Throwback Thursday: Bob Dylan's Visit to the James Dean Museum

This day in history, 1955: James Dean, a symbol of the confused, restless, and disillusioned youth of the 1950s, died in an automobile crash as he drove to a car rally in Salinas, California. Interestingly, the Salinas Valley was the backdrop for many stories by Nobel Laureate John Steinbeck and James Dean a central character in Steinbeck's East of Eden.

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It's well-known that Bob Dylan grew up as a fan of motion pictures. His writings make numerous references to films. While on tour in July 1988, Dylan directed the bus to make a detour after a show in Indianapolis. He'd evidently been aware that the James Dean Museum was in the vicinity of where they were traveling. What follows is an excerpt from a 2015 blog post in which I included an account of that event.

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This week I re-read portions of an unpublished 1999 manuscript by Larry Kegan which at one time was online but was has since been withdrawn. Larry Kegan and Bobby Zimmerman (Dylan) became close friends after meeting at Herzl Camp in their early teens. As a result of a neck injury Kegan was wheelchair bound for the rest of his life. The title of his unpublished book shows his wit and humor about this situation: Some Get The Chair.

Over the course of many years Bob invited Larry to go on tours with him. (See: Remembering Larry Kegan.) In the book he writes about events that show the importance of place. This story is about events that took place after a Friday evening concert at the Indianapolis State Fairgrounds on a hot summer night in mid-July 1988. The next stop was to be Detroit, but Dylan gave instructions for the tour bus to take a detour through the small rural town of Fairmount, Indiana. Kegan writes:

Larry Kegan in Belize

Bob had already gotten out of his bus and was heading down the main drag. Dave, the bus driver, came over to the van and I asked him what we were doing here. "This is James Dean's town, where he grew up and where he's buried." "Where's Bob going," I asked? "He's going to check out the High School where he attended," he said. We hung out for a while around my van and Bob's bus.

Next thing you know a couple girls come over -- it's 1:30 in the morning -- and the entourage learns that there's a James Dean Museum in town. (Actual name: The James Dean Gallery.) One thing led to another so that two Fairmount police escorted Bob to the museum which was opened for him and his friends. The place was handicapped accessible so Larry also had the privilege of getting the tour.

The place was a real trip into the Fifties. James Dean stuff everywhere. Posters from all three of his movies, EAST OF EDEN, REBEL WITHOUT A CAUSE, and GIANT. Clothes he wore in the movies and around town, They even had the basketball trunks he actually used in high school.

There's something to be said about the importance of place.

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About fifteen years ago or so I (not Larry talking here) went to a family reunion at Salt Fork, a resort in Southeast Ohio that my parents used to bring us when we were growing up. Our families stayed at lakeside cabins for a week, sharing and making many fond memories. One day I drove into town to pick up some groceries from nearby Cambridge. To my surprise there was a Hopalong Cassidy Museum there. Hopalong Cassidy was a cowboy film and TV star back in the early days of television. William Boyd, the actor who played this fictional good guy cowboy with the black hat, was from Cambridge.

Dylan went out of his way to visit the places where his heroes were from. It's on record that he's been to Liverpool. He has mentioned visiting the childhood home of Neil Young. I don't doubt he's paid a visit to Lubbock, Texas where the Buddy Holly Museum resides.

If a minor character like William Boyd or men with relatively short careers like Buddy Holly and James Dean have places dedicated to their honor in their home towns, it just seems like there should be something more in Duluth than three manhole covers and a section of street designated "Bob Dylan Way." As for getting your photo taken, you can stand in front of a small wall of memorabilia down the hall from the Brewhouse at Fitgers, or in front of the Buddy Holly & the Crickets poster in the entryway of the Armory Annex down on London Road.

It doesn't have to be much, but fortunately there is a circle of friends and fans making an effort to offer more than what we've got. Zimmy's was such a place for Hibbing, and though we mourn the loss, a group called The Hibbing Project will be unveiling a monument there this month. More on that will be coming soon.

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Photo of Larry Kegan in Belize was sent to me by a friend; photo by David Elwood.