Men's Fashion by the amazing Ryan Liang of SHANTOMMO. Shop the fashions at shantommo.com.

You can also follow Shantommo on instagram at: www.instagram.com/shantommo/

James Dean (James Dean—American Legend ™ by Mattel) as Repainted and added hair that was also restyled for www.myfarrah.com by Noel Cruz of www.ncruz.com.

Featured in these photos are the Barbie Coca-Cola Soda Fountain Limited Edition and Silkstone Barbie The Waitress - (Gold Label) The Waitress Barbie® doll was designed by Robert Best.

More repainted art by Noel Cruz are featured in the 1Sixth Winter Hardbound Edition available in Hardback/imagewrap or paperback cover. Also as a PDF or eBook. Order here: www.blurb.com/b/9320555-1sixth

eBook: www.blurb.com/b/9320555-1sixth?ebook=690084

Photos by Steve McKinnis of stevemckinnis.com

which is the evil one?

[explored]

For those who knew this a year ago, I went back to the original file for a newer version. Knowing more about Photoshop, I was able to create a much better crop of the photo with better grain and contrast.

British postcard in the Picturegoer Series, no. D 780. Photo: Warner Bros. Julie Harris and James Dean in East of Eden (Elia Kazan, 1955). Collection: Marlene Pilaete.

American actor James Dean (1931-1955) was the quintessential 1950s teenager, brooding and romantic. An air of androgyny attributed to his iconic appeal to both men and women. The three roles that defined his stardom are as troubled teenager Jim Stark in Rebel Without a Cause (1955), loner Cal Trask in East of Eden (1955) and surly ranch hand Jett Rink in Giant (1956). After he died in a car crash, the only 24-year-old Dean became the first actor to receive a posthumous Academy Award nomination for Best Actor.

James Byron Dean was born in 1931, in Marion, Indiana, the only child of Winton Dean and Mildred Marie Wilson. Six years after his father had left farming to become a dental technician, Dean and his family moved to Santa Monica, California. In 1938, his mother was suddenly struck with acute stomach pain and quickly began to lose weight. She died of uterine cancer when Dean was nine years old. Unable to care for his son, Dean's father sent him to live with his aunt and uncle, Ortense and Marcus Winslow, on their farm in Fairmount, Indiana, where he was raised in their Quaker household. Dean's overall performance in school was exceptional and he was a popular student. He played on the baseball and varsity basketball teams, studied drama, and competed in public speaking through the Indiana High School Forensic Association. After graduating from Fairmount High School in May 1949, he moved back to California with his dog, Max, to live with his father and stepmother. He enrolled in Santa Monica College (SMC) and majored in pre-law. He transferred to UCLA for one semester and changed his major to drama, which resulted in estrangement from his father. While at UCLA, Dean was picked from a group of 350 actors to portray Malcolm in Macbeth. At that time, he also began acting in James Whitmore's workshop. In January 1951, he dropped out of UCLA to pursue a full-time career as an actor. Dean's first television appearance was in a Pepsi Cola commercial His first speaking part was as John the Beloved Disciple, in Hill Number One (1951), an Easter television special dramatizing the Resurrection of Jesus. Dean subsequently obtained three walk-on roles in films: as a soldier in Samuel Fuller’s moody study of a platoon in the Korean War, Fixed Bayonets! (Samuel Fuller, 1951), a boxing cornerman in the Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis comedy Sailor Beware (Hal Walker, 1952), and a youth in the comedy Has Anybody Seen My Gal? (Douglas Sirk, 1952) with Rock Hudson. While struggling to get jobs in Hollywood, Dean also worked as a parking lot attendant at CBS Studios. During that time, he met Rogers Brackett, a radio director for an advertising agency, who offered him professional help and guidance in his chosen career, as well as a place to stay. In July 1951, Dean appeared on Alias Jane Doe, which was produced by Brackett. In October 1951, Dean moved to New York City. There, he worked as a stunt tester for the game show Beat the Clock, but was subsequently fired for allegedly performing the tasks too quickly. He also appeared in episodes of several CBS television series The Web, Studio One, and Lux Video Theatre, before gaining admission to the Actors Studio to study method acting under Lee Strasberg. There, he was classmates and close friends with Carroll Baker, alongside whom he would eventually star in Giant (George Stevens, 1956). Dean's career picked up and he performed in further episodes of several early 1950s television. One early role, for the CBS series Omnibus in the episode Glory in the Flower (1953), saw Dean portraying the type of disaffected youth he would later portray in Rebel Without a Cause. Positive reviews for Dean's 1954 theatrical role as Bachir, the blackmailing Arab house boy, in an adaptation of André Gide's book The Immoralist, led to calls from Hollywood.

In 1954, James Dean was cast in the emotionally complex role of 'Cal Trask' in East of Eden (Elia Kazan, 1955), an adaptation of John Steinbeck's 1952 novel East of Eden. The lengthy novel deals with the story of the Trask and Hamilton families throughout three generations, focusing especially on the lives of the latter two generations in Salinas Valley, California, from the mid-19th century through the 1910s. In contrast to the book, the film script focused on the last portion of the story, predominantly with the character of Cal. Though he initially seems more aloof and emotionally troubled than his twin brother Aron (Richard Davalos), Cal is soon seen to be more worldly, business savvy, and even sagacious than their pious and constantly disapproving father (Raymond Massey) who seeks to invent a vegetable refrigeration process. Cal is bothered by the mystery of their supposedly dead mother, and discovers she is still alive and a brothel-keeping 'madam'; the part was played by actress Jo Van Fleet. Much of Dean's performance in the film was unscripted, including his dance in the bean field and his fetal-like posturing while riding on top of a train boxcar (after searching out his mother in nearby Monterey). The most famous improvisation of the film occurs when Cal's father rejects his gift of $5,000, money Cal earned by speculating in beans before the US became involved in World War I. Instead of running away from his father as the script called for, Dean instinctively turned to Massey and in a gesture of extreme emotion, lunged forward and grabbed him in a full embrace, crying. Kazan kept this and Massey's shocked reaction in the film. Wikipedia: “Dean's performance in the film foreshadowed his role as Jim Stark in Rebel Without A Cause. Both characters are angst-ridden protagonists and misunderstood outcasts, desperately craving approval from their fathers.” In recognition of his performance in East of Eden, Dean was nominated posthumously for the 1956 Academy Awards as Best Actor in a Leading Role of 1955, the first official posthumous acting nomination in Academy Awards history. East of Eden was the only film starring Dean that he would see released in his lifetime.

James Dean quickly followed up his role in Eden with a starring role as the brooding red-jacketed teenager Jim Stark in Rebel Without a Cause (Nicholas Ray, 1955) with Sal Mineo and Natalie Wood. The film depicts the dilemma of a typical teenager of the time, who feels that no one, not even his peers, can understand him. The film scrupulously follows the classic theatrical disciplines, telling all within 24 hours. Jim Stark was Dean’s true starring role and Rebel Without a Cause proved to be hugely popular among teenagers. The landmark juvenile-delinquent drama fixed James Dean’s image forever in American culture. In his next film, Giant (George Stevens, 1956), Dean played a supporting role to Elizabeth Taylor and Rock Hudson. This was due to his desire to avoid being typecast as a rebellious teenager like Cal Trask or Jim Stark. In the film, he plays Jett Rink, a Texan ranch hand who strikes oil and becomes wealthy. His role was notable in that, to portray an older version of his character in the film's later scenes, Dean dyed his hair grey and shaved some of it off to give himself a receding hairline. Giant would prove to be Dean's last film. At the end of the film, Dean is supposed to make a drunken speech at a banquet; this is nicknamed the 'Last Supper' because it was the last scene before his sudden death. Due to his desire to make the scene more realistic by actually being inebriated for the take, Dean mumbled so much that director George Stevens decided the scene had to be overdubbed by Nick Adams, who had a small role in the film because Dean had died before the film was edited. Dean received his second posthumous Best Actor Academy Award nomination for his role in Giant at the 29th Academy Awards in 1957 for films released in 1956.

Today, James Dean is often considered an icon because of his perceived experimental take on life, which included his ambivalent sexuality. Most of his so-called affairs with various starlets were made up by the Warner Brothers' public relations. Dean's best-remembered relationship was with young Italian actress Pier Angeli, whom he met while Angeli was shooting The Silver Chalice (1955) on an adjoining Warner lot, and with whom he exchanged items of jewellery as love tokens. Angeli's mother disapproved of Dean. After finishing his role for East of Eden, he took a brief trip to New York in October 1954. While he was away, Angeli unexpectedly announced her engagement to Italian-American singer Vic Damone. The press was shocked and Dean expressed his irritation. Angeli married Damone the following month. Dean also dated Swiss actress Ursula Andress. She was seen with Dean in his sports cars and was with him on the day he bought the car that he died in. The Gay Times Readers' Awards cited him as the greatest male gay icon of all time. Dean’s ambiguous relationship with Sal Mineo in the angst-ridden Rebel Without A Cause has led many to speculate and view this golden-age film as years ahead of its time. When questioned about his sexual orientation, Dean is reported to have said, "No, I am not a homosexual. But I'm also not going to go through life with one hand tied behind my back." Dean, with time on his side during down times of filming, often frequented gay bars in mornings, afternoons and evenings in both Hollywood, Studio City and North Hollywood. He and screenwriter and theatre student from UCLA, William Bast lived together as roommates for several years. Bast later became Dean's first biographer and said he and Dean ‘experimented’ sexually. Journalist Joe Hyams suggests that any gay activity Dean might have been involved in appears to have been strictly "for trade", as a means of advancing his career. However, the ‘trade only’ notion is contradicted by Bast and other Dean biographers. Biographer Val Holley: “There's been quite an evolution in the thinking since Dean died in 1955, moving from ‘James Dean was straight’ to ‘Dean had sex with men but only to advance his career’ to ‘Dean had sex with women but only to advance his career.’ In 2016, a new gossipy biography was published, James Dean: Tomorrow Never Comes, by Darwin Porter and Danforth Prince. The authors claim Dean was in love with Marlon Brando and the two would had a long affair with S&M overtones. We may never know for certain if Dean identified as gay, straight, or bisexual, but, regardless, what he’s come to represent still resonates with many LGBT audiences.

In 1954, James Dean became interested in developing an auto racing career. He purchased various vehicles after filming for East of Eden had concluded, including a Triumph Tiger T110 and a Porsche 356. Just before filming began on Rebel Without a Cause, he competed in his first professional event at the Palm Springs Road Races, which was held in Palm Springs, California on March 26–27, 1955. Dean achieved first place in the novice class and second place at the main event. His racing continued in Bakersfield a month later, where he finished first in his class and third overall. Dean hoped to compete in the Indianapolis 500, but his busy schedule made it impossible. Dean's final race occurred in Santa Barbara on Memorial Day, 30 May 1955. He was unable to finish the competition due to a blown piston. His brief career was put on hold when Warner Brothers barred him from all racing during the production of Giant. Dean had finished shooting his scenes and the movie was in post-production when he decided to race again. Dean was scheduled to compete at a racing event in Salinas, California on 30 September 1955. Accompanying the actor to the occasion was stunt coordinator Bill Hickman, Collier's photographer Sanford Roth, and Rolf Wütherich, the German mechanic from the Porsche factory who maintained Dean's Porsche 550 Spyder "Little Bastard" car. Wütherich, who had encouraged Dean to drive the car from Los Angeles to Salinas to break it in, accompanied Dean in the Porsche. At 3:30 p.m. Dean was ticketed for speeding, as was Hickman who was following behind in another car. As the group travelled to the event via U.S. Route 466, (currently SR 46) at approximately 5:15 p.m. a 1950 Ford Tudor was passing through an intersection while turning, ahead of the Porsche. Dean, unable to stop in time, slammed into the driver's side of the Ford resulting in Dean's car bouncing across the pavement onto the side of the highway. Dean's passenger, Wütherich, was thrown from the Porsche, while Dean was trapped in the car and sustained numerous fatal injuries, including a broken neck. The driver of the Ford, Donald Turnupseed, exited his damaged vehicle with minor injuries. Dean was pronounced dead on arrival shortly after he arrived by ambulance at the Paso Robles War Memorial Hospital at 6:20 p.m. The Failure Analysis Associates later reconstructed and recreated all details of the accident and concluded that James Dean was travelling 55 to 56 mph when the fateful accident occurred, thereby proving he had not been speeding, as rumour had it. Ed Stephan at IMDb: “At age 24, James Dean was killed almost immediately from the impact of a broken neck. His very brief career, violent death and highly publicized funeral transformed him into a cult object of apparently timeless fascination.”

Sources: Hal Erickson (AllMovie), Ed Stephan (IMDb), Daniel Bates (Daily Mail), Towleroad, Wikipedia, and IMDb.

And, please check out our blog European Film Star Postcards.

James Dean and Rock Hudson repainted and styled with hair added by artist Noel Cruz of ncruz.com wearing pajamas and robes by an ebay seller: www.ebay.com/str/markc1118shomemadedollclothes.

Noel's repainted Celebrities are featured in the 1Sixth (1sixth.co) Winter Hardbound Edition available in Hardback/imagewrap or paperback cover.

Check out the 1sixth.co site, all things Farrah & Regent Miniatures at 1sixth.co

& the first issue is up and available of 1sixth Magazine www.blurb.com/b/8447547-1-sixth

Magazines and books that feature photos from this account and 1Sixth.co (1sixth.co) & 1SixthWorld.com (1sixthworld.com) are available for order through Blurb.

Click this www.blurb.com/user/smckinnis for those books/magazines and ebooks. They are also available on iTunes.

Photos by Steve McKinnis of stevemckinnis.com

Hollywood, California

Previously the 1929 Mandarin Market.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=CF2ekajIY7M

Mercury Eight Coupe (1949-51) Engine 255 cu in (4200cc) Flathead V8

Registitration Number UU 3009 (Age related number, originally to be allocated from London)

MERCURY SET

www.flickr.com/photos/45676495@N05/sets/72157623795938010...

Mercurys first post war design released in 1949, looked ulta modern compared to the pre-war offerings. Almost immeadiatly customisers saw the potential of its sleek lines and started chopping, channelling, frenching, smoothing and using every other custom trick in the book. Epitomised in this Lead Sled.

This car is mildly customised in a simular manner to the 1949 Mercury depicted in the seminal James Dean film, Rebel Without a Cause

Though Rebel Without a Cause s considered by some to be the most memorable appearance of the Mercury Eight in a movie, versions have also appeared in American Graffiti (1973), Badlands (1973), Grease (1978), A Christmas Story 2 (2012), Cobra (1986) Thuderbolt and Lightfoot (1974) and in cartoon form as Sheriff in Cars.

a 1949 Mercury was mentioned in the lyrics of the songs Mercury Blues by K. C. Douglas and later covered by the Steve Miller Band, Alan Jackson and David Lindley. and in Bruce Springsteens Cadillac Ranch

Diolch am olygfa anhygoel, 63,680,390 oblogaeth y Lloegr honno dros y Mynyddoedd

Thanks for a stonking 63,680,390 views

Shot 01.01.2018 at Brooklands, Weybridge, Surrey Ref 132-145

All things 1/Sixth scale in the Regent Miniatures Mansion with repainted ooak celebrity dolls by Noel Cruz such as Diana Ross, Lucille Ball, Desi Arnaz, Farrah Fawcett and more! New Issue for Winter 2021 of 1Sixth Magazine up next! See more at 1sixth.co available on iTunes at books.apple.com/us/book/id1451386070

Featured is Leslie Odom Jr.'s 2020 The Christmas Album.

Noel's repainted Celebrities are featured in the 1Sixth (1sixth.co) Winter Hardbound Edition available in Hardback/imagewrap or paperback cover.

Check out the 1sixth.co site, all things Farrah & Regent Miniatures at 1sixth.co

& the first issue is up and available of 1sixth Magazine www.blurb.com/b/8447547-1-sixth

Facebook

tumblr farrahlenifawcett.tumblr.com/

pinterest www.pinterest.com/myfarrah/

Join Farrah on Instagram at instagram.com/farrahlfawcett

Magazines and books that feature photos from this account and 1Sixth.co (1sixth.co) & 1SixthWorld.com (1sixthworld.com) are available for order through Blurb.

Click this www.blurb.com/user/smckinnis for those books/magazines and ebooks. They are also available on iTunes.

1. Flickr FarrahF My Best So Far-rah www.blurb.com/b/9878133-flickr-favorites

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3. 1Sixth Winter Edition (Hardbound Book) www.blurb.com/b/9320555-1sixth

4. 1Sixth Winter Edition (Magazine Version with Elizabeth Taylor Cover) www.blurb.com/b/9282662-1sixth

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Photos by Steve McKinnis of stevemckinnis.com

Gay Pride Parade, Seattle, 2011.

Image of James Dean on the rear of the FFB&T building. It was for years the Citizens Exchange Bank and gained fame for being robbed by John Dillinger.

model: Adam Moss

you can see all the set here:

www.flickr.com/photos/dch_imaging/sets/72157627205309947/

Spring is definitely here:-)

Another old shot that I've been meaning to process forever, and just now got around to. Don't you just love rainy days? This one gave me that cinematic feel from the beginning, and reminds me of James Dean for some reason, so that's what I named it. Hope you all enjoy, and please view on black.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=Soa3gO7tL-c

film d'Elia Kazan

James Dean and Rock Hudson repainted and styled with hair added by artist Noel Cruz of ncruz.com wearing pajamas and robes by an ebay seller: www.ebay.com/str/markc1118shomemadedollclothes .

Noel's repainted Celebrities are featured in the 1Sixth (1sixth.co) Winter Hardbound Edition available in Hardback/imagewrap or paperback cover.

Check out the 1sixth.co site, all things Farrah & Regent Miniatures at 1sixth.co

& the first issue is up and available of 1sixth Magazine www.blurb.com/b/8447547-1-sixth

Magazines and books that feature photos from this account and 1Sixth.co (1sixth.co) & 1SixthWorld.com (1sixthworld.com) are available for order through Blurb.

Click this www.blurb.com/user/smckinnis for those books/magazines and ebooks. They are also available on iTunes.

Photos by Steve McKinnis of stevemckinnis.com

universoplastico.blogspot.com/2010/08/timeless-treasures-...

Auckland New Zealand city lights

more images and items from my collection at my blogspot page:

www.ajaxallpurpose.blogspot.com/

ww.facebook.com/christian.montone/

Hasselblad 500 C/M. Photo by Micah McCoy.

Mural in a room, off the main eating area, of this drive in. This place is wonderfully decorated throughout the interior and has great neon on the outside. Oh, and the hamburgers and fries are terrific.

There is interesting integration between the picture and the room and furniture.

The Men's bathroom even has excellent painted portraits of James Dean and Johnny Cash.

www.flickr.com/photos/138983880@N03/26309324583/in/photol...

Dutch postcard. Photo: Warner Bros.

American actor James Dean (1931-1955) was the quintessential 1950s teenager, brooding and romantic. An air of androgyny attributed to his iconic appeal to both men and women. The three roles that defined his stardom are as troubled teenager Jim Stark in Rebel Without a Cause (1955), loner Cal Trask in East of Eden (1955) and surly ranch hand Jett Rink in Giant (1956). After his death in a car crash, the only 24-yers-old Dean became the first actor to receive a posthumous Academy Award nomination for Best Actor.

James Byron Dean was born in 1931, in Marion, Indiana, the only child of Winton Dean and Mildred Marie Wilson. Six years after his father had left farming to become a dental technician, Dean and his family moved to Santa Monica, California. In 1938, his mother was suddenly struck with acute stomach pain and quickly began to lose weight. She died of uterine cancer when Dean was nine years old. Unable to care for his son, Dean's father sent him to live with his aunt and uncle, Ortense and Marcus Winslow, on their farm in Fairmount, Indiana, where he was raised in their Quaker household. Dean's overall performance in school was exceptional and he was a popular student. He played on the baseball and varsity basketball teams, studied drama, and competed in public speaking through the Indiana High School Forensic Association. After graduating from Fairmount High School in May 1949, he moved back to California with his dog, Max, to live with his father and stepmother. He enrolled in Santa Monica College (SMC) and majored in pre-law. He transferred to UCLA for one semester and changed his major to drama, which resulted in estrangement from his father. While at UCLA, Dean was picked from a group of 350 actors to portray Malcolm in Macbeth. At that time, he also began acting in James Whitmore's workshop. In January 1951, he dropped out of UCLA to pursue a full-time career as an actor. Dean's first television appearance was in a Pepsi Cola commercial His first speaking part was as John the Beloved Disciple, in Hill Number One (1951), an Easter television special dramatizing the Resurrection of Jesus. Dean subsequently obtained three walk-on roles in films: as a soldier in Samuel Fuller’s moody study of a platoon in the Korean War, Fixed Bayonets! (Samuel Fuller, 1951), a boxing cornerman in the Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis comedy Sailor Beware (Hal Walker, 1952), and a youth in the comedy Has Anybody Seen My Gal? (Douglas Sirk, 1952) with Rock Hudson. While struggling to get jobs in Hollywood, Dean also worked as a parking lot attendant at CBS Studios, during which time he met Rogers Brackett, a radio director for an advertising agency, who offered him professional help and guidance in his chosen career, as well as a place to stay. In July 1951, Dean appeared on Alias Jane Doe, which was produced by Brackett. In October 1951, Dean moved to New York City. There, he worked as a stunt tester for the game show Beat the Clock, but was subsequently fired for allegedly performing the tasks too quickly. He also appeared in episodes of several CBS television series The Web, Studio One, and Lux Video Theatre, before gaining admission to the Actors Studio to study method acting under Lee Strasberg. There, he was classmates and close friends with Carroll Baker, alongside whom he would eventually star in Giant (George Stevens, 1956). Dean's career picked up and he performed in further episodes of several early 1950s television. One early role, for the CBS series Omnibus in the episode Glory in the Flower (1953), saw Dean portraying the type of disaffected youth he would later portray in Rebel Without a Cause. Positive reviews for Dean's 1954 theatrical role as Bachir, the blackmailing Arab house boy, in an adaptation of André Gide's book The Immoralist, led to calls from Hollywood.

In 1954, James Dean was cast in the emotionally complex role of 'Cal Trask' in East of Eden (Elia Kazan, 1955), an adaptation of John Steinbeck's 1952 novel East of Eden. The lengthy novel deals with the story of the Trask and Hamilton families over the course of three generations, focusing especially on the lives of the latter two generations in Salinas Valley, California, from the mid-19th century through the 1910s. In contrast to the book, the film script focused on the last portion of the story, predominantly with the character of Cal. Though he initially seems more aloof and emotionally troubled than his twin brother Aron (Richard Davalos), Cal is soon seen to be more worldly, business savvy, and even sagacious than their pious and constantly disapproving father (Raymond Massey) who seeks to invent a vegetable refrigeration process. Cal is bothered by the mystery of their supposedly dead mother, and discovers she is still alive and a brothel-keeping 'madam'; the part was played by actress Jo Van Fleet. Much of Dean's performance in the film was unscripted, including his dance in the bean field and his fetal-like posturing while riding on top of a train boxcar (after searching out his mother in nearby Monterey). The most famous improvisation of the film occurs when Cal's father rejects his gift of $5,000, money Cal earned by speculating in beans before the US became involved in World War I. Instead of running away from his father as the script called for, Dean instinctively turned to Massey and in a gesture of extreme emotion, lunged forward and grabbed him in a full embrace, crying. Kazan kept this and Massey's shocked reaction in the film. Wikipedia: “Dean's performance in the film foreshadowed his role as Jim Stark in Rebel Without A Cause. Both characters are angst-ridden protagonists and misunderstood outcasts, desperately craving approval from their fathers.” In recognition of his performance in East of Eden, Dean was nominated posthumously for the 1956 Academy Awards as Best Actor in a Leading Role of 1955, the first official posthumous acting nomination in Academy Awards history. East of Eden was the only film starring Dean that he would see released in his lifetime.

James Dean quickly followed up his role in Eden with a starring role as the brooding red-jacketed teenager Jim Stark in Rebel Without a Cause (Nicholas Ray, 1955) with Sal Mineo and Natalie Wood. The film depicts the dilemma of a typical teenager of the time, who feels that no one, not even his peers, can understand him. The film scrupulously follows the classic theatrical disciplines, telling all within a 24-hour period. Jim Stark was Dean’s true starring role, and Rebel Without a Cause proved to be hugely popular among teenagers. The landmark juvenile-delinquent drama fixed James Dean’s image forever in American culture. In his next film, Giant (George Stevens, 1956), Dean played a supporting role to Elizabeth Taylor and Rock Hudson. This was due to his desire to avoid being typecast as a rebellious teenager like Cal Trask or Jim Stark. In the film, he plays Jett Rink, a Texan ranch hand who strikes oil and becomes wealthy. His role was notable in that, in order to portray an older version of his character in the film's later scenes, Dean dyed his hair gray and shaved some of it off to give himself a receding hairline. Giant would prove to be Dean's last film. At the end of the film, Dean was supposed to make a drunken speech at a banquet; this is nicknamed the 'Last Supper' because it was the last scene before his sudden death. Due to his desire to make the scene more realistic by actually being inebriated for the take, Dean mumbled so much that director George Stevens decided the scene had to be overdubbed by Nick Adams, who had a small role in the film, because Dean had died before the film was edited. Dean received his second posthumous Best Actor Academy Award nomination for his role in Giant at the 29th Academy Awards in 1957 for films released in 1956.

Today, James Dean is often considered an icon because of his perceived experimental take on life, which included his ambivalent sexuality. Most of his so-called affairs with various starlets were made up by the Warner Brothers public relations. Dean's best-remembered relationship was with young Italian actress Pier Angeli, whom he met while Angeli was shooting The Silver Chalice (1955) on an adjoining Warner lot, and with whom he exchanged items of jewelry as love tokens. Angeli's mother disapproved of Dean. After finishing his role for East of Eden, he took a brief trip to New York in October 1954. While he was away, Angeli unexpectedly announced her engagement to Italian-American singer Vic Damone. The press was shocked and Dean expressed his irritation. Angeli married Damone the following month. Dean also dated Swiss actress Ursula Andress. She was seen with Dean in his sports cars, and was with him on the day he bought the car that he died in. The Gay Times Readers' Awards cited him as the greatest male gay icon of all time. Dean’s ambiguous relationship with Sal Mineo in the angst-ridden Rebel Without A Cause has led many to speculate and view this golden age film as years ahead of its time. When questioned about his sexual orientation, Dean is reported to have said, "No, I am not a homosexual. But I'm also not going to go through life with one hand tied behind my back." Dean, with time on his side during down times of filming, often frequented gay bars in mornings, afternoons and evenings in both Hollywood, Studio City and North Hollywood. He and screenwriter and theatre student from UCLA, William Bast lived together as roommates for a number of years. Bast later became Dean's first biographer and told he and Dean ‘experimented’ sexually. Journalist Joe Hyams suggests that any gay activity Dean might have been involved in appears to have been strictly "for trade", as a means of advancing his career. However, the ‘trade only’ notion is contradicted by Bast and other Dean biographers. Biographer Val Holley: “There's been quite an evolution in the thinking since Dean's death in 1955, moving from ‘James Dean was straight’ to ‘Dean had sex with men but only to advance his career’ to ‘Dean had sex with women but only to advance his career.’ In 2016, a new gossipy biography was published, James Dean: Tomorrow Never Comes, by Darwin Porter and Danforth Prince. The authors claim Dean was in love with Marlon Brando and the two would had a long affair with S&M overtones. We may never know for certain if Dean identified as gay, straight, bisexual, but, regardless, what he’s come to represent still resonates with many LGBT audiences.

In 1954, James Dean had become interested in developing an auto racing career. He purchased various vehicles after filming for East of Eden had concluded, including a Triumph Tiger T110 and a Porsche 356. Just before filming began on Rebel Without a Cause, he competed in his first professional event at the Palm Springs Road Races, which was held in Palm Springs, California on March 26–27, 1955. Dean achieved first place in the novice class, and second place at the main event. His racing continued in Bakersfield a month later, where he finished first in his class and third overall. Dean hoped to compete in the Indianapolis 500, but his busy schedule made it impossible. Dean's final race occurred in Santa Barbara on Memorial Day, 30 May 1955. He was unable to finish the competition due to a blown piston. His brief career was put on hold when Warner Brothers barred him from all racing during the production of Giant. Dean had finished shooting his scenes and the movie was in post-production when he decided to race again. Dean was scheduled to compete at a racing event in Salinas, California on 30 September 1955. Accompanying the actor to the occasion was stunt coordinator Bill Hickman, Collier's photographer Sanford Roth, and Rolf Wütherich, the German mechanic from the Porsche factory who maintained Dean's Porsche 550 Spyder "Little Bastard" car. Wütherich, who had encouraged Dean to drive the car from Los Angeles to Salinas to break it in, accompanied Dean in the Porsche. At 3:30 p.m. Dean was ticketed for speeding, as was Hickman who was following behind in another car. As the group traveled to the event via U.S. Route 466, (currently SR 46) at approximately 5:15 p.m. a 1950 Ford Tudor was passing through an intersection while turning, ahead of the Porsche. Dean, unable to stop in time, slammed into the driver's side of the Ford resulting in Dean's car bouncing across the pavement onto the side of the highway. Dean's passenger, Wütherich, was thrown from the Porsche, while Dean was trapped in the car and sustained numerous fatal injuries, including a broken neck. The driver of the Ford, Donald Turnupseed, exited his damaged vehicle with minor injuries. Dean was pronounced dead on arrival shortly after he arrived by ambulance at the Paso Robles War Memorial Hospital at 6:20 p.m. The Failure Analysis Associates later reconstructed and recreated all details of the accident and have concluded that James Dean was travelling 55 to 56 mph when the fateful accident occurred, thereby proving he had not been speeding, as rumor had it. Ed Stephan at IMDb: “At age 24, James Dean was killed almost immediately from the impact from a broken neck. His very brief career, violent death and highly publicized funeral transformed him into a cult object of apparently timeless fascination.”

Sources: Hal Erickson (AllMovie), Ed Stephan (IMDb), Daniel Bates (Daily Mail), Towleroad, Wikipedia, and IMDb.

Mercury Club Coupe (Lead Sled) (1949-51) Engine 5700cc V8

Registitration Number 519 YUG (Age related number, originally to be allocated from Leeds)

MERCURY SET

www.flickr.com/photos/45676495@N05/sets/72157623795938010...

Mercurys first post war design released in 1949, looked ulta modern compared to the pre-war offerings. Almost immeadiatly customisers saw the potential of its sleek lines and started chopping, channelling, frenching, smoothing and using every other custom trick in the book. Epitomised in this Lead Sled. Within its era and beyond, the Mercury Eight was popular with customizers. In 1949, Sam Barris built the first lead sled from a 1949 Mercury Eight; the Eight became the definitive "lead sled", much as the Ford V-8 (as the "deuce") was becoming the definitive hot rod.

The customising consists of a 4.5 inch roof chop, franched LED headlights, removal of all trim and exterior door handles, custom one piece grille and remote door poppers.

Mechanically power comes from a 5.7 litre V8 coupled to a Turbo 350 automatic gearbox, GM10 bolt rear axle, disc brakes all round, custom air suspension, power steering and a stainless steel exhaust

The interior gets Ostrich skin seats, Bedford cord door panels with real snakeskin door pulls, its original radio modified for MP3, and a custom made under dash aircon system.

Perhaps not to Chris Packham and Greta s taste

In the film Rebel Without A Cause, James Deans character Jim Stark drives a more mildly customised 49 Mercury

Though Rebel Without a Cause s considered by some to be the most memorable appearance of the Mercury Eight in a movie, versions have also appeared in American Graffiti (1973), Badlands (1973), Grease (1978), A Christmas Story 2 (2012), Cobra (1986) Thuderbolt and Lightfoot (1974) and in cartoon form as Sheriff in Cars.

a 1949 Mercury was mentioned in the lyrics of the songs Mercury Blues by K. C. Douglas and later covered by the Steve Miller Band, Alan Jackson and David Lindley. and in Bruce Springsteens Cadillac Ranch

Diolch am olygfa anhygoel, 63,680,390 oblogaeth y Lloegr honno dros y Mynyddoedd

Thanks for a stonking 63,680,390 views

Shot 01.01.2018 at Brooklands, Weybridge, Surrey Ref 132-144

Jamie Flagg (DSI James Dean Ken doll), the head pastor at River Heights Independent Presbyterian Church, and his wife Eileen (NY Yankees Barbie doll) enjoy their brief vacation in North Carolina.

Greg Sykes (DSI James Dean Ken doll) starts his backpacking journey by fording a river while vacationing in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.

........ without a cause..

In a cafe near you.....

Sorry I'm a bit strange, but not as strange as some of the looks I was getting taking this shot....Janet disowns me then..lol

Can't you see it? The new bad boy of the play ground. The girls can't resist.

James Franco as James Dean, August 2001.

Shot using Hot Toys James Dean Icon Series

The decline of the great American movie magazine.......

The young James Dean, to the left

(Well, almost...)

iPhone art by Mandolina Moon

James Dean2004. painted by John Cerney. Installed for the 50th Anniversary of Dean's death on Sept. 30th, 1955. The location is on Highway 46 in Central California, at Blackwell's Corner, the last stop Dean made before being fatally injured in a car crash down the road.