James Dean’s Porsche 550

Even though Dean only made three films and died at the age of 24, his legacy is so great he’s still one of the most legendary names in the film industry. On the other hand, the story of his Porsche 550 Spyder nicknamed “Little Bastard” is one of the most enduring automotive mysteries of all time. Dean died in 1955, crashing his Porsche at an intersection in Cholame, California. The car was badly damaged, so they sold some mechanical parts like the engine, but the body and few components remained. After a few owners, the car ended up with famous Hollywood customizer George Barris.

“Thirty miles south of Paso Robles the road is straight as an arrow. At this part I could see for many miles ahead, and I noticed what seemed like some kind of a roadblock far off in the distance. As I came closer, the obstruction took form. It was a sedan, not badly damaged, in the middle of the highway. I strained to look around the immediate area – I was looking for the other car. 

Off in a ditch to the right, I suddenly saw what had been the sleek, silver Porsche - now it was like a crumpled pack of cigarettes. But where was Jimmy? My heart screamed. I leaped from the car, only to be confronted by a highway policeman asking questions. 

Then I saw it all. Rolf had been thrown clear of the car: Jimmy was dead in his seat. The impact had thrown his head back too far. 

The ambulance came and I instinctively began taking pictures. I begged the attendant to keep Jimmy under oxygen on the way to the hospital, but it was no use. Neither was the fifteen-mile race against time to the hospital. Jimmy was dead.”

March 2016 - An eastern drive through California

Cholame, CA

James Byron Dean (February 8, 1931 – September 30, 1955) was an American actor with a career that lasted five years. He is regarded as a cultural icon of teenage disillusionment and social estrangement, as expressed in the title of his most celebrated film Rebel Without a Cause (1955), in which he starred as troubled teenager Jim Stark. The other two roles that defined his stardom were loner Cal Trask in East of Eden (1955) and surly ranch hand Jett Rink in Giant (1956).

Dean died in a car crash in 1955 and became the first actor to receive a posthumous Academy Award nomination for Best Actor for his role in East of Eden. He received a second nomination for his role in Giant the following year, making him the only actor to have had two posthumous acting nominations. In 1999, the American Film Institute ranked him the 18th best male movie star of Golden Age Hollywood in AFI's 100 Years...100 Stars list.

On September 30, as the group [James Dean,  Bill Hickman,  Sanford Roth and Rolf Wütherich] was driving westbound on U.S. Route 466 (currently SR 46) near Cholame, California, at approximately 5:45 p.m., a 1950 Ford Tudor, driven by 23-year-old California Polytechnic State University student Donald Turnupseed, was travelling east. Turnupseed made a left turn onto Highway 41 headed north, toward Fresno ahead of the oncoming Porsche. Dean, unable to stop in time, slammed into the passenger 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. Turnupseed exited his damaged vehicle with minor injuries.

An inquest placed fault for the accident entirely with Dean. There is a James Dean monument, financed by a Japanese businessman, in front of the former Cholame post office (which closed in 1994) and a restaurant (until its closure in 2022), one half-mile from the site of the accident.