Death of a Cultural Icon

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On this day in 1955, actor James Dean was killed in a head–on collision near Cholame, Calif.

Dean was 24 when he died. He made a few uncredited film appearances in the early 1950s, but he is remembered for the three films he made in the mid–1950s — "East of Eden," "Rebel Without a Cause" and "Giant." His performances spoke to angst–ridden teenagers of the time, and he is still remembered, more than half a century after his death, as a symbol of that awkward time of life.

While Dean was working on his final film, he was interviewed by actor Gig Young for an episode of "Warner Bros. Presents." After Dean's death, the segment was not aired, but you can see it in the attached clip. It has often been misidentified as a public service announcement.

Another interesting story involves actor Alec Guinness. As I understand it, Dean introduced himself to Guinness and showed him his new Porsche 550 Spyder. Guinness reportedly thought the car was "sinister" and told Dean, "If you get in that car, you will be found dead in it by this time next week."

The conversation occurred on Sept. 23, 1955, exactly one week before Dean's fatal crash.

This date always brings back unique memories for me because, when I was a teenager, director James Bridges came to my hometown of Conway, Ark., to make a movie about the impact Dean's death had on teens of the time. Bridges grew up in Paris, Ark., which wasn't exactly a stone's throw from my hometown, but it was fairly close, and, as I recall, he chose my hometown because it was a college town and he wanted to use the academic setting as a backdrop.

The movie was semi–autobiographical for Bridges, who was 19 when Dean died.

The original title of the movie was "9–30–55." When the finished product came to the screen, the title had been changed to "September 30, 1955."

Prior to filming, Bridges held auditions that drew literally hundreds of local wannabe actors, and he actually wound up casting a local girl who was often said to be a star in the making.

I don't think she ever made another movie, but there were some noteworthy folks in the cast. The most familiar was Richard Thomas, who was the star of the TV series "The Waltons" at the time.

Two other actors made their debuts in the film — Dennis Quaid (who may be best known for his work in "The Right Stuff") and Tom Hulce (who is probably best known for his appearances in "Animal House" and "Amadeus").

Michael Jackson Dies at 50

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Across the country this afternoon, news departments were preparing tributes to Farrah Fawcett, who lost her three–year battle with cancer earlier in the day.

Then, abruptly, plans changed as word spread that the "King of Pop," Michael Jackson, had collapsed following cardiac arrest, lapsed into a coma and died this afternoon.

There was still considerable uncertainty about Jackson as I prepared to leave for the monthly Communications Commission meeting at my church a few hours ago. The Los Angeles Times was reporting that Jackson had died, but it was not basing its report on anything that had been said by someone connected to UCLA Medical Center, where Jackson was taken. CNN, apparently, was still waiting for that confirmation and would say only this for certain — Jackson had suffered cardiac arrest and was in a coma.

But now, a few minutes after my return from the meeting, it seems to be official. CNN, along with all the other media outlets, is no longer hedging.

Michael Jackson is dead.

I must confess that I'm not sure how to respond to this news. As I am sure it is with millions of others my age and younger, it often seems to me there has never been a time when Jackson was not a part of the entertainment scene.

And not just part of it. At times, Michael Jackson seemed to be the entertainment scene.

As Brooks Barnes writes in the New York Times, "As with Elvis Presley or the Beatles, it is impossible to calculate the full effect he had on the world of music. At the height of his career, he was indisputably the biggest star in the world; he has sold more than 750 million albums."

In my case, the truth is that I was never a Michael Jackson fan. For a time, when I was a child, I considered myself a fan of the Jackson Five. I used to listen to a collection of 45 rpm records of the group's top singles. But when Jackson embarked on a solo career, my interest began to go in a different direction.

And, when everyone else was buying "Off the Wall," "Thriller" and "Bad," I was buying albums by other performers — Dire Straits, Tom Petty, Pink Floyd, ZZ Top. But I knew Jackson's music. It was everywhere. You couldn't miss it. When you drove your car, it was on the radio. When you switched on your TV, you stood a good chance of seeing Jackson doing his moon walk. When you visited a friend's home, "Thriller" was likely to be the record that was already on the turntable. When you went into a store, you would probably hear "Billie Jean" on the P.A. system.

That, it seems to me, is how you tell if someone has left a large impression on a nation and the world. And everything Michael Jackson did, he did in a big way, whether it was selling albums or constructing Neverland or going on a concert tour.

In the days to come, I'm sure there will be those who will write of how Jackson's legal troubles late in his life ushered in his decline, strangling his creativity. Well, they said the same thing about Lenny Bruce. Different factors but the gist was the same.

The entertainers of my generation are disappearing in rapid–fire sequence lately. In a few short days, we've lost Ed McMahon, Fawcett and Jackson. When I was in the newspaper business, the accepted truism was that these things came in threes. If that really is how it works, I guess others in the entertainment field can relax a little now. They dodged that third bullet. Well, for now.

But how are the rest of us supposed to feel after losing Johnny's sidekick, the most popular of "Charlie's Angels" and the guy who sang "Beat It," all in the space of three days?