun sets behind Turnipseed's direction. I was blinded really bad at sunrise out here where I live. Even with my visor down and sunglasses on. I could hardly see the lines on the shoulder for about 5 mins.
Tanjay Miller. Makes sense. I'm half a country away. In looking at Turnipseeds car it looks like there might have been a left mirror. The right side isn't shown. Given that the car had skirts, 55 Pontiac chrome, two-tone paint dual mirrors aren't out of question. Thank you for the sun factor.
Dean's car rode very low. With the silver color, it would have blended into the road that had an upward slope, at least in the distance, and was dusty. Easy to miss an unusually low-slung car coming at you fast, especially when you are riding up high and are used to other cars with a high profile. As for the sun, it could have been momentary blindness or distraction by Turnipseed from his mirrors or reflections or anything, the sun would have been at a very low angle behind him.
Excellent videos with very extensive descriptions. How about doing one for Grace Kelly's accident and proximity to film To Catch a thief locations very close.. more videos please.
The spot where the "memorial site' is, could well be the actual area where James Dean's car ended up. If he was travelling at a high rate of speed, the car would have travelled a lot further than the spot being suggested in the video; When a car collides at high speed with another object or vehicle, it doesn't come to a sudden stop or travel a few yards, but carries on for quite some distance before coming to rest.
you do such wonderful videos!!! you are clear, easy to follow, and your content is always interesting. Thank you, I used to live in Bel Air and your videos take me back! The westside changes but stays the same, I love it there.
Interesting theory of the crash location. Assuming the road was adjusted to its current location as you hypothesize, there could be property records involving the land transfer from the prior owner to the government entity that controls the road. If so, these records could offer further proof and details of the specific crash location.
Thanks for this great video. By comparing street view and the old pictures I have the impression that the transition lane was the actual road back then. If so then the memorial would be at the exact right spot.
musicfan 2000 I could be wrong, but I’m fairly certain that transition lane wasn’t there in 1955. If you find any information saying it was please let me know.
Take a look at the website "discover central california/james dean memorial in cholame". They compare the photograph from the wreckage with the one from the memorial now and the hills in the background match exactly. Also note that the angle in the old photos only seems to be almost 90 degrees on the first look. If you look closely the angle is not that steep because the road and especially its depth and lenght does not seem to be rightly represented in the old pictures.
musicfan 2000 when I line up the center of both roads using google earth I still have him landing in the triangle at the center of the intersection. However, with what you shared with me it seems to be a little further west and south of the transition lane.
I just found another video on youtube called „James Dean Car Accident“ in which they overlay an old and a new photograph. Then they recreate the whole accident and if you compare the overview of this professional animation it matches perfectly with the transition lane in Google Earth.
Thanks for a really interesting vid. I was born in 1955 and I was always under the impression that he more or less committed suicide by crashing at high speed. Thanks for your research.
Drove the last half of James Dean's final drive on the 60th anniversary of his death. We started at the last place he stopped for gas and refreshments. Saw a bunch of people gathered there. They even had a guy dressed like James Dean driving a replica of his car. We decided to follow the group who was tracing Dean's final day. They started at Competition Motors where Dean picked up the Porsche. They were doing the trip in real time based on every where Dean went that day. We followed them as far as Paso Robles where Dean was supposed to stop and eat dinner. They completed their journey in Salinas, California. We stopped at the crash site that you mentioned in the video. We also went to the memorial and finally to another memorial in Chalome, California about a mile from the crash site. Took lots of pictures and hung around for about an hour then headed off. Glad we ran into this group of people. We all showed up for the same reason, even though some of us didnt know one another. We were all there for the same reason, to remember this great movie star. We just kind of lucked out and showed up at the right place and the right time and my family and I got to participate in the most important part of the James Dean last drive celebration.
You had a cool adventure. Lucky you came upon those people.
@Mark Gibson Get over yourself, kid
Should of had the dude simulate the collision scene. That would have been cool...
@@jaysantos536
And seeing actually people getting killed, nice.
I went to the gathering at the JD memorial in Cholame in 2005. There was one guy there who was dressed as James Dean with the classic Rebel red jacket, t-shirt, jeans, and sunglasses. Everything he was wearing wasn't LIKE what Dean wore, it was EXACTLY the same as James Dean's clothing. And he looked JUST LIKE James Dean. His height, build, the color of his skin, the shape of his face, his hair... He fully played the character, too, and never broke character. EVERY movement and inflection was Dean's! He smoked cigarettes just like Dean. I spoke to him, and he responded just like Jimmy. Even standing right next to him, I really couldn't tell that it wasn't James Dean himself! It was incredible.
I was gonna give this video 20 seconds to see if it would hold my attention. Well, I watched the whole thing...nice presentation & narration.
12:55 the mechanic was conscious after the collision. There are photos of him at the crash where he is lifting up his head and apparently according to witnesses there at that time asking about Dean's condition.
There is another RUclips video where someone pinpointed the exact traffic ticket location.
Overall, a very good analysis by Forrest of this event.
Outstanding job on putting this together. Well-told, easy to follow description. Thanks! Tony in Oregon*
The other occupant of Dean’s Ford station wagon was photographer Sanford Roth. He was accompanying Jimmy to photograph him at the races in Salinas for Look magazine. The color photo of Dean at the gas station was taken by Sanford Roth but it was not the last one. At least two other black and white photos were taken by Roth of the Porsche 550 Spyder and its two occupants after they left the gas station and were back on the road again. Roth took them from the Ford station wagon he was a passenger in which was being driven by Bill Hickman, a stunt driver and friend of Jimmy’s. At the accident scene Roth took photos of Dean on the ambulance stretcher being carried by two attendants to the waiting ambulance. He had been covered by a blanket. He also took photos of the wreaked Porsche and Dean’s mechanic laying on the ground next to it while the guy who hit Dean’s car, Donald Turnipseed looks on.
The Memorial is place so as to not impede traffic or cause another accident.
Yeah I was kinda thinking the same thing.
Thanks, excellent video. James Dean, gone way too soon. RIP Mr. Dean.
6:50 Lance Reventlow was the son of Woolworth heiress Barbara Hutton. He was later married to Jill St. John, and also died young in a plane crash in 1972.
Jill St. John went on to marry Robert Wagner, at least I think that's the same woman.
@@sisterluke Plot thickens. Robert Wagner was married to Natalie Wood. She drowned off the coast of Catalina Island in California in November 1981 after she went missing from the Splendour, her family's yacht. Also aboard that night were Captain Dennis Davern, Wagner, and fellow actor, Christopher Walken. The next day, Natalie was found floating in the water wearing a red down jacket and flannel nightgown. After a two-week investigation, the death ruled an accident. But, in 2011, the LA County Sheriff's Department reopened the death investigation. In 2012 the Los Angeles Coroner's Office amended the death certificate, changing the manner of death from an accidental drowning to "drowning and other undetermined factors." Wagner was named Person of Interest in the case.
Thank you for your effort,u basically took me to the scene , I suppose they placed the memorial at a safe distance to possibly avoid some fan meeting the same fate as Dean:)
That's probably right. But, if he was travelling at a very high rate of speed, it could be POSSIBLE the car made it to where the marker is now?
Take that road every day to get to work I never see no one stop there and the car didn't stop there the pictures of the crash are I the last gas station
Just think if he wasn't pulled over by the highway patrolman maybe that might have screwed up the timing of his fate?
Clifford St James When it's your time to go, it's your time to go.
That should be on every box of Depends. @@boxing9763
He still might of died on that road at a diffeent place. Maybe, if he wasn't speeding, Turnupseed would have made that turn way before James Dean ever arrived.
I do agree , is total bizarre how time played critical rule in case of James Dean tragic accident , we are talking about les a minute, if that guy turned left just few seconds before James arrived , it is proof over again that destiny is engineered !
It is very sad he was gone way to soon , he was promising young fellow and good actor , RIP James !
Just think, if my Aunt had balls, she’d be confused on which public restroom to use.
Thank you for putting together this interesting and informative account of Deans last known movements. Using Google Earth and photo's from 55 add to the interest and offers greater clarity of then and now. Clear and concise narration throughout. Great job.
5:00 Goddamn, that palm tree hasn’t grown at all in 60 years!
𝕮𝖚𝖈𝕶 𝕮𝖗𝖚𝖘𝖍𝖊𝖗 You should try watering it.
I noticed that too except when I realized the older photo was not from 60 years ago. was much more recent.
This is the clearest overview of what happened, from when James left his home, the stops he made, and finally a brilliantly detailed explanation of the crash site.
Excellent work and an insightful location maps and photos.
Thank you.
I was a small child leaving Bakersfield with my parents when we drove up on the crash scene ,, I remmber it was very crazy
According to an old aerial photo, the intersection was right over that little creek, where the current transition lane from 41 meets 46. The 90 degree angle intersection was not there. Based on that photo, the memorial seems to be in the right spot, or at least very close to it.
It is very possible that both highways have been rerouted since then and the actual site is off in a grassy area now. The maps show what look like old roadbeds in the area.
@@rad-sw8fzthat’s what I was thinking but then thought it was just a sidewalk
Great job pointing out the places in the last hours of James Dean's life. That 1955 Porsche 550 Spyder was quite the car back in those days. Only 1212 pounds with 108 HP 4 cylinder engine the car was super lightweight. The Big Ford Mr Turnupseed was driving weighed probably 4 to 5 times more in weight. Also after the crashed 550 Spyder was shown in Florida 1960 the transport truck crashed killing the truck driver but the wrecked body parts of his 550 were stolen off the truck. So the wrecked 550 Spyder is gone somewhere out there !
I was born that day. 4 hours and 8 minutes after Dean's death, and I like to think that maybe our souls passed each other in those moments of incoming and outgoing of transit. And though I was born 1, 000 miles away, oddly enough I have ended up living somewhat near that intersection and have passed through it countless times. The actual James Dean memorial is located about a mile west of the intersection, directly in the little roadside establishment of Cholame. Part of the memorial structure is a polished metal mirror, and if you face the mirror it directly reflects back up the road to the location of the crash. I have stopped many, many times when passing through with a bottle of Windex and a clean towel to spruce up the memorial site and try to keep it nice (I've even waxed it a couple of times). Anyway, just per chance, I happened to be traveling that road on my 30th birthday, around 10 minutes before the time of crash. Knowing it was the 30th anniversary, the highway patrol had set up flares and warnings well ahead of the location from both directions (I was coming from the west). There were scores of people scattered everywhere in the area on foot, their cars parked along adjacent roadsides and fields, though it was clear that most of them were trying to gather to stand on the spot where Dean's car had come to rest. I just slowly weaved through the maze and went on my way. I'm sure it still happens every September 30th, but that was the only time I have ever been there at that moment, and it was very nice to see so many people there honoring Dean.
yes, your souls could have passed that day, even though I am convinced a soul doesn't enter the body at the time of birth. Your soul entered your body at time of conception. But you could have been very aware of all departing souls that day or before. Or even after. An infant probably has extremely heightened spiritual awareness. I like your story very much.
Very well presented & narrated. Thank you!
It's difficult to imagine exactly what took place that tragic day by just reading accounts; seeing this makes it much clearer.
Looking at the old black and white photos of the intersection of CA SR 46 and CA SR 41, I think you’ve made an assumption that the 41 did not flow as smoothly into the 46 as it probably did. You indicated a little hook south at the very bottom of the 41. But the photos show a very smooth contour of the transition from the 41 to the 46. So I don’t think his wrecked car ended up in what is now the center area of the dirt triangle as you supposed. One has to realize that both of these roads were very narrow two-lane roads at the time, and that as can be seen at a lot of these early intersections of the time, minor roads were made to “peel” away from other roads. Only later would they reduce the fluidity of the transition in order to create a stop for the intersecting road as a means to make the left turns a little safer. For instance, northbound Union to Chester in Bakersfield. Or Southbound Van Nuys Blvd to Chandler in Van Nuys. So I think you can follow the curvature of the 41 better to imagine it’s intersection flow into the 46.
You achieved exceptional clarity and explanation of Dean's crash.
I appreciate your presentation! The photo's, time and dates, your descriptions and progressive narration certainly made sense and one can nearly feel themselves IN James Dean's 'day' as we moved along with him through this presentation. Bless his heart and this makes me, for one, feel closer to this gifted person many of us did/do not know personally but do feel more so now.
I have driven those routes on many occasions. However, this video fails to mention the beautifully designed James Dean Memorial built in 1977 by Seita Ohnishi from Japan. The memorial surrounds an oak tree in the parking lot of the Jack Ranch Cafe - a short distance west of where Hwy 41 and 46 merge. Unless there is a specific sign at the little roadside marker mentioned in the video, I don't think it relates to James Dean. Side note: During junior high school, I used to watch James Dean and Natalie Wood when they filmed Rebel Without a Cause at a mansion near where I grew up in LA.
Sarah W. Rah that’s so cool and never heard of any witnesses to the filming of Rebel ( except the other actors) and what a privilege you had!!.. did you get close enough to meet them or just watched from a bit of a distance??...is the mansion still standing ( I take it it’s the one with the empty swimming pool Dean Jumps into messing around) be great to google earth that and visit one day?!!... nice information 👍❤️
I always thought that the tree was the location of his death. I’ve been wrong all these years.....go to know where his death actually happened.
Sarah W. Rah , I usually go birth date and accident day. I was 15 . 1955
I was born in 1956 my father named me after james dean, I have had the pleasure of being at jacks and also being in Fairmount to the grave site.
Why would he need to mention a memorial for? That's not what this video was about, so I wouldn't consider his video and research a failure by any means.
Forrest, as usual, you did a great job in detailing the events of James Dean's last day on earth. As a teenager in the mid-50's, Dean was a boyhood hero of mine and I remember wanting my mother to buy me a red jacket that summer to wear with a white t-shirt and jeans just like he did in Rebel Without a Cause.
Before Interstate 5 was completed it was normal to drive through the Central Valley farm fields to get to the Northern Calif coast. I made that drive myself several times. On September 30th at 5:45 pm the sun would have been in Dean's eyes making hard to see on coming traffic. This was just before the time change that occurs in October. This could have been another factor that created the fatal chain of events. Thank you for sharing all this information.
Going the other way the low sun should have reflected off the silver Porsche. The driver of the hefty American sedan was most likely looking up 41 to begin his turn. Dean, who was obviously flying by ground, would have covered more distance in less time than the other driver would be expecting. He most likely would have seen it as clear until a speeding car entered the picture
@e james this has floated around for years. I've never seen Anything documenting this.
The road was not widened, it was moved farther north. You can see the old Route 466 in modern pictures. A lot of other facts were wrong too.
Something I wanted to bring to your attention: reading a google review of the memorial site, a guy named Jay writes: "the actual road Dean was going west on no longer exists. On 9/30/1955 he got off 99 and took the old US 466 and was killed where it intersected with CA 41. the current CA 46 which replaced US466 was built slightly to the north and the old 466 was abandoned and since reclaimed by nature." Indeed, if you look just slightly south of the current CA 46, doesn't it look like there's an old, unmaintained path that runs parallel to the 46? Is it possible that the actual intersection is behind that barbed wire fence to the south?
at 7:47 it looks like the OLD ROAD is above the current intersection. I was at the site sunday. Near the make shift memorial, there is an OLD ROAD....all cracked up from the past....this old road runs east to west.
Very interesting. I need this to be solved
Nobody cares.
@@jaysantos536 nobody cares about your stupid comment 🙄
@@jaysantos536 you do for commenting
This is old news to those interested in this stuff but Bill Hickman was also Steve McQueen's driving coach in "Bullitt" and the guy who drove the Charger in the great car chase. Also in "The Seven Ups". You did a great job pinpointing the exact point where the crash occurred. We visited the spot over 20 years ago and the roads are so modernized now I'd recommend anyone going there to watch this first.
I kind of feel sorry for the other guy in the crash. Not only do Dean fans most likely blame him for their idol's death, but he has to go through life with the name "Turnupseed".
Johnny Quest lol unfortunate surname just asking for that pun!!!!
Be interesting to research how many "Turnupspeed" existing family names there are 😋
LOVE these Google Earth/Hollywood history stuff!!! Please do more!!!
While filming Giant, Dean also filmed a short public service announcement with actor Gig Young for the National Safety Council. It featured Dean dressed as the young "Jett Rink" talking about how driving fast on the highway can be more dangerous than racing on the track. At the end of the segment, instead of saying the catchphrase "The life you save may be your own", Dean ad-libbed the line "The life you might save might be mine". en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Death_of_James_Dean
Very well done video. Unfortunately he died slightly more south of the intersection than you show in the video. He wasn’t driving on highway 46, it wasn’t built yet. If you look at Google maps there is a flat dirt section that runs parallel to highway 46. This was on US Route 466 and the road James Dean was traveling on at the time of his death.
I was searching for this commend...
Yes, you can still see 466 that paralleled the new 46 to the South by only a few feet. So the crash spot is under the road. Just drove 46 in early August, 2002, and while a lot of 46 is 4 lane, this section is not. Maybe in another 5 years. So I usually take 101 South from Paso. But 46 should have been fixed 40 years ago. Too many people have died needlessly. The reason for so much traffic on 41 is the Avenal State prison.
Another fantastic forensic accounting of a piece of history. Your videos are truly unique and bring the viewer along on a trip thru significant events that have been truly molded into our memories. Even though I'm late in finding your channel, I hope that there are many more to come! Thank you.
Mango891 yes, there are more coming!:))
I think the old road was still visible paralleling on the north. It was common for Ca DOT to upgrade roads by building a new one next to the old one, back in the '60s.
I've been on that road many, many times. What remains of the old road parallels Rte 46 for several miles, going back east from the junction of 41 & 46. I'll put up two Google map links below, one street view that shows the old tarmac still in place on the south side of 46. The new roadway crosses over the old one at least twice (so it is on both the north and south sides of the new roadway, but it is clearly visible in the following Google Earth shot;
About 4 miles East of the accident site;
goo.gl/maps/4oTwDj9XKymWB9oy6
Street view of the same area;
goo.gl/maps/fp7Fn8oQEpAYVBmU9
The old road is there, cut into the hillside.
Excellent work ! I really enjoy historic road videos that have been well researched with photos & aerials & showing the roads "then" versus now" etc.
I live only few hours away from this site, and pretty sure it can be seen on here (i haven't been out there in several years) but you can still see small section of the old 46. And i think the memorial was placed further away because it still gets visitors so safer then the excat spot of the wreckage (i also believe it came to stop in that dirt area). But good video
RogentX It's just down the road in Cholame at least it was the last time I was there, but that was in 1981 soo maybe it's not there.
@@lilorbielilorbie2496 Oh i meant the roadside fence memorial, not the one further down road but yeah it is still there.
Rogent X That's o.k. Years ago I had a Great Aunt and Uncle who lived in Paso Robles. We would go see them every chance we got. Their daughter still lives in Atascadero. I miss them a lot. For their age they were really a hoot.
love your vids. just a friendly and subtle suggestion when utilizing the reference images: click on the ‘view image’ option so we can get the visual details you’re emphasizing for us to learn from. you’re a great presenter btw 👍🏽
Forrest you should do one on the famous "In Cold Blood" murders!!
Jim Boermer. Forrest Gump!
a few additional notes. Seed entered real early into the turn like most people would he did not slow down as if to make a sharp left turn. He was a car guy and had just passed other cars that witnessed it from behind him. As he was sort of shaving the corner by entering early he then spotted Deans low tiny car and realized he was in his lane and veered back to the right trying to avoid him and dean swerved starting the car into a spin and hit the drivers side front of seeds car and flew up and over to where it came to rest. Neither car braked. Seconds before Dean passed cars and one noted their speed of 65 because they said Dean passed them as if they were standing still and the one guy saw what was coming and wife looked up for them both to witness the crash. He also confirmed Dean never hit brakes because it happens so fast. The farmer and wife estimated car was WELL over 80 mph or faster. Seed cannot be blamed because its normal to go left while someone is coming in your direction however the car was virtually invisible combined with small size can give perspective of normal car FURTHER AWAY. also the great speed of dean. Seed did not as much hit him as in the split second he was swerving back to avoid the turn-dean swerved and was virtually sideways when he then plowed into seed. so was seed also swerving in freak out manuever.
Wrong. There are skidmarks from BOTH cars indicating that they both saw each other in the last 2 seconds before impact. Their speed by the cops was estimated about 50mph at impact. Seconds before the impact, both cars were moving faster so the skidding helped slow down the vehicles to just 50mph.
Another great job, I always think what James Dean could have done. Sad, sad story but you did a great job explaining the whole story. Thanks Forrest.
There is an original segment of Old Highway 99 still in existence. It is now a service road for rangers that runs by the 5. It is called "The Old Road" on Google Map and runs parallel to the 5 just outside of LA starting just before the Lyon's Rd exit on the 5 north bound. Ive driven that section of old highway, The medians and highway markings are clearly from another era. It runs for a few miles then there is a gate blocking further traveling Northbound. I found it neat to drive on it, no traffic, and felt a lot of nostalgia knowing that Dean drove the very highway.
I really appreciate the care you put into authenticating your information. Thanks.
Charlie Alolkoy you’re welcome. I’m happy you enjoyed it!
I've read a lot about JD and the accident. Looking at old photos and comparing them to the intersection as it is today, this video clears up a lot of questions..
Good work! I humbly disagree though with your resting place of the Porsche however. Even if Dean were only going the speed limit, the car would have gone considerably past where you speculate it ended. Odds are it was going very fast (and probably why the other guy miscalculated by making his left turn). The Porsche was hit on the left side, driver's side, was not head on impact, so it very easily could have rested where the memorial is. Thanks for the synopsis.
Nirky after further review I actually think it actually came to rest further to the left, from looking straight down, and in the new transition lane.
@@forresthaggertychannel4301 They know that Dean traveled 45 feet (roughly 3-4 car lengths) past impact point and Turnupseed traveled 36 feet-both in the general direction they were traveling. So if your impact point is correct, your stopping point is about right.
Mark Gibson : why be a prick about it.
The note on the old picture says "Hier starb James Dean" wich is German and means "James Dean died here". Thanks for the upload, great job!
"That guy's gotta See us!!!" James Deans last words before impact. It's very sad that Rolf Wutherich committed suicide because of all the so-called guilt of surviving & Dean did not.....RMA
Roger Angress He didn't commit suicide. He actually ended up getting killed in a car accident as well in 1981.
James also didn’t say that. Wütherich didn’t speak English or remember the crash.
Look online at the accident pictures. You can see a telephone pole next to his car. On google maps, you can still see a telephone pole alongside of the road in the middle section you pointed out.
Great detective work Forrest.
RUN FORREST RUN
This man's dedication to these videos is incredible
Brilliant actor.. Great video
Awesome job! I 'm planning on taking the Dean route soon, so this is invaluable.
wow i just discovered your channel, amaziing
alejandro rodriguez I’m happy you enjoyed it!:)))
From what I understand that road was actually moved over. I think that the paved area on the sides may be the old road. We see that a lot here in New Mexico, when they developed the interstate, the new roads were moved over just a bit, and you can see the original roads over on the sides. I'm not sure though, I can't quite remember where I got the information, so I might be a bit off on what I had read. Great video! I have always heard of James Dean, but it was only a few years ago that I looked into his life. Now that I'm older it really touched me how young he was. Legend.
I heard the same thing. You can see in Google maps in this video the two roads coming together right where he's describing where the accident happened. They are inside the two main roads that now exist.
Watched an interview with Alec Guinness in which he recounted meeting James Dean in the first evening of his first visit to California. James Dean showed him his car and later in the conversation, Alec Guinness said to James Dean (and he said he doesn’t know quite why he said it), if you get in that car you will be dead by this time next week. Wild.
this was outstanding presentation one question i had was it certainly seemed a heck of a long distance from the gas station through the desert to the wreck point i'm surprised that little spider had a fuel tank big enough to make it that far especially if he was leadfooting it on the throttle
brewcrew They were breaking in the engine. He wasn’t leadfooting. It’s a 3.5 hours and they refueled in Blackwells
That area is not desert.
There is a gas station/truck stop at Blackwell Corners.
Great video maker! Great editing! I think you may be wrong, I think indeed he was hit right where the memorial shows, before Turnipseed hit him. You can see by the 1955 photo, with the cop over on the side of the road, that there were skid marks on JD's side of the road, indicating that Turnipseed was over the yellow line, but the skid marks actually start on Turnipseeds side of the road, which indicates that JD was on the wrong side of the road, and that Turnipseed may have pulled the wheel to the left after braking, moving the skid out of his lane into JD's lane, as an avoidance move, (or if his brakes weren't adjusted correctly, or if a tire were low, the car may not skid straight forward,) but that at the last moment, he pulled it back to the right with the sudden stop of the skid mark showing the exact impact moment and placement, which corresponds exactly with the memorial.
It is good that you are analyzing the skid marks, but you made a small mistake. Turnupseed's skidmarks that started on Turnupseed's side of the road were made by his REAR tires, not his front tires. This changes everything in your analyzations. JD was never in Turnupseed's lane.
@@allanholder1018 Interesting. Hardly recall this post, will have to look at the video again. But, if the back tires made the skid marks, that should indicate he may have deployed the emergency brakes rather than stepping on the brake pedal.
Thank you
James Dean was the first real cool guy.
Check out the tribute song "James Dean" by the Eagles where they use lines like "a bad refrigerator" and "Just too cool for school".
Dean Martin
The real cool guy...is obama...😍
@MrTruboy Yeah, and if he didn't stop off at West Hollywood to have a "Dumpster Pump" with Rolf he might have avoided the fatal accident!
@MrTruboy Yet here you are, watching a video about him ya prick.
Love your videos. Maybe do one about the Bonnie and clyde ambush site in Louisiana. I've been there and it would make a awsome video.
Very good analysis. Dean's house on Sutton street was a log house, now demolished.
Great research! My feeling is that the memorial is where it's at due to being a safer location for those wishing to pay roadside respect. cool vid!
Memorials are put out of the way to avoid accidents. Same with the Bonnie and Clyde memorial.
Forrest should do the last week in the lives of Bonnie and Clyde and the location of their death.
The old road was where the right lane of 41 is now, closest to the fence. So the memorial is in the place where the Porsche ended up.There are overhead photos taken for Wütherich's lawsuit that show the configuration at the time of the crash.
Wanted to add on the old overhead photo (Wütherich's) you can see the original intersection was just west of the wash, the gray area running to the north. That shows that the existing lane closest to the fence is where the old road was. The Y intersection was changed to the way it is now because it was dangerous.
Outstanding research. It makes the story even more mysterious. I never knew the details of that day. I suppose old county maps would show the exact intersection (spot of impact) and where the car ended up. Good points on the width of the roads back then as compared to today. Another poster pointed out that if the spots you narrowed down to are in fact the correct areas, it could put someone else in danger of an accident due to curiosity. Be careful folks! I think there should be TWO stops signs to slow everyone down at the intersection.
Well done. Some items: 1) There is no such thing as a "porsh". The name of the car is pronounced "Por-Shuh". 2) I have a book on Dean that shows his route as 101 north to Hwy 46 west. I have been both ways. The route you show would probably be right. A lot less conspicuous, two lanes, would have allowed them to run at higher speeds. I-5 didn't yet exist. 3) He did get a second ticket somewhere along the way. Years ago Blackwell's Corner had a facsimile (pre photo copy) of it on the wall with many pictures. 4) Your second pronounciation of Lance Reventlow's name is the correct one. 5) Your descriptions of the intersection as it was then is also correct. 6) A number of years ago I took the route on one of the anniversary's of his death. I timed it to get to the intersection at about the same time as the crash. In addition to getting a really creepy feeling as I went thru there, the sun was really low. He would have been looking right into it which is a factor no one has ever brought up. 7) I have seen car magazines of the time which show his car as having gone off to the left, stopping in a farmer's field behind a barbed wire fence. 8) The mother of my ex-fiance was an emergency room nurse at the Paso Robles hospital. Years later, before her death, she revealed to the family that she was on duty that night. Contrary to the rumors he had faked his death, the government had taken him prisoner because of his affect on teenagers, etc, she said she saw his body and he was 100 percent dead. 9) Despite the improvements to the intersection fatal accidents, most commonly vehicles turning left from 46 onto 41, continue. Each time there are calls to put a freeway thru there.
@@jam9297 Porsche(por-sha) is the name of the family who first designed & developed the Volkswagen, then Porsche cars. They are actually a design firm whose work can be seen in varied form through out the world, from Yashica cameras to water-cooled Harley-Davidson engines. I'm sure you would not like someone butchering your last name.
Why would the mother of your ex fiancé keep it a secret till before her death. How bizarre. Are you sure she wasn't suffering dementia? I find her confession hard to believe. She would have been talking about it well before then. Did someone pay her to keep silent for some reason?
Your explanation to where his car ended up made more sense, back then I don’t know how they could have miscalculated the location, I’m sure there were skid marks to show where the spider landed and I bet if someone went out there with a metal detector, there’s a possibility of some small debris that was never picked up!
Great presentation and research. Really interesting.
how great presentation is that? he can't pronounce fucking Porsche !
he can check RUclips in a second ....,how the Porsche porununce ton of video is here !
and same ....with location names .....
he does not care all off them how their names spell....
I don't know why care for making fucking RUclips videos ?!
nice to know his details for that day. he did a lot if driving and may have been pretty fatigued and with that strange intersection. i don’t think it was his fault. Turnipseed should have seen him. rip, James Dean.
We have been in the cemetery twice, Fairmount, IN we went to the 2 car shows held every year in his memory. The James Dean run in Fairmount and the Duck Tail in Gas City, IN.Both are held at the end of Sep. After attending each 6 times since 1991 I would luv to go back again, they are wonderful shows and swap meets.
I forgot to mention the wonderful museum in Fairmount, It is dedicated to J-D with pictures, info, and movie artifacts. Located in a old home over 100 years old.... A must see if you go to Fairmount.
Bill Hickman drove the Charger in Bullitt.
Great job. A little context for what it's worth. Locals refer to the intersection as the "Cholame Y" and the "Robles" of Paso Robles is pronounced "Ro-Bulls" not "Ro-Bless"
He was alive. He died in the second accident in the ambulance on way to the hospital.
That's something I hadn't heard and quite possible. Though if you know anyone working in hospitals where and when death is pronounced many times gets skewed to maintain statistics.
This is crazy, yesterday night l was thinking about him and today the first thing l see in You Tube is this..... RIP James Dean🙏
I appreciate your videos. I've seen quite a few of them. You put a lot of effort into these.
After filling up at the gas station (near his home) Dean most likely drove on Route 99, out of Los Angeles, since the 5 freeway did not exist at the time. Route 99 ran from the southern border to Washington state. The only other route headed north to Salinas was the coast route 101.
Route 466 (46 today) ran from Morro Bay to Kingman, Arizona. It was the first road to cross the Boulder (Hoover) Dam.
this is not the house where he lived. The address is correct but the original house had been demolished and a new McMansion is in its place. But a great video nonetheless!!!! Really enjoyed watching it
Excellent research and video. I've been past there many times - it's solemn. I wonder though about where Dean's car actually landed. If they were "breaking in" the engine (very, very plausible - especially on such a straight strip oh highway), how fast WAS he going? The kid likely was not good enough with his depth perception (being a younger driver) and simply thought he could make it (how many friends I've lost on bikes for the same reason?). That said; Dean also was headed West, at sundown, and likely also missed the kid - either due to the sun or watching his instruments.
Either way, the world lost an important figure that day - for reasons we can only hypothesize on. You really did do an excellent job on this video. Thank you.
His car couldn't have stopped inside the dirt patch, because he was travelling at a very high speed and you can see from the picture that the Porsche was hit in the side, probably Dean was trying to avoid the collision by passing in front of the incoming car. It must have gone much farther than this patch of dirt. Great video though! Would love to see more like this one!
I drove that road, same time of day, 11 years to the day later. the sun was almost at road level right into Dean's eyes. he would have had difficulty seeing ahead of him.
At the estimated speed Dean was covering 140feet every second.
ONE FOOTBALL FIELD EVERY TWO SECONDS. (From tine of day of the receipt for the food stop to TOD of the accident and the distance between those 2 points it was concluded ~95mph..
The legal limit in 1966 was 45mph - 66ft/sec. How long dies it take to complete a turn at the "legal speed" and when you look at on coming traffic, YOU expect cars coming at you do be doing the limit.
When the guy looked ahead and started his turn - Dean SEEMED to be far enuf away (several seconds at 66ft/sec)
If Dean HAD NOT BEEN SPEEDING the guy could have safely made the turn!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
@M Detlef A football field in the USA is 300 feet long! 100 yards (10 - ten yard segments)!!. That's why the best seats in the stadium are on the FIFTY yard line - center of the field.
Where did you go to school and did you make it past 4th grade? DUMBASS ASS ASS ASS!
@M Detlef PS at 140ft/sec it is slightly more than 2 seconds for a 100 yard distance. 2.143 seconds to be precise lest the numbers cops be upset like the kybd fuzz. SCC4B.
You really did your research for this video. It's very thorough.
Judging by the pictures of the accident seen the memorial is the more likely place that the car came to rest. The car was by the fence and telephone poll. The location you suggest had no fence or pole. Also the speed of which he was probably going would probably made it very unlikely that Deans car would have stopped so close to the impact.
Why was Turnupseed not arrested? Surely that was man slaughter? It was a long straight road, how could he not see a car coming in the opposite direction. Love your channel, greetings from the UK.
Forrest Haggerty @11:45 If they put the mark where dean's car landed after the accident...then, it's probably the correct spot. It was a huge incident. So many people went there immidiately and know where the actual spot the car end up. And made vigil on the spot. If they put the spot on wrong location ...so many would have contested it by now. And why would they change the spot anyway? Dean's car was so small and lightweight and was travelling aproximitely 65 to 75 miles per hour. That's very fast. Given the right circumstances, it could have flown, roll and skid much further than where the spot is right now. Just my opinion by the way. I do however, appreciate you posting this. I travel along I-5 many times and only knew the general area of the accident but never knew the actual location. You did outstanding work...Thanks!
It’s weird RUclips suggested this video. I know the whole crash story but in the past couple of years, I hadn’t really came across anything regarding James Dean. But then literally in the past few weeks I’ve been seeing things about him randomly. At a toy store I saw what I believe was the same toy model car he drove along with the same number on the side so that got me thinking of him. Then at my local Denny’s, there’s a painting of James at a roadside gas station just hanging out smoking a cigarette next to the porche. I had not even gone to that Denny’s in years and I found myself there twice recently explaining to different friends who James Dean was. Now this video came up and I had not remotely watched anything in connection to him. Weird.
Fun fact: I myself am from Salinas so that explains why our Denny’s has a James Dean painting :)
Go into the cafe in Cholame. It has the real facts.
And if you don't get it there, go to Paladins. I'm a south county (King City) native.
As a drag racer it's still common today to drive your race car to the track to break in the rings.
About 20 years ago I had a fresh set of C&A moly "gapless" rings in the engine and they just didn't want to seat. Drove 120miles to the track but got rained out. On the trip home not even 1 mile from the house I noticed a change in tone from the exhaust. The throttle felt twice as responsive. Did the "michigan left" where you turn into the u-turn from left lane to go opposite direction on boulevard style road then approach your turn and in this case turn right into neighborhood (hence the michigan left, and yeah it sounds a little goofy). It was after the turnaround when I snapped that throttle open and Bang Wow!
The rings seated felt like another 200 horsepower!
Rest in Peace James Dean.
i disagree with your opinion o the resting site of the spyder. if what I assume is correct, dean was hauling ass. that little porche would've ended up much further down the road, no disrespect
New investigation with new technology put his speed at only 70mph
@Lloyd Bonafide that car was comletely stock exept for the paint and had an absolute maximum speed of 124. So 138 is incorrect
@@GrkG63 no they proved that he was doing 59 miles per hour.
I believe the fence marker/memorial is correct.
I agree that he must have been very fast and the impact with the other car could have catapultet him much further. I enjoyed this video very much. Well researched.
Wow super informative, great research with historical photos! What else have you done? Thanks
Great work. Enjoy your vids very much.
QuickPitch I’m happy you enjoy them! :)))
Hwy. 46 is one of the deadliest highways in CA. In recent years it has been widened to 4 lanes most of the way to Paso from I5 which has reduced the death toll dramatically. RIP JD
That doesn't surprise me. So many people make dangerous passes there. I haven't been on either 41 or 46 for some time but I used to travel on it somewhat regularly. I lost count of the number of near misses I saw, all because some idiot got impatient and tried to pass five cars at once or pass on a blind hill/corner.
People are just plain stupid sometimes. I have seen many an accident and even a few fatalities near Blackwells. It kinda ruins everyone's day.
Lance Reventlow was heir to the F.W. Woolworth fortune.
Lance Reventlow was the heir to the Woolworth fortune, raced cars, etc.
He was killed in a plane crash years later, 1972, age 36.
Good video. There are pictures of Turnipseed's Ford sitting at roughly a 45 to the intersection. It was totally mangled from the firewall forward. The worst of the damage was on the left side of the vehicle.
Some pictures also show Dean's car in a dirt shoulder next to a wire fence. The brunt of the damage was also along the entire left side.
After seeing this I am sort of confused. I remember reading the police accounts that Turnipseed said he didn't see Dean because of the sun. Unless I'm totally daft the sun should have been at Turnipseed's back. 49 Fords weren't heavy cars, but they were pretty stout. Dean was probably driving way too fast in a small silver bullet. In this case driver error on both sides.
Turnipseed could have had the sunset in his mirrors at that exact moment
Tanjay Miller. True. His car wasn't totally stock. Day/night mirrors were rare back then. Since his car wasn't totally stock it could have had dual exterior mirrors also. I'm going to do some playing later.
If you pause at 7:29 you can see the sun sets behind Turnipseed's direction. I was blinded really bad at sunrise out here where I live. Even with my visor down and sunglasses on. I could hardly see the lines on the shoulder for about 5 mins.
Tanjay Miller. Makes sense. I'm half a country away. In looking at Turnipseeds car it looks like there might have been a left mirror. The right side isn't shown. Given that the car had skirts, 55 Pontiac chrome, two-tone paint dual mirrors aren't out of question.
Thank you for the sun factor.
Dean's car rode very low. With the silver color, it would have blended into the road that had an upward slope, at least in the distance, and was dusty. Easy to miss an unusually low-slung car coming at you fast, especially when you are riding up high and are used to other cars with a high profile. As for the sun, it could have been momentary blindness or distraction by Turnipseed from his mirrors or reflections or anything, the sun would have been at a very low angle behind him.
Excellent videos with very extensive descriptions. How about doing one for Grace Kelly's accident and proximity to film To Catch a thief locations very close.. more videos please.
No shout out to the Jack Ranch Cafe?
Indeed, good steaks, good photos of Marilyn Monroe and others and of course the memorial by the Japanese fan.
Jack ranch at the time was a great place.
The spot where the "memorial site' is, could well be the actual area where James Dean's car ended up. If he was travelling at a high rate of speed, the car would have travelled a lot further than the spot being suggested in the video; When a car collides at high speed with another object or vehicle, it doesn't come to a sudden stop or travel a few yards, but carries on for quite some distance before coming to rest.
you do such wonderful videos!!! you are clear, easy to follow, and your content is always interesting. Thank you, I used to live in Bel Air and your videos take me back! The westside changes but stays the same, I love it there.
How can the picture of James Dean "that was the last picture taken of him, " be signed by him?
Pudge good question. I don’t know. Obviously he couldn’t sign it so it’s either a fake signature or it wasn’t his last photo.
Pudge well obviously fake then... the signature not the photo
+Pudge> He was a ghost writer!
it was not signed. it just says "hier starb james dean" which is German for "here died james dean".
Interesting theory of the crash location. Assuming the road was adjusted to its current location as you hypothesize, there could be property records involving the land transfer from the prior owner to the government entity that controls the road. If so, these records could offer further proof and details of the specific crash location.
Thanks for this great video. By comparing street view and the old pictures I have the impression that the transition lane was the actual road back then. If so then the memorial would be at the exact right spot.
musicfan 2000 I could be wrong, but I’m fairly certain that transition lane wasn’t there in 1955. If you find any information saying it was please let me know.
Take a look at the website "discover central california/james dean memorial in cholame". They compare the photograph from the wreckage with the one from the memorial now and the hills in the background match exactly. Also note that the angle in the old photos only seems to be almost 90 degrees on the first look. If you look closely the angle is not that steep because the road and especially its depth and lenght does not seem to be rightly represented in the old pictures.
musicfan 2000 you may be correct! Very possible!
musicfan 2000 when I line up the center of both roads using google earth I still have him landing in the triangle at the center of the intersection. However, with what you shared with me it seems to be a little further west and south of the transition lane.
I just found another video on youtube called „James Dean Car Accident“ in which they overlay an old and a new photograph. Then they recreate the whole accident and if you compare the overview of this professional animation it matches perfectly with the transition lane in Google Earth.
You're spot on about where dean died.
Excellent research! I think you're spot on in your estimate of the Porsche's resting place.
You're an idiot. I'm a native of that area.
I totally agree, that the spot where James Dean died is in the middle of that land Island.
Thanks for a really interesting vid. I was born in 1955 and I was always under the impression that he more or less committed suicide by crashing at high speed. Thanks for your research.