[Bakersfield.com]

Photo Credit: Wikipedia

If only Dean had had more time, he'd have been like Paul Newman... only better! He wouldn't have messed around with boring ol' Datsuns, instead sticking with Porsches, and he'd have solved Africa's economic problems simply by stepping from his helicopter. Well, probably not, but at least we get to see this cool alternative ending to the famous Porsche-versus-Ford wreck. Thanks to the reader who sent in this tip; I'd give you a hat tip, but your identity has been washed away like the bits on my recently deceased hard drive.

This weekend was a cold one here in the Midwest so instead of going out and braving the weather we decided to hibernate instead, but not before heading out to our local cult video store and grabbing a couple of our all-time favorite classic movies. We got a couple of goodies including: Le Mans, The Great Escape and couple of our significant other's favorite Agatha Christie mystery TV episodes featuring the quirky detective, Hercule Poirot.

After watching a couple of these films we got to thinking about what some of these famous actors would be like if they were celebrities in today's day and age. We contemplated this for a while (mostly while suffering through Agatha Christie's, The Mysterious Affair at Styles) and got to thinking about what some of these celebrities would drive. So, thanks in part to both our boredom and ADHD, we've come up with the list below featuring some of our favorite classic celebrities and what we think they would drive if they were alive today.

Bettie Page	James Dean	Bob Ross
Louis Armstrong	Steve McQueen	Tiny Tim
Lucille Ball	Frank Sinatra	Elvis Presley
Audrey Hepburn	Charlie Chaplin	Marlon Brando
Marilyn Monroe	John Wayne	Bruce Lee
George Burns	Harry Houdini	Vincent Price
Cesar Romero	Agatha Christie	Ray Charles

[inspired by our ADHD and famousdeaddb, clips via YouTube]

Born: 1931-02-08 - Died: 1955-09-30

James Dean was the 'bad boy' poster child during his short career in Hollywood, filming movies like "Rebel Without A Cause" and racing around in his Porsche 550 Speedster aptly nicknamed, "Little Bastard."

(photo credit: sledhockeystar7)

Since James Dean’s death in 1955, the Porsche 550 Spyder has become infamous as the car that killed him. As young Jalops we watched an Unsolved Mysteries episode on the curse of the James Dean Porsche. These stories not only made the famous car seem more like Christine than Porsche, they downright scared us. We decided to share some of the stories with you. Read on if you dare.

While filming Rebel Without A Cause, James Dean had upgraded from the 356 to the 550 Spyder and decided that he wanted to make it uniquely his. Dean called upon George Barris, of movie car fame, to customize the Porsche. He gave it tartan seats, two red stripes over the rear wheels and plastered the number ‘130’ on its doors, hood and engine cover. The name “Little Bastard” was given by Dean language coach, Bill Hickman, and was later painted on the car by master pin striper, Dean Jeffries. On September 23 of 1955, Dean met actor Alec Guinness (Obi-Wan Kebobi) outside of a restaurant and had him take a look at the Spyder. Guinness told Dean that the car had a “sinister” appearance and then told Dean: “If you get in that car, you will be found dead in it by this time next week.” Seven days later, Dean would be killed in his beloved “Little Bastard.” Cue the Unsolved Mysteries theme song.

That “Little Bastard” not only killed James Dean, but killed and maimed others who came in contact with it causing many to say that the damn thing was cursed. George Barris, who customized the 550 originally, bought the wrecked carcass of “Little Bastard” for $2500 and soon after it slipped off its trailer and broke a mechanics leg. Not long after Barris sold the engine and drivetrain to Troy McHenry and William Eschrid. While the two were both racing against one another in cars that had parts from the “Little Bastard,” McHenry lost control and hit a tree, killing him instantly and Eschrid was seriously injured when his car suddenly locked up and rolled over while going into a turn. Barris still had two tires from the 550 which were untouched in Dean’s accident. He sold them and not long after, both blew out simultaneously causing the new owner’s car to run off the road. Barris had kept the car in his possession sans the sold parts and it caught the attention of two would-be thieves. One of the thieves arms was torn open trying to steal the steering wheel while the other was injured trying to remove the bloodstained tartan seat.

Due to all the incidents involving “Little Bastard,” Barris decided to hide the car but was convinced by the California Highway Patrol to lend the cursed heap to a highway safety exhibit. The first exhibit was unsuccessful as the garage that housed the car caught fire and burned to the ground. Mysteriously the car suffered virtually no damage from the fire. The next exhibition at a local high school ended abruptly when the car fell off its display and broke a nearby student’s hip.

The curse continued when the “Little Bastard” was being transported when the truck carrying the car lost control which caused the driver to fall out and somehow get crushed by the car after it fell off the back. The car fell off of two more transport trucks while travelling on the freeway fortunately not injuring anyone. The CHP decided that it had had enough of the “Little Bastard” and while transporting the car to Barris, the car mysteriously vanished and has not been seen since.

There are stories of a single piece of “Little Bastard” residing at the Historic Auto Attractions museum in Illinois, but we’re not brave enough to find out.

[via UnderWorldTales]

Our boy Big Rick Stuart of KFOG who we used to listen to on Live 105 back when we the were the young Bay Area collegiate type hipped us to the fact that today, in fact, is the anniversary of archetypical actor/gearhead James Dean's fatal run-in with Donald Turnipseed's Ford near tiny Cholame, California. If you're planning on being lonely and single like us tonight, skip playing that Silver Jews CD for the umpteenth time while drowning your sorrows in buttermilk and go out and rent Giant instead. Check out Dean's last performance as wildcat oilman Jett Rink, get googly over Liz Taylor's mad hotness, and scope the gorgeous Lincoln Capri droptop Dean's rollin' in at the end. If nothing else, the man was the ultimate example of Neil Young's dictum, "It's better to burn out than to fade away," Cobain be damned.

Related:
Li'l Bastard, Where Art Thou? Auto Museum Offers a Cool Mil for Dean's Porsche [Internal]

The car that put Cholame, California on the map, a Porsche 550 Spyder often described as cursed, was largely believed to have been stolen after its carcass was stripped for parts by noted customizer George Barris, an old friend of James Dean, who famously perished in the car after smacking into Donald Turnipseed's Ford at a highway intersection. The Volo Auto Museum is offering a million dollars to anyone willing to sell them the car, provided that Barris can authentically identify the remains. If they can pull this off, we're betting the museum is demolished by a freak tornado the day after the car goes on display.

James Dean Killed in Porsche 49 Years Ago Today [Internal]