Fifty-three years ago today, James Dean uttered those words just moments before his fatal automobile crash near Cholame, California. Obviously, he was wrong, and the improbably-named Donald Turnupseed ended one of Hollywood's most promising careers.
Dean was hardly the first person to be killed in a car crash (that
"honor" belongs to Henry Bliss
of New York City in 1899), but given the number of celebrities who have met
their ends in cars, one wonders why they ever get into automobiles in the first place.
One of the earliest stars to meet her maker in a car was the "Empress of
the Blues," Bessie Smith,
who may have been
turned away from a segregated Mississippi hospital after her fatal accident.
Cowboy superstar Tom Mix ignored warning signs at a construction site and slid his car into a gully, Ernie Kovacs was lighting a cigar when he fatally crashed into a Beverly Hills power pole, and Jayne Mansfield plowed into a truck.
Athletes have also fallen victim to vehicular deaths. New York Giants
stars Mel Ott,
Carl Hubbell, and Frankie Frisch
all succumbed in cars, as did former New York Yankee Billy Martin and runner Steve
Prefontaine (though alcohol figured in the last
two), and NASCAR legend Dale Earnhardt died during
the 2001 Daytona 500.
Authors and artists are thoughtful people, but the deaths of T.E. Lawrence,
Albert Camus, Margaret Mitchell,
Nathanael West, Helmut
Newton, and Jackson Pollock
prove that accidents can happen to even the most punctilious.
Nor is royalty
immune, as the deaths of Princess Diana
and Princess Grace
can attest.
While we don't mean to sound flip, good can come of such tragedies; the heart
that surgeon Christian Barnard used in his first transplant came from a woman who had been killed by a car, and every
year, hundreds of lives are saved by those who donate their organs.
So on this somewhat morbid
occasion, we urge you to sign those donor cards -- and to "watch out for the other guy."
Suggested Sites...
- James Dean.com - official site for the actor, with information about his life and legacy.
- James Dean on Driving Safely - Dean's last film appearance, speaking ironically enough on auto safety.
- Celebrity Automobile Accidents - a surprisingly long list of celebrities involved in fatal car crashes.
- Snopes.com: Spyder Web - examines the legend that the car Dean died in is cursed.
- The Death of James Dean - forensic examination of the tragedy.
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