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140: Meeting an American Icon in Fairmount, IN · Common Mystics

• 0:10
  Speaker A: On this episode of Common Mystics, we find ourselves in the unexpected hometown of a Hollywood icon where the spirit of a legend reached out to us with startling charisma and undeniable presence.
• 0:27
  Speaker A: I'm Jennifer James.
• 0:28
  Speaker B: I'm Jill Stanley.
• 0:30
  Speaker A: We're psychics.
• 0:31
  Speaker B: We're sisters.
• 0:32
  Speaker A: We are common mystics. We find extraordinary stories in ordinary places. And today's story takes us to Fairmount, Indiana.
• 0:42
  Speaker B: I am super excited about this story.
• 0:44
  Speaker A: Are you?
• 0:46
  Speaker B: I really am.
• 0:47
  Speaker A: Okay, good. I'm excited too.
• 0:50
  Speaker B: I'm enthralled.
• 0:52
  Speaker A: Okay, well take us there. What were we doing in October of 2025?
• 0:56
  Speaker B: Well, it was October 11th and Jennifer and I, as you know, because we love our fans, decided to get content for our Halloween episode by going to the demon house right in the middle of Indiana somewhere.
• 1:11
  Speaker A: Indiana.
• 1:12
  Speaker B: Somewhere. Indiana. And so Jen and I met at a hotel in no name, Indiana. And we started from there and we were going to find a story before going to the demon house. Taking advantage of being in a strange place on the road together.
• 1:30
  Speaker A: Right. We were taking advantage of the situation, just trying to be as efficient as possible with our time.
• 1:35
  Speaker B: Exactly. And that's how it starts.
• 1:39
  Speaker A: Okay, keep talking.
• 1:41
  Speaker B: Okay. So per usual, we're driving around the area.
• 1:44
  Speaker A: Yeah.
• 1:45
  Speaker B: And we're following the psychic hits we're getting from spirit.
• 1:48
  Speaker A: Wait, didn't we ask for? Didn't we set our intention?
• 1:51
  Speaker B: We always do. Can you please remind me?
• 1:54
  Speaker A: Yes. How could you forget? We always do this.
• 1:57
  Speaker B: I totally get excited. I got excited. Cause we're talking to American legend.
• 2:02
  Speaker A: Uh huh. We asked the spirits to lead us to a verifiable story previously unknown to us that allowed us to give voice to the voiceless.
• 2:12
  Speaker B: That's right. So we're driving around following our spirits, taking down the hits that we're getting. Jen and I were talking about in the car how I at the last minute changed our hotel location to be at a different area, which is serendipitous.
• 2:28
  Speaker A: To the story because we were driving around in a place we wouldn't have been driving around. Correct. Yeah. Huh. And we were driving around the area of Guest section City, Indiana, in other.
• 2:42
  Speaker B: Little towns in the central part of Indiana.
• 2:44
  Speaker A: Yeah. What were you getting in the car from spirit?
• 2:47
  Speaker B: There definitely a male spirit with us.
• 2:52
  Speaker A: Yeah, yeah. Someone like describe the energy of this male spirit that was coming through.
• 3:00
  Speaker B: It felt like, and I'm not making this up, like someone notable.
• 3:05
  Speaker A: Uh huh.
• 3:06
  Speaker B: But like I didn't realize who it was or how notable, but it was like someone that I know is with.
• 3:14
  Speaker A: Us but he didn't, like, give his name. He's just like, hey, I'm kind of a big deal.
• 3:18
  Speaker B: Yeah, well, he did. Well, he wasn't like, I'm kind of a big deal. He was just like, it's like the energy. Like, I recognize this energy. I see, and I know it's someone I know, but I didn't know. Like, it was like an icon, but.
• 3:31
  Speaker A: Someone you know because they are notable, not because they're like, you know them personally. Right.
• 3:36
  Speaker B: Someone I know their name.
• 3:38
  Speaker A: Yes. Okay. And also, we were feeling all kinds of emotions, right? Like, the whole gamut.
• 3:45
  Speaker B: Yes, we were. We were feeling laugh. I was feeling laughter. Like a giggy, like, giggly. Like, I was like. Like a schoolgirl feeling.
• 3:53
  Speaker A: And I was feeling sadness and crying. Like, we were just hitting all the emotions.
• 3:58
  Speaker B: We were fun that day.
• 4:02
  Speaker B: Oh, God.
• 4:04
  Speaker A: Right.
• 4:05
  Speaker B: So we're driving south on Route 13, and there is an intersection of 13 and 26. And I am, like, just driving. I'm. I swear to you, I'm like, in a trance, just going straight. And what did you do?
• 4:19
  Speaker A: Well, I noticed that as we are headed towards a stop sign that you are speeding up. And, like, I hear your Toyota go vroom. You know what I mean? And I'm like, what is happening? And you know that moment of fear when your adrenaline starts being released and coursing through your body and, like, sweat, like. Like just hits you all at once. And I was like, stop sign. I just said, stop sign. And you were like, holy. And you hit the brakes and we stopped because there was other traffic around.
• 4:53
  Speaker B: Yes. And you know what? It was like, stop sign.
• 4:56
  Speaker A: And there was a stop sign. And you didn't see it.
• 4:59
  Speaker B: I didn't see it.
• 5:00
  Speaker A: And we could have. We could have gotten into an accident.
• 5:03
  Speaker B: In that moment.
• 5:05
  Speaker B: Very easily. Could we have gotten into an accident in that moment? But it felt like that incident felt significant.
• 5:12
  Speaker A: And you said that at the time.
• 5:14
  Speaker B: Yeah, I was.
• 5:15
  Speaker A: Well, yeah, after we calmed down. Exactly.
• 5:18
  Speaker B: I was thinking like, well, that's significant, but we didn't die. You know what I mean? Like, it was like, I didn't relate it to the psychic impression, but it was, like, significant that we are still alive and that no one got hurt.
• 5:31
  Speaker A: Yes. Is definitely significant in the life of Jennifer and Jill or could have been more significant. Thank God it wasn't. So where do we go from there?
• 5:43
  Speaker B: Go to Elwood, Indiana, and we're taking notes. Jennifer, what were you putting notes on?
• 5:48
  Speaker A: A young man's anger. It felt like there was a young. A young man expressing Anger. And what were you picking up?
• 5:58
  Speaker B: I was still feeling the untimely death in an accident that could have happened. So that was not leaving me. Right.
• 6:06
  Speaker A: I'm thinking it's like how easy it is to die in a car accident.
• 6:10
  Speaker B: I mean just one day you're just.
• 6:11
  Speaker A: Driving along and then all of a sudden, bam.
• 6:13
  Speaker B: You know, it's just so fragile.
• 6:15
  Speaker A: Right, right.
• 6:18
  Speaker A: So we head back to the hotel, right? That's right. Yeah, yeah. We head back to the hotel.
• 6:23
  Speaker B: We come back to the intersection of 13 and 26. But instead of going straight, the way almost died, I decided to make a right. And we were headed now east on 26. And we're just driving along, minding our business.
• 6:37
  Speaker A: And that's when we pass a sign for Fairmount, Indiana and it has James Dean's picture on it. Like a huge picture of James Dean.
• 6:49
  Speaker B: James Dean, which we recognize. Yes, yes, it's him. Him leaning against something in his red jacket with a cigarette in his hand. It's that photo.
• 6:58
  Speaker A: That photo. And so you were like.
• 7:02
  Speaker A: Why were.
• 7:03
  Speaker B: You like, why is James Dean's like an eight foot image of him in nowhere Indiana number one? And then I was like, wait a second, was he from here? And so I pull over the car, I'm like. And we're like out of breath looking at each other.
• 7:21
  Speaker A: And so I google real fast because I didn't know. And as it turns out, yes, Fairmount is the place where James Dean grew up. And it's also where he is buried.
• 7:34
  Speaker B: And I at this moment turn to Jennifer away from the steering wheel. So I'm facing Jennifer full on. And I'm like, look, I'm wearing a James Dean shirt. And the thing is, you guys, I've been living out of a suitcase. So I've been packing seven days at a time. So there is no way I was going to be packing for this day. I pack like to wear clothes whenever throughout the week. So just the fact that I was wearing a James Dean shirt was insane.
• 8:05
  Speaker A: It was definitely a sign. We almost died in a car accident. We, it turns out we are right near Fairmont, Indiana and you are wearing a James Dean T shirt. We knew we have to stop everything. We're going to Fairmount because we are.
• 8:20
  Speaker B: Huge fans of James scene and since we were children.
• 8:25
  Speaker A: Since we were children. And so I want to clarify.
• 8:29
  Speaker B: He didn't raise us like Elvis.
• 8:31
  Speaker A: He wasn't our daddy.
• 8:33
  Speaker B: He wasn't our daddy, but he was a fixture in our home. And Jennifer, can you please tell us why and how did you get exposed.
• 8:40
  Speaker A: Yeah, funny, funny thing because it was the early 80s and I don't know, I was, I don't know, middle school, maybe elementary school. But the point is dad was at the house. And if you are listeners and you know anything about us, you know that we were raised by a single mom and our parents were divorced when we were both young and it was kind.
• 9:02
  Speaker B: Of a drag to have dad at the house.
• 9:05
  Speaker A: Well, he usually. Yeah, go ahead.
• 9:07
  Speaker B: Usually he would like take us places and we would have fun and then he would drop us off. So when he, when, when he's in the house, there's like an energy shift, right?
• 9:16
  Speaker A: So it's in his house.
• 9:18
  Speaker B: It wasn't his house.
• 9:19
  Speaker A: It wasn't his house. And he didn't run the house. You know, like for all intents and purposes I ran that. Like I ran the house cuz mom was working all the time. But anyway, on this particular Saturday, I don't know how old I am, maybe 10, 11, I don't know. The point is we must have had extra time on the clock after he took us to the park or Chuck E. Cheese or where?
• 9:44
  Speaker B: The kingdom.
• 9:45
  Speaker A: Yeah, wherever we went that day. And he was at the house and mom was not home. Mom wasn't home. And so we're at our house and he takes the TV remote and he is in control of the only source of entertainment that we have in the house. And the remote at this point is on a long cord that goes from the television to the couch. And so great. We're watching either something on Hitler, right? Because that was a go to for him. Big fan, big fan of Hitler. No joke. He really was. He loved to watch documentaries about Hitler or a baseball game. But no, he turns to. And both of those are really bad. Like neither. Nobody wants to watch that. Who isn't my dad.
• 10:32
  Speaker B: No one wants to watch angry Hitler or baseball, right?
• 10:36
  Speaker A: But he turns to an old movie that I'd never seen. I was 10. Right? He turns to an old movie and I'm like, great. So I was like, dad, I don't want to watch this. And he's like, he didn't say anything. So, so we're suddenly watching this thing that I don't want to watch and it's this, you know, it's this old fashioned guy and this old fashioned girl, whatever things are happening and I'm actually starting to get into it because the, the characters are, are young, they're like teenagers and they're doing teenager things in this old movie. And then there is like One of those chases, like a car chase, car race. And by that time, I was hooked. And do you know that at that point, he freaking turns the channel? So then I'm like, dad, I put that back. Like, that was getting good. I liked it. Put it back. What was that? And he's like, yeah, I just wanted to see that one part with the car race. And I was like, you are kidding me right now? I was so angry. After he left, I went and walked to the local video store, Circle Video, with my babysitting money, and I rented the movie, which was Rebel Without a Cause. And I brought it home and I watched it, and I fell in love with that movie and with James Dean. And I made everyone I knew watch this, that movie. All my friends watched that movie. All my sisters were sat down and watched that movie. And so that is how you were introduced to James Dean, Jill.
• 12:12
  Speaker B: Yes. And I was not disappointed. Even at a young age. No, seriously, at a young age. I was watching someone that I can relate to in the 1950s, who. If you're watching a movie from a certain time period, there's a cadence by which they speak, but that's not how he was speaking. Like, he was speaking as if it was like modern day. Like, I could relate to not only the way he was talking, but his mannerisms, his anger, his disappointment in his parents. You know what I mean? Like, I was all in on it. So I was like, I'll be goddamn this boy going places.
• 12:53
  Speaker A: It was more real. His emotion to me was so guttural, so real. There was nothing acting about it. Like, it just. It was so real in a way that I had seldom seen on TV or movies.
• 13:06
  Speaker B: It was so real. It felt like you were eavesdropping on a family. Truly. And some moments in that movie, you're thinking, like, I felt that way. I've been in that situation where you're, like, flabbergasted or you're really angry or frustrated, you know, like, you're like, oh, my God.
• 13:24
  Speaker A: Yes. So there are. It occurs to me, listeners now who may be unfortunate enough to not know, like, who James Dean was and why it was such a big deal.
• 13:37
  Speaker B: You know what? I debated putting any of this in the outline because I'm like, everyone knows James Dean. But then I couldn't sleep on Friday night.
• 13:45
  Speaker A: Are you serious?
• 13:46
  Speaker B: I couldn't sleep. I was like, I need to put in his. I told you Saturday morning. I'm like, I couldn't sleep. I have to re enter some things in the outline because it occurred to me, maybe some of our younger listeners don't know who James Dean is, or even someone might have known of him, but just didn't, like, look into him. Might have known the iconography. Is that what it's called?
• 14:10
  Speaker A: Like, the iconography? Iconography, yeah.
• 14:11
  Speaker B: Yeah. But not know who he was or seen any of his work. So, please, Jennifer, bring us to James Byron Dean, a biography.
• 14:20
  Speaker A: Okay. James Byron Dean was an American actor of the 1950s who, in a very, very short period of time, became one of the most influential figures in Hollywood.
• 14:35
  Speaker B: You ain't wrong.
• 14:36
  Speaker A: With his talent and his style, he captured the spirit of the 1950s youth and created a legacy that continues to shape American pop culture to this very day. Shall I go on?
• 14:51
  Speaker B: I would love it. I'm already anything James Dean. I'm full in on. Okay, so you. I'm just sitting here looking at you read.
• 14:58
  Speaker A: Yeah, I know, but please, you know, interact with me as well. I'm not just here for you, Jill.
• 15:04
  Speaker B: You mean we have a podcast to do and you're not just telling me a story?
• 15:07
  Speaker A: Yeah, exactly. James Dean was born on February 8, 1931, in the small farming community of Marion, Indiana. And he spent his early childhood in nearby Fairmount, where his unmistakable Hoosier roots, which shape his grounded and introspective character.
• 15:27
  Speaker B: You know what a Hoosier is?
• 15:29
  Speaker A: What's a Hoosier, Jill?
• 15:30
  Speaker B: It's. It's a fan and someone from Indiana who's a fan of Indiana University football or some kind of sport.
• 15:40
  Speaker A: Yeah. So Hoosier is a name of someone from Indiana. Correct. Taken. Taken loosely. Right.
• 15:48
  Speaker A: So James, as it turns out, was the only child of Winton Dean and Mildred Mary Wilson.
• 15:57
  Speaker A: And according to sources, including himself, James would say that his mother had Native American roots, and his father's lineage could be traced back to the settlers of the Mayflower.
• 16:11
  Speaker A: Yeah. Some of the earliest settlers to the continent.
• 16:15
  Speaker A: James's father, Wenton, gave up farming in Indiana for a career as a dental technician, and he moved his family to Santa Monica, California, where James attended McKinley Elementary School. The family would live in California for several years, and at an early age, James became fascinated with the arts, including drawing, dancing, music, and acting. And by all accounts, his mother, Mildred, nurtured her son's artistic talents.
• 16:51
  Speaker B: Here's where it gets sad.
• 16:55
  Speaker A: In 1938, Mildred began suffering from severe stomach pain, and she began losing weight rapidly. She would die from uterine cancer when James was only nine years old, marking a profound turning point in his life.
• 17:13
  Speaker B: That's so sad to lose your mom at such a young age.
• 17:17
  Speaker A: Yeah, and it gets a little worse too. Because after her passing, Winton Dean sent his son James back to Indiana to live with his paternal aunt and uncle in the town of Fairmount, where he could experience a slower rural pace of life. His father, Winton stayed in California. So he's basically kind of orphaned kinda. Wynton Dean would serve in World War II and he later remarried, now back in Fairmont, Indiana, where James was living with his Quaker aunt and uncle. James was a popular and talented student.
• 18:00
  Speaker A: You're nodding at me.
• 18:02
  Speaker B: He was.
• 18:03
  Speaker A: He was at Fairmount High School. He excelled both academically and socially. He was popular. He played baseball and varsity basketball.
• 18:15
  Speaker B: He participated in the school yearbooks. It looked like he had a very healthy like, relationship with the community. He was involved a lot, a lot of different things in school plays, in basketball and all kinds of sports.
• 18:30
  Speaker A: Yep. He participated in drama and he showcased his talent in public speaking through the Indiana High School Forensic Association.
• 18:40
  Speaker B: That's cool.
• 18:41
  Speaker A: Apparently that's like public speaking.
• 18:44
  Speaker B: I don't know.
• 18:45
  Speaker A: It's not forensics, like, like forensic, Forensic Files, which, which would be cool, but that wasn't what he was into. So. After graduating from high school in Fairmont, Indiana In May of 1949, he moved back to California to live with his father and his stepmother.
• 19:06
  Speaker B: I'm glad that they reunited.
• 19:08
  Speaker A: He had a good relationship with them. With his dad, James briefly studied pre law at Santa Monica College before transferring to ucla where he changed his major to drama. What else?
• 19:24
  Speaker B: Can you even believe that. That he was considering law? That doesn't even make sense.
• 19:28
  Speaker A: No. Well, he was. He did like speaking, public speaking, so I could see the fit, but absolutely not.
• 19:37
  Speaker B: No.
• 19:38
  Speaker A: His natural magnetism and raw intensity caught the attention of directors and peers alike. Leaving college for the stage, James Dean moved to New York and pursued method acting under the legendary Lee Strasberg at the Actors Studio.
• 19:58
  Speaker B: And that was the shirt I was wearing that day. It was 1955. James Dean in New York City. It's a great shirt.
• 20:05
  Speaker A: I love it. And the Actors Studio with Lee Strasberg, other actors. It's really famous due to like Marlon Brando studied there.
• 20:15
  Speaker B: Who else? Marilyn Monroe. Mm.
• 20:18
  Speaker A: Paul Newman.
• 20:20
  Speaker B: Also remember Inside the Actors Studio with James Lipton.
• 20:23
  Speaker A: Yes.
• 20:23
  Speaker B: He would invite back graduates to have discussions about their career path with the students.
• 20:28
  Speaker A: Yes, Yes.
• 20:30
  Speaker B: I think Bradley Cooper.
• 20:33
  Speaker A: I think he invited just actors. I don't think it was just alum of the Actors Studio.
• 20:39
  Speaker B: True.
• 20:40
  Speaker A: Yeah. But yes, you are right. I really like that show.
• 20:44
  Speaker B: I really Liked it, too.
• 20:45
  Speaker A: He was a good interviewer.
• 20:47
  Speaker B: He was a good interviewer. And he also. He invited the cast of Buffy the Vampire Slayer on. Yeah, he interviewed Barbra Streisand, who you love.
• 20:56
  Speaker A: I love Barbara.
• 20:57
  Speaker B: You can find all these old episodes of the actor studio on YouTube.
• 21:01
  Speaker A: Yeah. Inside the Actor Studio with James Lipton. Okay.
• 21:05
  Speaker B: Sadly.
• 21:05
  Speaker A: So let's get. Let's get back to James Dean, shall we?
• 21:09
  Speaker B: Always.
• 21:10
  Speaker A: In 1950, James made his TV debut in a Pepsi commercial.
• 21:16
  Speaker A: And soon after, he appeared in an Easter TV special about Jesus's resurrection. James Dean played John the apostle.
• 21:25
  Speaker B: Nice. That's an important role.
• 21:29
  Speaker A: Then he went on to play several bit parts in various TV series.
• 21:34
  Speaker A: But Dean's breakout role came not in Hollywood, but on Broadway.
• 21:39
  Speaker B: Tell.
• 21:41
  Speaker A: His performance in the Broadway production The Immoralist of 1954 garnered critical praise and caught the attention of famous director Elia Kazan, who cast him in the film adaptation of John Steinbeck's east of Eden.
• 22:00
  Speaker B: That is a huge deal.
• 22:02
  Speaker A: Huge deal. Did you have to read that in high school?
• 22:05
  Speaker B: I did not. Thank God.
• 22:09
  Speaker A: I think it's on some of the recommended reading lists. Like, it's one of the modern American classics.
• 22:14
  Speaker B: Yeah. Didn't have to read it.
• 22:16
  Speaker A: Okay.
• 22:16
  Speaker B: But the movie.
• 22:18
  Speaker A: Yeah.
• 22:18
  Speaker B: Really good.
• 22:20
  Speaker A: So a little tidbit. Ilia Kazan, he wanted more than just an actor for this role. He needed someone who could inhabit the stormy, conflicted soul of the character Cal Trask from the movie and the book. He wanted, quote, a Brando type.
• 22:40
  Speaker B: He did it. He did it.
• 22:43
  Speaker A: So the screenwriter for the film suggested James Dean. This pretty much, you know, unknown, but. But Broadway actor who was getting some acclaim. And so John Steinbeck, the author of east of Eden, met with James Dean.
• 22:58
  Speaker A: Did you know that?
• 23:00
  Speaker B: I did not know that.
• 23:02
  Speaker A: Do you want me to tell you what he thought of him? Predict. What do you think he thought of him?
• 23:07
  Speaker B: Everyone is affected by the charisma of James Dean, Jill.
• 23:12
  Speaker A: He didn't like him. Steinbeck was like, yeah, shut up. This kid's a little jerk. Yeah, he did. He's like. He's moody. He's like, off putting. But he's like, but this is Cal. This is exactly what we need for my character.
• 23:26
  Speaker B: Exactly. It's like he showed up as Cal.
• 23:31
  Speaker A: Yes, but he didn't like him. He's like, yeah, he's a little prick, but. But he's perfect as Cal.
• 23:37
  Speaker B: Yeah. You wrote a screenplay on a little prick right there.
• 23:41
  Speaker A: Freaking genius.
• 23:42
  Speaker B: I know.
• 23:43
  Speaker A: Genius. Some of James Dean's most powerful moments in east of Eden weren't written in the script at all. They were ad libbed, completely improvised.
• 23:56
  Speaker B: And that actor that played his father really did not like him.
• 24:00
  Speaker A: Really? Okay, in real life. So wait, there's one scene where Cal, the character that James Dean is playing, was out looking for his mother. And then he curls up, childlike, on top of a boxcar of a train. Mm. In sadness after being out looking for his mother.
• 24:24
  Speaker B: But other. Oh, my God. Go ahead, say it. No, tell us.
• 24:29
  Speaker A: Tell us. Tell us.
• 24:30
  Speaker B: No, you're going to tell us. You're going to tell us. But I just want to say I rewatched this on YouTube the other day.
• 24:36
  Speaker A: You did? East of you?
• 24:38
  Speaker B: Yes. And I was totally gut wrenched by this scene.
• 24:43
  Speaker A: Oh, my God. Okay, so this is what Wikipedia calls the film's most unforgettable improvised moment. And it unfolds when Cal's father, played by Raymond Massey, didn't like old. You didn't like him.
• 24:58
  Speaker B: He didn't like him.
• 24:59
  Speaker A: Oh. Coldly rejects his son's hard earned gift of $5,000, money that Cal risked everything to make speculating in beans before America entered World War I. Okay, now, the script demanded that James Dean turn and run away after his dad. The character who plays his dad, like, rejects this offering of the 5,000. Right? So the script was like, James Dean turns and runs away. Cal turns and runs instead. Instead.
• 25:33
  Speaker B: Oh, God, you guys.
• 25:35
  Speaker A: James Dean, driven by pure, unfiltered emotion, lunged toward Massie, collapsing into a desperate embrace, sobbing against his chest.
• 25:49
  Speaker B: And his dad isn't hugging him back.
• 25:52
  Speaker A: Mm. Mm. The shock on Massey's face in that scene is real. He's frozen in raw silence at what the f is happening right now. And the cameras continued rolling, and the director, in his wisdom, kept the scene untouched. This visceral portrait of a son starving for. For his father's approval. Before I just got chills. I just got chills right now.
• 26:20
  Speaker B: It's so incredibly moving. Before he lunges himself in this embrace where he's not getting embraced back, he starts thinking like, dad, you can put the money away if you don't want it now you may think differently. And he's like, just. It's just gut wrenching, like he's losing his mind, thinking like, I did all this for you and not even this is good enough.
• 26:46
  Speaker A: Yeah. Oof.
• 26:48
  Speaker B: And then he runs out crying, and it's just terrible.
• 26:54
  Speaker A: So as the complex and anguished character Cal Trask, James Dean delivered a performance that was both vulnerable and electrifying. It's like you can't look away from Him.
• 27:07
  Speaker B: Absolutely not. I'm like, I don't even like you're saying these words. And I'm like, yeah, no shit. Like, you can't look away from him. You are so captivated by this tortured character and how well he's being portrayed.
• 27:20
  Speaker A: And even before east of Eden reached the public, Dean's performance was already sparking whispers across Hollywood. And word spread quickly. Critics, producers, directors crowded into advanced screenings, eager to witness the young unknown that everybody was talking about. When the film premiered in March 1955, legendary columnist Hedda Hopper captured the town's frenzy with this quote. I can't remember when any screen newcomer generated as much excitement in Hollywood as did James Dean in his first picture, east of Eden.
• 28:03
  Speaker A: Again, I have chills. Why do I have chills? It's crazy, I know. Can I tell you? Yes, go ahead.
• 28:12
  Speaker B: Again, I was anticipating recording with you today, but I have. I have my suitcase and everything packed in the basement. And I have folded up T shirts and I wanted to wear my Beatles T shirt with my leather pants, which is a great outfit for everyone. And I pulled out a folded T shirt that I thought was the Beatles T shirt and I went upstairs, I took my shower, whatever, and I put it on. It wasn't the Beatles T shirt. It was the T shirt with James Dean on it.
• 28:42
  Speaker A: Shut up.
• 28:42
  Speaker B: Swear.
• 28:43
  Speaker A: He's like, he likes that we're talking about him.
• 28:46
  Speaker B: I know he likes that we're talking about him.
• 28:48
  Speaker A: He is funny. So, Jill. With a single performance, he stepped out of obscurity and into legend. Hollywood felt it like a shockwave. James Dean had arrived and nothing would be the same. Remarkably, for all his fame, east of Eden was the only film starring James Dean to be released before his death.
• 29:14
  Speaker B: That's a sad statement.
• 29:18
  Speaker A: That same year, 1955, Dean completed his second film, Rebel Without a Cause, portraying the Jim Stark, a troubled yet sensitive teenager searching for identity and belonging in post war America.
• 29:32
  Speaker B: You guys, if you have not seen this movie, you need to go no further. Stop right now. Watch this movie. You can get it on prime for $10 and then tune back in. Because when I'm telling you it is not only a fantastic performance, but he puts everyone else in that movie to shame. Just not in a bad way. It's just his performance is so authentic that everyone else around him looks like they're like high school teenagers in a play.
• 30:05
  Speaker A: The film captured the emotional turbulence of youth in a way that had never been shown before. And Dean, brooding, misunderstood and achingly human, became the symbol of teenage rebellion for Generations.
• 30:19
  Speaker B: Yes, ma'. Am.
• 30:20
  Speaker A: For his next film, Dean went in a different direction, worried that he would be typecast as an angsty teen. And his final completed film, Giant of 1956, showcased his extraordinary range as Jet Rink, a poor ranch hand who transforms into a wealthy oil tycoon. Dean evolved on screen from an awkward youth to a hardened magnate.
• 30:48
  Speaker B: And I will tell you that that is a great evolution of character. And there is a part in that movie opposite Elizabeth Taylor. Yes. Where he is super awkward flirting with her. And I just die every time. Like, I'm like, oh, my God, how does she keep it together? When James Dean is like. Literally, he's like, well, you look pretty today. And she's like, well, I will be sure to tell my husband I meet with your approval. And I'm like, honey, this is James Dean girl. I mean, I get you're Liz Taylor.
• 31:20
  Speaker A: But she's Elizabeth Taylor.
• 31:22
  Speaker B: Yeah, but this is James Dean flirting with you. Please. Now.
• 31:28
  Speaker A: Off screen, Dean cultivated a reputation for unpredictability. He was introspective, yet mischievous. Magnetic, yet intensely private. Gosh, what contradictions.
• 31:43
  Speaker B: Oh, I love him.
• 31:45
  Speaker A: He was deeply influenced by philosophy, jazz, bullfighting and poetry. Yet motorcycles and fast cars became his sharpest thrills. In 1955, he signed on as a racing competitor.
• 32:04
  Speaker B: But famously, he wasn't allowed to race until the movie Giant was completed.
• 32:10
  Speaker A: Wow.
• 32:13
  Speaker B: Jack Warner was like. Made him sign something like, absolutely not.
• 32:18
  Speaker A: Thank God, because this doesn't end well, people, in case you didn't know. Another sad part coming. Let's get to the untimely death of the incredible James Dean.
• 32:31
  Speaker B: Bring us to the incident.
• 32:33
  Speaker A: It was Friday, September 30, 1955. Dean, age 24, was driving his new Porsche 550 Spider, nicknamed Little Bastard, to a.
• 32:46
  Speaker B: Can I tell you why?
• 32:47
  Speaker A: To a sports race in Salinas, California. Tell me why it was called Little Bastard.
• 32:52
  Speaker B: Because Jack Warner did not like James Dean. And so he parked his race car because it was a source of conflict between Jack Warner and James Dean.
• 33:03
  Speaker A: Sure, sure.
• 33:03
  Speaker B: So he parked his race car outside of Jack Warner's window and of his office window on the lot. And Jack Warner was like, that little bastard. So that's why he got the name Little Bastard.
• 33:16
  Speaker A: Oh, I love it. I love it. Thanks for that. Dean had recently become very serious about car racing. And instead of towing the Porsche to Salinas for the race, he decided on the advice of his mechanic, Rolf Wutherich, to drive it there to get some break in miles on the engine. Cause it was brand new. You don't wanna race it for the first time without getting some miles on. So instead of towing it, he decided to drive it. And in the car they left.
• 33:47
  Speaker B: They left Southern California towing it and the mechanic convinced Jimmy to drive it when they stopped to fill it up before to fill up with gas somewhere along the way. So he wasn't planning to drive the car that day.
• 34:01
  Speaker A: In the car Dean was driving and Rolf Wotherlich, his German mechanic, was in the passenger seat. A Ford station wagon towing a trailer with a photographer and friends followed behind them for part of the trip. Earlier in the day, Dean was driving west on U.S. route 2, 466, now State Route 46 toward Paso Robles, California. It was dusk, visibility decreasing with the sun dropping. The road was a two lane highway, fairly open and rural with intersections that could be dangerous if drivers misjudged speed or distance.
• 34:47
  Speaker A: At approximately 5:45pm near the junction of Highway 466 and Highway 41, a 1950 Ford Tudor driven by Donald Turnipseed, a 23 year old college student, was traveling in the opposite direction. Turnipseed intended to turn left across Dean's lane onto Highway 41.
• 35:15
  Speaker A: Turnip seed began his left turn across the westbound lane. Dean's low silver Porsche was approaching at a high speed from the opposite direction. Turnipseed later said he never saw the Porsche in time, possibly due to its small profile and the lighting conditions at dusk. Moments before impact, Dean reportedly shouted something like that guy's gotta stop.
• 35:45
  Speaker A: The Porsche slammed nearly head on into the right front of Turnipseed's Ford. Dean's Porsche was thrown sideways and crushed. Dean suffered massive injuries, including a broken neck. Weatherich was thrown from the car and badly injured, but he survived. Turnip Seed sustained only minor injuries.
• 36:13
  Speaker A: Dean was pronounced dead shortly after arriving at the hospital and Paso Robles.
• 36:18
  Speaker B: Oh God. Jennifer, what were the official findings of the incident report?
• 36:26
  Speaker A: The official findings were that Turnip Seed was not criminally charged, that the accident was ruled essentially a traffic mishap with no clear evidence of criminal negligence. And authorities stated that Dean was likely speeding. Though the exact speed at the moment of impact is still hotly debated, some estimates put him at between 55 and 70 miles per hour, with some early sensational claims being much higher. But hard evidence was limited. You hear things about him going over 100, 100 miles an hour and I think that's been debunked. Yes, as sensational.
• 37:06
  Speaker B: Also, I think 70 is excessive.
• 37:09
  Speaker A: You think 70. 70 is excessive, Jill. You think 70 is excessive?
• 37:15
  Speaker B: As saying that he was driving 70. I think it's excessive to report that he was driving 70 because to me.
• 37:24
  Speaker A: 55 to 70, completely reasonable.
• 37:26
  Speaker B: Not on a two lane highway.
• 37:30
  Speaker A: Okay, yeah, that's true. All right, I see what you're saying. Yeah, I see what you're saying. Oh man.
• 37:38
  Speaker A: Yeah.
• 37:39
  Speaker B: I mean I ain't gonna lie, I've done it.
• 37:41
  Speaker A: Yeah.
• 37:41
  Speaker B: But usually in places that like I'm familiar with where the cops hide out and the road.
• 37:48
  Speaker A: Yeah, I would say. Yeah. I mean it's been hotly debated and you can look into this. A lot of people have done deep dives into like the angle of the sun and the color of the car and how even if he was doing 55, he would not have been seen because of the color and the angle of the sun on that and the.
• 38:09
  Speaker B: Slope of the road that did impacts on how the road divvied into one direction and if that mattered.
• 38:18
  Speaker A: Right.
• 38:18
  Speaker B: I think ultimately, ah, it's an accident. It's not a traffic purpose. It's a traffic accident, you know.
• 38:27
  Speaker A: Oh, it's not a traffic purpose.
• 38:29
  Speaker B: Yes. It's not like Turnip Seed was like, haha, I'm going to like.
• 38:33
  Speaker A: He obviously, he obviously didn't see it.
• 38:36
  Speaker B: Right. And poor dude, I mean he obviously didn't know who, who was in the car at the time, you know?
• 38:43
  Speaker A: Yeah. And the fact that it was silver and highly reflective.
• 38:47
  Speaker B: Mm.
• 38:48
  Speaker A: Yeah. It was just a perfect storm of circumstance.
• 38:53
  Speaker B: I've been on a highway where I can't tell in front of me whether there's a truck in front of me or if there's like a viaducts, you know what I mean? Like you don't know whether or not something's like, especially at night or at dusk. The way that the angles are, it just kind of plays with you, especially if you've been in the car for a while.
• 39:11
  Speaker A: James Dean's death was announced publicly that night and shocked Hollywood and the wider world. Especially because Rebel Without a Cause hadn't even been widely released yet.
• 39:23
  Speaker A: James Dean's life had come to a dramatic and untimely end. His legend, however, was just beginning.
• 39:34
  Speaker A: So James Dean's first film that we talked about, east of Eden, earned him a posthumous Academy Award nomination.
• 39:42
  Speaker B: Did he win?
• 39:44
  Speaker A: I don't know.
• 39:45
  Speaker B: He should have just.
• 39:47
  Speaker A: Third movie, Giant, earned him another Academy Award nomination for best Actor, making him the only actor nominated twice.
• 39:57
  Speaker A: I said it right the first time posthumously post Human after he died.
• 40:04
  Speaker B: Leave it in, Brian, leave that one in.
• 40:08
  Speaker A: Yeah. But it was his second film, Rebel Without A cause that had arguably the most profound impact on American pop culture.
• 40:18
  Speaker B: Why? Why? Rebel Without a Cause.
• 40:20
  Speaker A: It was groundbreaking. When it premiered in 1955, American cinema at that time had rarely taken the emotional lives of teenagers seriously.
• 40:31
  Speaker B: It's like Leave it to Beaver times.
• 40:33
  Speaker A: Yes, yes, exactly. Hollywood tended to portray youth as either wholesome, innocent caricatures of American values, AKA Leave it to Beaver, or reckless delinquents beyond redemption. Right.
• 40:47
  Speaker B: But here, like the outsiders.
• 40:50
  Speaker A: Well, that came much later, but. Yes. But here, teenagers were not. Sorry. Teenagers were a problem to contain, not characters with depth psychology or voice. And then came Rebel Without a Cause. And it treated teenage angst as real and valid. It explored the inner turmoil of young people with honesty and, like, it's not just rebellion. Like. Right. It acknowledged, like, tension with parents. That's real confusion about identity, emotional isolation. Like, really looking into youth as complex characters.
• 41:33
  Speaker B: True.
• 41:35
  Speaker B: It's just such a good movie for so many different reasons. When I think about the themes, just the fact that, you know, Jim, in the movie, Jim Starr is starting a new school.
• 41:47
  Speaker A: Yep.
• 41:48
  Speaker B: And he's walking in the first day, and then there's like, the seal. The school seal's on the ground. Right. And he walks onto the seal, not knowing that it's a big deal.
• 41:58
  Speaker A: Right. You're not. Not. You're not supposed to walk on the seal. He didn't know that.
• 42:02
  Speaker B: Yeah. And some dude's like, hey, you just walked on our seal. And he's like, sorry, man, I didn't know. I didn't know. You know, it's just so. It's so telling that you're walking into another culture, you're walking into a different. A different sensibility than the last place you've been. And, like, you're. You're sticking out and you're not fitting in. And that just walking in the building is already painfully obvious.
• 42:24
  Speaker A: Right. Not only that, but in the 1950s, America sold an image of immaculate suburban harmony. Right. Think, step, word, wives. Like, everything is perfect here in post war America. Right. The. This film, though, dared to suggest the opposite. That parents could fail their children and do. That households could be dysfunctional behind closed doors, and that emotional neglect could be as damaging as physical harm. This was radical.
• 42:58
  Speaker B: Yeah. No, and I think in Jim's family and the situation in the movie, it wasn't that he was neglected, it's that he was overly. It was a helicopter situation. With his mom.
• 43:10
  Speaker A: With his mom. With his mom. But his dad was a kind of a limp noodle of a figure.
• 43:18
  Speaker B: He was incapable of Actually having any impact in his own marriage and in his son's life.
• 43:25
  Speaker A: Right. Another thing about Rebel Without a Cause that really left an impact was that it captured youth culture at the moment. It was being born, the 1950s. It's the dawn of rock and roll. Youth consumer identity, youth consumerism, teen fashion, pop psychology. Not only did the film reflect this shift, it helped shape it. Right. Leather jackets, leather jackets, fast cars, the image of the brooding outsider. Now they're permanent cultural symbols.
• 43:59
  Speaker B: True, true.
• 44:02
  Speaker A: It also presented a new kind of hero. James Dean as Jim Stark was not the moral, clean cut protagonist that audiences were used to. He was flawed, he was sensitive, he was impulsive, and he was wounded. Yet he was still deeply sympathetic. James Dean gave the character humanity instead of judgment, making him an archetype for generations of misunderstood protagonists to come.
• 44:30
  Speaker B: Well done, James Dean. Seriously.
• 44:34
  Speaker A: I know. I got those goosebumps again.
• 44:35
  Speaker B: Chills again. Yeah.
• 44:38
  Speaker A: With only three major films, he achieved what most performers chase for their entire lifetimes. Myth. His slouch, his voice, his troubled gaze. Well, then, they're now, oh, my God, I love it.
• 44:52
  Speaker B: And he's cute, too.
• 44:53
  Speaker A: These visual. These became visual shorthand for the youthful angst and Defiance of the 50s. Posters of him adorned bedrooms. Musicians reference him. Filmmakers reinterpreted him. Fashion still imitates him. The red jacket, the cigarette, the squint against the wind. American iconography.
• 45:14
  Speaker A: I can't talk anymore. American iconography.
• 45:19
  Speaker B: I said that word right earlier too. Made me impressed with myself.
• 45:23
  Speaker A: Good. Good job, Jill. So, yeah, he became a cultural archetype. The rebel, the dreamer, the artistic soul too bright for the confines of ordinary life. And his grave. And Fairmount's Park Cemetery has become a pilgrimage destination, while the James Dean Gallery, an annual festival in Fairmount, Indiana, keep his memory woven tightly into the identity of the community that raised him. Though his life was brief, his impact continues to ripple through film, fashion and popular culture. James Dean remains the embodiment of youthful intensity and tragic promise. A reminder of how quickly brilliance can ignite and how long its glow can last.
• 46:04
  Speaker B: So, Jill, now that I think about it, I can picture in different movies that archetype that James Dean created. Like in Peggy Sue Got Married, that dreamer with the leather jacket that she falls for. You know what I mean? Now it's all like, oh, my God, there it is again. There it is again. And it all started with James Dean, Right?
• 46:21
  Speaker A: Well, look at Elvis Presley's first or his first movies, right? King Creole. King Creole was modeled right after James Dean. Absolutely. Wouldn't you say?
• 46:31
  Speaker B: Absolutely.
• 46:32
  Speaker A: Yeah. No, I mean, if you say Fonzie.
• 46:36
  Speaker B: Absolutely.
• 46:37
  Speaker A: Right. Well, I think you have to be careful because Marlon Brando was a contemporary and he added to this iconography as well. So it wasn't like a single handed thing.
• 46:46
  Speaker B: Some critics say that when James Dean died, Marlon Brando stopped trying as hard. Just saying. So some critics say that we lost two great actors potential that day.
• 46:59
  Speaker A: Just really swear to God.
• 47:01
  Speaker B: Swear to God.
• 47:03
  Speaker A: Anyway, so, Jill, we get to Fairmount. Yes. We are feeling lightness, happiness. We're excited because we're going to go to the place where we didn't even know we were the hometown of James Dean.
• 47:15
  Speaker B: Yes. It has an historic vibe to it, which I totally like.
• 47:21
  Speaker A: Yeah, I loved it. I was completely enchanted. Completely.
• 47:24
  Speaker B: The sense of fame is still there. It's not forgotten. It's celebrated on an ongoing basis. And I don't know if I'm jumping ahead here, but that weekend or the August before or the week before, they just celebrated 75 years after James Dean's passing.
• 47:43
  Speaker A: Yeah, they had a big festival.
• 47:45
  Speaker B: They had a big. And we didn't even know.
• 47:47
  Speaker A: We didn't even know. All right, Jill, so talk to us about what happened when we were in Fairmount. Tell us everything.
• 47:55
  Speaker B: Oh, my God, you guys, stop it right now. So Jen and I find the James Dean Museum and gift shop.
• 48:02
  Speaker A: It wasn't hard. It's on the main drag.
• 48:04
  Speaker B: Yeah, it's on the main drag. It wasn't hard. We didn't use our Spideys. We're actually following signs. And of course we're buying things. Right?
• 48:11
  Speaker A: Yeah.
• 48:11
  Speaker B: I got a mug, I got a T shirt, love. And then we walk and talk to the person behind the counter. Her name is Dorothy. She's so sweet. She said she thought that we were actresses.
• 48:23
  Speaker A: Jill, I can't believe you put that in here.
• 48:26
  Speaker B: It's true. So we told her about our podcast because she was like, did you know about.
• 48:31
  Speaker A: Yeah, well, she was confused. She was confused because. Because, because we were there, but we didn't. Right. Well, clearly she was confused, but we didn't know we were gonna be there. So she's like, oh, you guys just missed, you know, the, the festival last weekend. And we're like, okay, look, we didn't even know we were going to be here. We talked to ghosts, we talked to spirits. And somehow we're here. We don't know why. We're psychics. Right. We have a podcast. And so what does she say?
• 48:59
  Speaker B: She's like, oh, my God, I really want you guys to walk through the museum. Because I have impressions here and I want to know if I'm crazy.
• 49:07
  Speaker A: Exactly. So we do. We go into the museum and.
• 49:12
  Speaker B: Well, first, in classic Jennifer style, she assures her that she is not crazy and that if she's picking up something, she needs to follow her intuition. So she talks her through all that. And then we walk through the museum.
• 49:24
  Speaker A: And then we walk through the museum. Yeah.
• 49:27
  Speaker B: Oh my God. He's on display. This is such a special place. Such a special place.
• 49:32
  Speaker A: You guys have to go there. If you are at all interested in James Dean. Because all of his personal belongings are.
• 49:39
  Speaker B: There from early life.
• 49:41
  Speaker A: Yes.
• 49:41
  Speaker B: And from his film career and his stage productions.
• 49:45
  Speaker A: Yeah. How about the replica of his bedroom with his. His furniture, his real life furniture.
• 49:52
  Speaker B: His bed, his desk, his baby crib. His bedroom furniture. Like with a replica of how his room looked at home.
• 50:01
  Speaker A: What else, what else was there?
• 50:02
  Speaker B: Oh my God. It was his high school car, the vehicle he used to drive to high school, which is beautiful and pristine condition. There are other early life items like toys, school yearbooks, artifacts, etc, etc. One quirky bit, soil samples collected by Dean in 1944, that one at a local county fair are on display there.
• 50:28
  Speaker A: His motorcycle, his motorcycles.
• 50:30
  Speaker B: Yes.
• 50:32
  Speaker A: Movie props. I think the, the most affecting thing for me were the personal items more than the movie props because you see movie props of James Dean in a lot of different places.
• 50:43
  Speaker B: So we're walking around and we're feeling out this museum and it does feel special. I have to say. Jen and I have been in many museums or places of famous people. The Patsy Cline Museum, we've been to Graceland a number of times. But this, this small space filled with this memorabilia, his personal items from his life really felt supercharged. And so we were feeling out the feelings and we were noting different areas of the museum that we were feeling his presence strongly. But it wasn't until.
• 51:22
  Speaker B: It wasn't until Jennifer and I found our way together again because we were at separate areas of the room and we were standing in front of a display case that had letters that James Dean had written in his own hand. And one of them was written to his small cousin at the time.
• 51:45
  Speaker A: Yeah. So this letter was written to his young cousin Marcus. And Marcus was probably the closest thing that Dean ever knew to a brother because it was his parents. It was Marcus's parents who raised Dean after he was sent back to Indiana. Right, right. And the letter was estimated to have been written between 1951 and 1953. And in it he replies to drawings that his Young cousin had sent him and urges him to choose different subjects. Okay, so I actually found a transcript. What?
• 52:24
  Speaker B: Can you read the letter for us?
• 52:26
  Speaker A: Yes, I can read the letter, but I don't want to do a voice.
• 52:30
  Speaker B: You can't?
• 52:31
  Speaker A: No, I can't do a voice?
• 52:32
  Speaker B: No. It is sacrilegious, this. No, I'm glad.
• 52:35
  Speaker A: I'm glad that you agree. Okay, so here's the transcript.
• 52:38
  Speaker B: Absolutely no way.
• 52:39
  Speaker A: This is the transcript of the letter that Jill and I are reading in the middle of the James Dean Museum. It says, dear Marcus Jr. First I want to thank you for the fine pictures. I feel the urgent need to warn you about something. Anyone at all can draw soldiers, guns, and barred gates with locks on them. Why? Because there are a lot of those things to see. That shouldn't mean they are good things to draw. We live in a world where these things become very important. And that is bad. You should be aware of that because you don't have to see too many of those things. Because you live on a land that is greatly blessed by Lord God.
• 53:27
  Speaker A: It would be much better if you would spread your talents towards the greater arts. Everyone can't draw trees, clouds, sheep, dogs, all kinds of animals. The earth, hills, mountains, seas, oceans. I beg of you, please do not draw buildings of confinement, jails, castles or zoos. Rather draw places of shelter. Do not draw people in uniforms. Rather draw people who are free.
• 54:07
  Speaker A: Do not draw things of destruction. They are not so important to the good and true artist that he must draw them. Rather draw tools, things that build.
• 54:21
  Speaker A: There are many things to draw at home. All you have to do is look and you will see. They are harder to draw because they were harder to grow. Have your daddy help you read this. Love, Jim.
• 54:37
  Speaker B: Okay, that gave me chills again. And.
• 54:43
  Speaker A: So we're huddled over together, Jill and I bent over this tabletop display with the glass separating us from this letter, right? And as. As I'm reading this, I'm stopping midway through it. Cause I'm reading it aloud, as I always do. And I say to Jill, I say to Jill, I had no idea he was this deep. Mm.
• 55:07
  Speaker B: Or this spiritual.
• 55:09
  Speaker A: Uh huh. Spiritual. And so what did you notice just then?
• 55:14
  Speaker B: So I am taller than Jennifer. So Jennifer is to my right. And she's leaning over, and I'm basically leaning over her. And it felt like someone over Jennifer, past my left ear, was standing there. Or my left ear, my right ear. So it was like just out of my peripheral vision that someone's standing there. So I stop and I back and I, like, kind of straighten up and I look, and of course, no one's there. So I huddle back down.
• 55:44
  Speaker A: Do you know. Do you remember what you said to me?
• 55:46
  Speaker B: What did I say to you?
• 55:48
  Speaker A: You shot up really fast, so I shut up and you go. You said to me, do you think he's here?
• 55:57
  Speaker B: Checks.
• 55:58
  Speaker A: That.
• 55:58
  Speaker B: Checks. And then we leaned back over to discuss the letter.
• 56:02
  Speaker A: Like, to keep reading.
• 56:03
  Speaker B: Yeah, to keep reading the letter. And I got that impression again of someone, but this time I got it with the feeling of, like, what you girls doing? What you looking at? Like that kind of like a kind of funny.
• 56:19
  Speaker B: Trickery. Kind of like. You know what I mean? Just, like, teasing.
• 56:22
  Speaker A: Teasing us.
• 56:23
  Speaker B: Yes, yes. Like, what's she looking at so intensely? And then I was like, wait a second. He's really here.
• 56:30
  Speaker A: That's when we were both like, no, he's really here. Like, that's really him. Like, in spirit.
• 56:36
  Speaker B: He's really here.
• 56:39
  Speaker B: And he's engaging with us.
• 56:40
  Speaker A: Yeah. And he was kind and he was personable and down to earth and charming and down to earth.
• 56:49
  Speaker B: Like, he wasn't taking himself too seriously. It wasn't like, he's like, oh, you're reading this letter. It was like he was like, what you girls looking at?
• 56:57
  Speaker A: Right, Right.
• 56:59
  Speaker A: Yeah. So we also walked to the other end of the museum, which is not about James Dean at all. It's the guy who did the Garfield.
• 57:08
  Speaker B: Garfield?
• 57:09
  Speaker A: The comic strip.
• 57:10
  Speaker B: Poor thing.
• 57:11
  Speaker A: I mean, that feeling was very different.
• 57:14
  Speaker B: That feeling, like you walk through these partitions to the other side of the museum, and that feeling of special, that feeling of magic was just gone.
• 57:26
  Speaker A: There was no presence there.
• 57:27
  Speaker B: It was almost like you were just in a library.
• 57:30
  Speaker A: Right. So we go back to Dorothy at the front desk, and what do we tell her, Jill?
• 57:36
  Speaker B: We told her that we felt him and we wanted to show her where. So we bring her back into the museum with us, and we're like, okay, we're standing in front of this display case, and we're leaning over, and she stops us, and she's like, what letter were you reading?
• 57:50
  Speaker A: Right. And we show her the letter, and she goes, that's his most famous letter.
• 57:57
  Speaker A: Really? We had no idea he had a famous letter. And we just happened to be drawn to it. That's crazy. Totally validated, that. And then a little later, before we were leaving. Tell us what happened, Jill.
• 58:09
  Speaker B: So we were leaving. We're like, we're definitely going to the cemetery. Please. We signed the book saying that we were here and that we are common mystics and we were here. And she's like, yes, definitely, go to the cemetery. And as we were leaving, I was getting the impression of there's some kind of train connection. Like, I was seeing a locomotive in my mind's eye. Like the wheels going back and forth, back and forth, back and forth. So I had to know, like, what was the train connection?
• 58:36
  Speaker A: And Dorothy said, that's so funny that you bring up the train. Because she explained to us that when James Dean's mom died in California and his dad sent him back to Indiana, he sent him on a train.
• 58:55
  Speaker A: And every time the train stopped, he would run to the back where his mother's body was being transported in a different train car and he ran back just to check on her. So that ride was very emotional and pivotal in his life and he never forgot it. And he kept something from that ride. He kept a cup and saucer, which Dorothy then turns and points to and says, and it's right there.
• 59:26
  Speaker B: Like, it's actually right there.
• 59:27
  Speaker A: Literally right there. So Jill was picking up on that.
• 59:32
  Speaker A: Crazy.
• 59:33
  Speaker B: We thank Dorothy. We're gonna reach out to her and see if she'll be on Detours because.
• 59:37
  Speaker A: It would be great if she would talk to us on Detours. She is a font of knowledge and she's young. She's a young lady and she loves it. She knows everything about James Dean. I would love to talk to her.
• 59:48
  Speaker B: I love that she and I believe the community at large still love him. They do, like, love him. Like, really genuinely love him.
• 59:56
  Speaker A: Yeah.
• 59:58
  Speaker B: So we leave. We go to the cemetery.
• 1:00:00
  Speaker A: Yeah. Let's wrap this up. We basically went to the cemetery. We had some private time. We made out with this tombstone.
• 1:00:06
  Speaker B: We did make out with this tombstone. Long story short, but I do wanna mention that this is not the first inanimate object that Jennifer and I have made out with. The same one. We shared inanimate objects in our past.
• 1:00:18
  Speaker A: Not at the same time, though. We're classy. Well, we.
• 1:00:22
  Speaker B: Yeah, we gave each other private time with the stone.
• 1:00:25
  Speaker A: Well, when we. When we came. All right. The funny thing is, as we're driving up to the tombstone, there was a car in front of us. And we're like, oh, man, we're not going to be alone with them. You know, there's. We're going to. You know. But then they just drove away and left us alone. So we were like, woohoo. All bets are off.
• 1:00:41
  Speaker B: Be like, you shouldn't have done that, mister.
• 1:00:44
  Speaker A: And it's a very modest stone. You wouldn't know if not for all the Little memorabilia that people leave there. You wouldn't know that he was anybody special. It just says his name and the dates. That's it. But we didn't. We didn't have anything to leave. We didn't leave a pack. We didn't bring a pack of cigarettes. You know, other people left things like little toy motorcycles and cars.
• 1:01:07
  Speaker B: Right. And we weren't trying to find James Dean that day. We literally do what we do and we found him and so we had to leave something. So we left our kiss marks on.
• 1:01:17
  Speaker A: Kiss marks? Yes.
• 1:01:18
  Speaker B: Yes.
• 1:01:19
  Speaker A: Like countless women behind us. Yeah. His grave is kissed all over. So. Yeah.
• 1:01:25
  Speaker B: And that's not gross. I don't care. Please don't judge. Okay, so why is this so cool? Jennifer, who's. Okay, before we do that, who's our voiceless?
• 1:01:34
  Speaker A: Isn't it obvious? Don't you think our voiceless is James Dean?
• 1:01:38
  Speaker B: I do, but I also think that Turnip Seed, Donald Deep Seed.
• 1:01:43
  Speaker A: I don't even want to talk about. I'm still angry with Turnips.
• 1:01:45
  Speaker B: Can I. Okay, let me just go through this really quick because I think Turnip Seed needs a voice. Donald Turnup Seed. Because when he got in that accident with Jimmy and the mechanic, his life completely changed and people hated him and he had a move. He had to quit college. And I do not think that that's something James Dean would condone. So he's probably saying like, you know, it was an accident. It literally was an accident.
• 1:02:11
  Speaker A: Yeah.
• 1:02:11
  Speaker B: Don't hate on Donald. Turn up Seed. Jennifer.
• 1:02:14
  Speaker A: Okay, I'm not happy with him, but I understand your point.
• 1:02:20
  Speaker A: Jill. It seems preposterous to give James Dean a voice on one hand, because he is. He is so well known the world over and has been for like 70 something years.
• 1:02:33
  Speaker B: But was he? When we got there that day, we didn't know how spiritual he was.
• 1:02:38
  Speaker A: That's true.
• 1:02:40
  Speaker B: We. I mean, he, yes, he's an icon, but being an icon, you lose some of that personality, the who the person was. And I think that James Dean, A, is coming through to us to be like, I was more than those characters. B, I think he was saying, like, it wasn't his fault. It literally was an accident. Yeah, it wasn't his fault. It wasn't Turnip Seeds fault. It was just an accident. What do you think?
• 1:03:08
  Speaker A: I. You know, as you were talking, I suddenly got the realization that you're right because you know how he didn't want to be Typ cast as that angsty teen? Like, that was like the worst thing for him. Like he already did two movies where he played at Angsty Teen. Now he wanted to do Giant to show his range. Well, when he died tragically, I believe, and, and I think this is written about, you can find this. Hollywood capitalized on the tragic death of this rebel and kind of took, you know, and ran with that image of him as the rebel who lived fast and died hard. And once again he feels typecast as that and that is not who he was as a person. And that really bothers him to be typecast, you know what I mean? So I think you're right. People don't know about the person he was. The incredible depth.
• 1:04:09
  Speaker B: I was just watching Rebel Without a Cause last night and.
• 1:04:15
  Speaker B: I was telling you this morning when we were talking that having felt James Dean's energy that day in Fairmont and being in that museum, watching the movie, I was expecting to feel some of that come across, but I didn't. I felt the character that he was portraying and I just felt like, wow. Although this is such a great performance, I assumed before Fairmount that it was like he was playing his strengths, but he wasn't. He was playing against his strengths.
• 1:04:52
  Speaker A: Just goes to show that he really was an incredible actor. So I think we should end there. Jill, I think all of our hits are so, are so obvious, right?
• 1:05:03
  Speaker B: Totally. But Jennifer, we can't end. We have shout outs to do. Shout out.
• 1:05:08
  Speaker A: Oh, that was a hard transition. What are we shouting out to? Talk to me.
• 1:05:12
  Speaker B: Oh my God, you guys. We've been asking to reach 210 on our Apple reviews and you guys have delivered and Jennifer has to read two of our newest reviews and we made it to 210. So thank you guys so, so much.
• 1:05:26
  Speaker A: Yes, we have 210 ratings on Apple. We are beside ourselves. Thank you. Because of you guys, our listeners are the best. Are the best. So we have A review from L.J. white, 41, just came in on Wednesday. Thank you. L.J. white, 41. Five stars. L.J. says. I have been an avid listener of common mystics for about a year now. I came across this podcast by chance, but after listening to just one episode, I went back to the very first episode and binge listened to everyone until I caught up to current ones. Oh, I love the historical content you give every episode. Recently I listened to an episode that took place in my. In my now hometown. Episode139. I loved hearing stories I didn't know from my own backyard. Never stop what you are doing. I love you guys. I am hopeful to engage in a reading And a class with each of you in the near future. Thank you.
• 1:06:28
  Speaker B: Thank you so much. And we have another one from two weeks ago from Tri T R I.
• 1:06:35
  Speaker A: Okay. Trig rn Bay. Five stories. Five stars. Great storytellers. Loving these stories from these sisters. Thank you so much, you guys. We are next. Our next benchmark is 220. We want to get to 220. So can we do 220?
• 1:06:56
  Speaker B: Do I hear 220? Can we get there?
• 1:06:59
  Speaker A: And Jill. Thank you guys.
• 1:07:01
  Speaker B: I just want to thank you guys. During this holiday season, if you could please share us with your friends and family. It's totally free to do, but if you're feeling like you want to gift someone the gift of the Mystics, you can sponsor someone on our Patreon page to get more content. Or you can come join our Patreon page as well. We would love to have you.
• 1:07:23
  Speaker A: Excellent. Any level would be so helpful to us. Also, if you are looking for psychic development classes, I will be starting one at the end of January. Those dates will be determined asap and we will update our website to include those on there as soon as we can. But in the meantime, if you have questions, please email us@commonmysticsmail.com and we will give you all the information.
• 1:07:48
  Speaker B: And as always, I'm always doing readings, so please hit us up. I'd love. I love interacting with you guys and meeting you on Zoom. So thank you guys.
• 1:07:57
  Speaker A: Anything else or does that wrap it up?
• 1:07:59
  Speaker B: We just love you.
• 1:08:01
  Speaker A: We love you. We love you so much. Thank you. You keep us going. Happy holidays. We'll talk. Talk to you soon.
• 1:08:08
  Speaker B: Merry Christmas.
• 1:08:09
  Speaker A: Bye. Love you. Bye.
• 1:08:11
  Speaker B: This has been a common Mystics Media Production Editing done by Yokai Audio Kalamazoo Michael.