name	808 State
background	group_or_band
origin	Manchester, England
genre	House, techno, rave, acid house, experimental, ambient house
years active	1987–present
label	ZTT Records (UK)Tommy Boy/Warner Bros. Records (US)
associated acts	MC Tunes, A Guy Called Gerald, Biting Tongues
current members	Graham MasseyAndrew BarkerDarren Partington
past members	Martin PriceGerald Simpson }}

808 State are a British electronic music outfit, formed in 1987 in Manchester, taking their name from the Roland TR-808 drum machine and their common state of mind. They were formed by Graham Massey, Martin Price and Gerald Simpson, and they released their debut ''Newbuild'' in September 1988.

The band secured commercial success in 1989, when their song "Pacific State" was picked up by BBC Radio 1 DJ Gary Davies.

History

Martin Price was the owner of a record store, Eastern Bloc, and was also the founder of the independent record label, Creed. Customers Graham Massey and Gerald Simpson joined with Price to form a hip-hop group called Hit Squad Manchester. Soon after, the band shifted to an acid house sound, recording the debut ''Newbuild'' in 1988, while using the name 808 State for the first time. The album was released on Price's own record label. Massey had been a member of the band Aqua in the 1970s, along with the violinist Graham Clark, a former pupil of Manchester Grammar School.

The band's "Pacific State" was released as a single, peaking at #10 in the UK Singles Chart. Simpson left the group in 1989 to form his own solo project, A Guy Called Gerald. At this point, the remaining personnel enlisted DJ's Andrew Barker and Darren Partington, known as the Spinmasters, and recorded the EP, ''Quadrastate'' in July 1989. ''Ninety'' was released in December 1989.

MC Tunes worked with the band on the 1990 album, ''The North At Its Heights''. The album was a moderate success, reaching #26 in the UK Albums Chart,

808 State and its various members have recorded under a variety of pseudonyms. An early EP, containing the tracks "Mssage-a-Rama" and "Sex Mechanic", was released under the name Lounge Jays. These tracks have since been re-released by Rephlex Records on the ''Prebuild'' LP. Another early EP, ''Wax on the Melt'', was released under the name Hit Squad Mcr. This is the only EP to which all five members of the group (Massey, Price, Simpson, Barker and Partington) contributed simultaneously.

Massey released the solo album ''Subtracks'' under the name Massonix on Skam Records. He is also a member of Biting Tongues, an experimental jazz rock group once signed to Factory Records. He has a side project with Toolshed.

Price released a couple of EPs under the name Switzerland.

Barker has produced a small number of tracks as Atlas, Benaco, and remixed various tracks.

Partington has recorded under the name Jeep.

Partigton and Barker presented the 808 State radio show, firstly on Sunset 102 from 1989 to 1993, and later on Kiss 102 from 1994 to 1997.

In 1997, 808 State appeared on the Spawn (film) soundtrack alongside Mansun in the track "Skin Up, Pin Up".

Band members

Graham Massey (born 4 August 1960, Manchester) — guitarist, keyboardist, saxophonist (1988–present) Martin Price (born 26 March 1955, Farnworth) — keyboardist (1988–1991)

Gerald Simpson — keyboardist (1988–1989)

Andrew Barker (born 9 March 1968 — keyboardist (1989–present) Darren Partington (born 1 November 1969, Manchester) — keyboardist, percussionist (1989–present)

Discography

Studio Albums

Year	Album details	Peak chart positions	Additional information
!style="width:4em;font-size:75%"
1988	''[[Newbuild">Music recording sales certification	Additional information
!style="width:4em;font-size:75%"
1988	''[[Newbuild''	* Label: Creed Records			Often cited as a major influence by Autechre and Aphex Twin.
1989		* Label: ZTT Records			British Phonographic Industry>UK: Gold	Includes guest vocals from Vanessa Daou.
1991	''ex:el''	* Label: ZTT Records			* UK: Gold	Includes guest vocals from Bernard Sumner and Björk. Martin Price left the band shortly after the album's release.
1993		* Label: ZTT Records				A limited vinyl edition album of the album included a bonus 12-inch record unofficially dubbed ''Disco''. It included the last three tracks from the CD version of the album plus two new tracks. These tracks later appeared on the ''Forecast'' compilation.
1996	''Don Solaris''	* Label: ZTT Records			Includes guest vocals from Mike Doughty, Lou Rhodes, James Dean Bradfield and Ragnhildur Gísladóttir.	Art of Noise, Propaganda (band)>Propaganda and Frankie Goes to Hollywood, all of whom had albums published by ZTT Records.
2003	''Outpost Transmission''	* Label: Circus Records

EPs, compilations and remixes

!Year	!Album	!Label	!Additional information
1989	''Quadrastate''	Creed Records	EP
1990	''Utd. State 90''	Tommy Boy Records	An alternate version of the ''Ninety'' album for the US market. The track ''The Fat Shadow (Pointy Head Mix)'' is dropped, but additional tracks are included, comprising remixes of ''Ninety'' and ''Quadrastate'' tracks plus new material.
1993	''Forecast''	Warner Music (Japan)	Includes various remixes that previously appeared as b-sides on singles for ''Plan 9'', ''Timebomb'', ''One in Ten'' and ''Cubik/Olympic'', as well tracks exclusive to the bonus ''Disco'' 12-inch given away with a limited edition of the ''Gorgeous'' LP.
1994	''State to State''	Feedback Communications (ZTT Records)	An album produced exclusively for members of 808 State's official fan club. It featured artwork and packaging designed by The Designer's Republic.			All the tracks were previously unreleased, comprising live performances and tracks from ''Gorgeous'', ''Quadrastate'' and Fon Studio sessions.
1996	''Thermo Kings''	Warner Music (Japan)	Like ''Forecast'' before it, ''Thermo Kings'' was a Japan-only compilation of various b-sides, this time from the singles for ''Bond'', ''Azura'' and ''Lopez'', as well as a number of previously unreleased tracks.
1998	''808:88:98''	ZTT Records	A greatest hits compilation, featuring most of 808 State's major single releases. It also includes a new track, ''Crash'', plus a new remix of ''Pacific''.
2002	''Opti Buk'' + ''State to State 2''	ZTT Records	''Opti Buk'' DVD promo video collection. Includes the second ''State to State'' compilation with previously unreleased tracks from various studio-based sessions.
2004	''Prebuild''	Rephlex Records	A collection of previously unreleased tracks and demos from the ''Newbuild'' era. It also includes tracks from an EP released under the pseudonym The Lounge Jays.
2011	''Blueprint''	ZTT Records / Salvo Records	A career overview, that features newly revisited tracks from years 1988 to 2003 as well as original versions thereof, unreleased and released before remixes and two new tracks, "Spanish Ice" and "Metaluna". It also features an extensive booklet with a foreword by Orbital's Phil Hartnoll, archive interview with members of the band by Paul Morley, and contributions from The Prodigy, Simian, Moby and The Future Sound of London.

Reissues

''Newbuild'' (2000)

''Quadrastate'' (2008)

''808:90'' (2008)

''ex:el'' (2008)

''Gorgeous'' (2008)

''Don Solaris'' (2008)

The reissue of ''Quadrastate'' contained three tracks from the ''Let Yourself Go/Deepville'' 12-inch single, plus four previously unreleased tracks from the ''Quadrastate'' sessions. The reissue of ''Ninety'' was retitled ''808:90''. All four reissues of 808 State's albums for ZTT Records included a second disc of B-sides, remixes and unreleased tracks from their respective eras. Detailed liner notes and new interviews with all band members were included written by the journalist Ian Peel.

Singles

"Let Yourself Go/Deepville" (1988)

"Pacific State" (1989) (UK #10)

"The Extended Pleasure of Dance (EP)" (1990) (UK #56)

"The Only Rhyme That Bites" (1990) (UK #10)

"Tunes Splits the Atom" (1990) (UK #18)

"Cubik" / "Olympic" (1990) (UK #10)

"In Yer Face" (1991) (UK #9)

"Ooops" (1991) (UK #42)

"Lift" / "Open Your Mind" (1991) (UK #38)

"Time Bomb" / "Nimbus" (1992) (UK #59)

"One in Ten" (remix) (1992) (UK #17)

"Plan 9" (1993) (UK #50)

"10 X 10" (1993) (UK #67)

"Bombadin" (1994) (UK #67)

"Bond" (1996) (UK #57)

"Lopez" (1997) (UK #20)

"Pacific" / "Cubik" (remixes) (1998) (UK #21)

"The Only Rhyme That Bites 99" (1999) (UK #53)

References

External links

Official website

ZTT Records official site

ZTT Records official store

Ian Peel: ''Warriors of Pop, 21 years of ZTT'' Record Collector, September 2004 (copy at ''Zang Tuum Tumb and all that'') Article about ZTT's history, and contains information about 808 State

Category:British techno music groups Category:English house music groups Category:English electronic music groups Category:English dance music groups Category:Acid house groups Category:Intelligent dance music musicians Category:Remixers Category:ZTT Records artists Category:Tommy Boy Records artists Category:Musical groups from Manchester Category:Madchester Category:Musical groups established in 1987

de:808 State fr:808 State it:808 State nl:808 State ja:808ステイト pt:808 State ru:808 State fi:808 State sv:808 State th:808 สเตต

name	Rolf Harris, CBE, AM
background	solo_singer
born	March 30, 1930Bassendean, Perth, Australia
instrument	Vocals, stylophone, didgeridoo, wobble board
genre	Folk music, rock and roll, comedy
occupation
years active	1950–present
label	Various
website	Official site }}

Rolf Harris, CBE, AM (born 30 March 1930) is an Australian musician, singer-songwriter, composer, painter and television personality.

Born in Perth, Western Australia, Harris was a champion swimmer before studying art. He moved to England in 1952, where he started to appear on television programmes on which he drew the characters. He also began a musical career initially with the piano accordion. He wrote the famous song "Tie Me Kangaroo Down, Sport", and when performing in Canada he introduced his popular routine ''Jake the Peg''. He often uses unusual instruments in his performances: he plays the didgeridoo, has been credited with the invention of the wobble board, a rhythmic percussion instrument, and was associated with the Stylophone, a small electronic keyboard instrument.

From the 1960s he has become a popular television personality, presenting shows including ''Rolf's Cartoon Club'', ''Animal Hospital'' and various programmes about serious art. In late 2005 he painted an official portrait of Queen Elizabeth II, which was the subject of a special episode of ''Rolf on Art''.

Early life

Named after Rolf Boldrewood, an Australian writer his mother admired, he was born in Bassendean, a suburb of Perth, Western Australia, to Cromwell ("Crom") Harris and Agnes Margaret Harris (née Robbins) who had both emigrated from Cardiff, Wales. He is the nephew of Australian artist Pixie O'Harris (1903–1991). As a child he owned a dog called Buster Fleabags. A book of the same name was written for Quick Reads in 2010.

As an adolescent and young adult Harris was a champion swimmer. In 1946 he was the Australian Junior 110 yards Backstroke Champion.

He was also the Western Australian state champion over a variety of distances and strokes during the period from 1948 to 1952.

Harris attended Perth Modern School in Subiaco, and the University of Western Australia.

Whilst just 16, and still a student at Perth Modern School, his self-portait in oils was one of the 80 works (out of 200 submitted) accepted to be hung in the Art Gallery of New South Wales as an entry in the 1947 Archibald Prize.

He met his wife, the Welsh sculptress and jeweller Alwen Hughes, while they were both art students, and they married on 1 March 1958. They have one daughter, Bindi Harris (born 10 March 1964), who studied art at Bristol Polytechnic and is now a painter.

Music and art

Harris moved to England as an art student at City and Guilds Art School, Kennington, South London at the age of 22, getting into television with the BBC in 1953, performing a regular ten-minute cartoon drawing section with a puppet called "Fuzz", made and operated on the show by magician Robert Harbin. He illustrated Robert Harbin's ''Paper Magic'' (1956). He also had a few acting roles in British television programmes and films as Harry in The Vise and as Pte Proudfoot in the 1955 Tommy Trinder film ''You Lucky People''.

When commercial television started in 1956 Harris was the only entertainer to work on both BBC and ITV, performing on BBC with his own creation, "Willoughby", a specially made board on which he drew Willoughby, (voiced and operated by Peter Hawkins). The character would then come to life and hold a comedic dialogue with Harris as he drew cartoons of Willoughby's antics.

On Associated Rediffusion he invented a character called Oliver Polip the Octopus which he drew on the back of his hand and animated, as well as illustrating Oliver's adventures with cartoons on huge sheets of card.

He had drifted away from art school as a slightly disillusioned student and had luckily met his longtime hero, Australian impressionist painter Hayward Veal, who took Harris under his wing and became his mentor, teaching him the rudiments of impressionism and showing him how it could help with his portrait painting.

At the same time Harris was entertaining with his piano accordion every Thursday night at a club called the Down Under, a haunt for homesick Australians and New Zealanders. Here, over the next several years, he honed his entertainment skills, eventually writing the song which was later to become his theme song, 'Tie Me Kangaroo Down, Sport'. He also appeared regularly at Clement Freud's "Royal Court Theatre Club" in Sloane Square, where he sat at the piano and entertained débutantes and their escorts.

Harris was headhunted to return to Perth when television was introduced there in 1960. There he produced and starred in five half-hour children's shows a week, as well as starring in his own weekly evening variety show. During that year he recorded in the TVW studios the song he had written for the Down Under Club in London, 'Tie Me Kangaroo Down, Sport'. It was released by EMI and became his first recording and his first number one. At the end of 1960 he toured Australia for Dulux paints, singing his hit song and doing huge paintings on stage with Dulux emulsion paint. While painting on stage, one of his catchphrases was, "Can you tell what it is yet?"

He and his wife Alwen went to Vancouver in Canada by mistake, and had a huge success there, working two shows a night at the Arctic Club, where he was held over for 31 weeks until the club accidentally burnt down on Christmas Eve, 1961. He was immediately transferred to the huge "Cave" theatre restaurant to great critical acclaim.

He returned to the United Kingdom early in 1962 and was introduced to George Martin, who re-recorded all Harris's songs including "Sun Arise", an Aboriginal-type song Harris had written with Perth naturalist Harry Butler. The song went to number 2 in the UK charts, losing the number 1 spot to Elvis Presley. He met and worked with the Beatles when they started recording with George Martin, and compèred their Christmas show in Finsbury Park Empire in 1963.

He and his wife have lived permanently in the United Kingdom since 1962, and he has regularly returned to Vancouver to entertain ever since. He has also regularly returned to Perth over the years for family visits and to the rest of Australia where he has spent as much as four months every year touring with his band.

In 1973 Harris performed the very first concert in the Concert Hall of the newly completed Sydney Opera House, to huge acclaim.

Since the late 1960s Harris had been performing top-rated variety television shows on the BBC in London, shows which were also shown in Australia and New Zealand, creating great support for his many tours in both countries as well as in South Africa.

Harris has been credited with inventing a simple homemade instrument called the wobble board. This discovery was accidentally made in the course of his work when he attempted to dry a freshly painted hardboard with added heat, from hearing the sound made by the board as he shook it by the short edges to cool it off. He suggests the effect can best be obtained through faint bouncing of a tempered hardboard or a thinner MDF board between the palms of one's hands.

In 1960 he worked on TVW-7's first locally produced show ''Spotlight''. During his time at TVW he recorded his hit ''Tie Me Kangaroo Down, Sport''. The song was recorded on a single microphone placed above him in the television studio. The song was sent to record company EMI in Sydney and it was soon released as a record. Harris offered four unknown backing musicians 10% of the royalties for the song, but they decided to take a recording fee of ₤7 each because they thought the song would be a flop. The novelty song was originally titled "Kangalypso" and featured the distinctive sound of the "wobble board", which was played by bouncing it up and down.

The original 1960 single release recording of the song issued in Australia was considered controversial by some listeners because of the lyrics of the fourth verse. The verse appears to refer to Aboriginal servitude and captivity in a whimsically approving manner. In addition, the word "abo" was beginning to be seen as a term of abuse at the time. Most of the rest of the song refers to pet Australian animals.

The offending verse did not feature in later versions of the song. In 2006, four decades after the song's release, Harris expressed his regret about that original lyric. Harris also performed this song in 2000 with Australia's children's supergroup The Wiggles.

Harris sang "Tie Me Kangaroo Down, Sport" (with The Beatles singing backing vocals) in the first edition of the ''From Us to You'' BBC radio shows, in December 1963. Harris completely customized the original lyrics to a version that was specially written for The Beatles:

''Cut yer hair once a year boys,'' (repeat), ''If it covers your ears you can't hear boys, so'' (repeat first line). :''Don't ill-treat me pet dingo, Ringo,'' (repeat). ''He can't understand your lingo, Ringo, so'' (repeat first line). :''George’s guitar's on the blink, I think,'' (repeat), ''It shouldn't go plinkety plink, no,'' (repeat first line). :''Prop me up by the wall, Paul,'' (repeat), '''Cause if you don't I might fall, Paul, so'' (repeat first line). :''Keep the hits coming on, John,'' (repeat), '''Til long long after I've gone, John, just'' (repeat first line).

It was after this recording that Harris gave Ringo his first Wobble board of which Starr now has the largest collection outside Australia.

As well as his trademark beatboxing, similar to eefing, Harris went on to use an array of unusual instruments in his music, including the didgeridoo (the sound of which was imitated on ''Sun Arise'' by four double basses), Jew's harp and, later, the stylophone (for which he also lent his name and likeness for advertising). Harris has played the didgeridoo on two albums by English pop singer Kate Bush, 1982's ''The Dreaming'' and 2005's ''Aerial''. Harris went on to create one of his most famous roles in the 1960s, Jake the Peg but his biggest hit was in 1969 with his rendering of the American Civil War song "Two Little Boys", written in 1902. It was only recently that Harris discovered a personal poignancy to the song because the story bears such a resemblance to the World War I experiences of his father Crom and Crom's beloved younger brother Carl, who died at the age of 19 after being wounded in battle in France, just two weeks before the Armistice of November 1918. Two Little Boys was the Christmas Number One song in the UK charts for six weeks in 1969. It sold over one million copies, and was awarded a gold disc.

In 2000 Harris, along with Steve Lima, released a dance track called "Fine Day" which entered the top 30 in the UK charts at that time. A "Killie-themed" version was recorded and scheduled for release in March 2007 to coincide with the Scottish football club Kilmarnock's appearance in the Scottish League Cup final after the song was adopted by the fans in 2003. One of the lyrics referred to the hypothetical situation in which Kilmarnock could be 5-0 down, which ironically was similar to the final score of 5-1.

In November and December 2002, under Charles Saumarez Smith's direction, London's National Gallery exhibited a collection of Harris's art. He was also commissioned to paint a portrait of HM Queen Elizabeth II for her 80th birthday, which was unveiled by Rolf Harris on 19 December 2005 at Buckingham Palace. In his words, it is an impressionistic rather than photographic depiction. Some commentators found it to be offensive and unbecoming of the Queen, but the Queen herself expressed her approval at the painting after her final sitting, particularly with the way in which Harris had painted her smile. The story of the painting featured as a special edition of ''Rolf on Art''. The special, called ''The Queen by Rolf'', was broadcast on BBC One on 1 January 2006. In his painting of the portrait of the Queen, Harris was following a family tradition  — Harris's grandfather painted a portrait of the Queen's grandfather, King George V (in which the King was inspecting the troops). The portrait was exhibited in the Australian National Portrait Gallery in Canberra for six months, after Harris gave the prestigious annual lecture there in 2008.

In 2005 Harris played the didgeridoo on Kate Bush's album ''Aerial'', contributing vocals to the songs "An Architect's Dream" and "The Painter's Link". In the late 1980s he was touring in Australia and was asked to sing his own comedy version of "Stairway to Heaven" on a television programme "The Money or the Gun". He did this with his own small group and had great success. Several years later it was released as a single in the UK and went to number 4 in the charts, causing a great furore among "Led Zeppelin" fans, and great enjoyment for everyone else. As a result of this success he appeared at the Glastonbury Festival in 1993 and was later named the best entertainer ever to have appeared at Glastonbury. He has since appeared four more times at subsequent Glastonbury festivals and most recently appeared there on 27 June 2009 on the Jazz World Stage to a packed crowd.

In September 2010 Harris appeared at the Bestival Festival on the Isle of Wight, and played on the pyramid stage at Glastonbury Festival on Friday 25 June 2010, during the festival's 40th birthday.

On 5th August 2011, Harris played at Wickham Festival in Hampshire.

1982 Commonwealth Games opening ceremony

Matilda, a winking kangaroo was the mascot for the 1982 Commonwealth Games in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. When Matilda arrived at the stadium, she 'winked' to the crowd as she went around the stadium track — then her 'pouch' opened and several young children (about 5 to 7 years old), dressed as joey kangaroos, rushed out (then ran to — and jumped on — a number of trampolines which had been set up specially for them).

Harris, who was standing, complete with wobble board, at the back of a small truck, then sang a special rendition of his hit song "Tie Me Kangaroo Down, Sport", which included some lyrics specially written for the Opening Ceremony: :''Let me welcome you to the Games, friends'', :''Welcome you to the Games'' : ''Look, I don't know all of your names, friends'', :''But let me welcome you to the Games''.

Following his singing of "Tie Me Kangaroo Down, Sport", Harris sang "Waltzing Matilda". As well as a videotape recording of the Opening Ceremony being released, the music for the Opening Ceremony was released as an album and an audio tape, with Harris as one of the featured artists.

"Stairway to Heaven"

Harris's career received a boost in 1993 when his cover version of Led Zeppelin's "Stairway to Heaven" became a hit, reaching number 7 of the UK singles chart. Harris originally performed the song, live, during an appearance on the television comedy show ''The Money or the Gun''. Each episode of ''The Money or the Gun'' featured a rendition of ''Stairway to Heaven'' but in the idiosyncratic style of another performer. Harris's version of the song recreated the song in the style of "Tie Me Kangaroo Down, Sport", complete with wobble board and didgeridoo solos. Although he had the sheet music, Harris claims that he had not heard the original version when he recorded his; as such, he disavows any claim that his version was intended to be irreverent or humorous. Harris's version was one of 28 versions of the song performed on the show — and his version is one of the 25 versions of the song which was released on the ''The Money or the Gun's Stairways to Heaven'' videotape and CD (Harris's single comes from the same recording of his version of the song). A wobble board Harris used to perform "Stairway to Heaven" on Top of the Pops is now part of the National Museum of Australia collection.

Recordings and appearances

Harris is known for Channel 7 Perth's jingle "Children's Channel 7".

Harris also recorded a version of Queen's "Bohemian Rhapsody" around this time. He performed The Divinyls' "I Touch Myself" — accompanied only by his wobble board — for Andrew Denton's Musical Challenge on the MMM Breakfast Show (the recording was released on the first Musical Challenge compilation album in 2000). Later that year he made his first appearance at the Glastonbury Festival in what was seen as a novelty act. He played there again in 1998, 2000, 2002, 2009 and 2010.

Harris has also recorded an Australian Christmas song called Six White Boomers, about a joey Kangaroo trying to find his mother during Christmastime, and how Santa Claus used six large male kangaroos (Boomers), instead of reindeer "because they can't stand the terrible heat" to pull his sleigh and help the little joey find his "Mummy".

In October 2008 Harris announced he would re-record his 1969 hit "Two Little Boys", backed by North Wales's Froncysyllte Male Voice Choir, to mark the 90th anniversary of the end of World War I. Proceeds from the new release went to The Poppy Appeal. Harris was inspired to make the recording after participating in ''My Family at War'', a short series of programmes in the BBC's Remembrance season, which was broadcast in November 2008. He discovered that the experiences of his father and uncle during the Great War mirrored the lyrics of the song.

A sampling of Harris saying "You've just heard one of the most remarkable applications in modern electronics", grabbed from a Stylophone instruction disc, appears at the end of the Pulp hit "Countdown".

Television career

Harris has had a long career on British television, making his debut in 1953 on a five-minute spot with a puppet called 'Fuzz' in a one-hour children’s show called 'Jigsaw'. The following year he was a regular on a BBC Television programme called ''Whirligig'', with a character called 'Willoughby', who sprang to life on a drawing board but was erased at the end of the show.

Although he chiefly appeared on the BBC, he was also on ITV with his 'Oliver Polip the Octopus' character on ''Small Time'' on Associated Rediffusion. He was the presenter of ''Hi There'' and ''Hey Presto it’s Rolf'' in 1964. Consequently he was already well-known face on television when ''The Rolf Harris Show'' was broadcast from 1967-1974 on BBC1. Throughout the 1970s and early 1980s this series in various formats remained a popular light-entertainment staple, latterly being broadcast on Saturday evenings as ''Rolf on Saturday OK?'' Harris was also the commentator for the United Kingdom in the 1967 Eurovision Song Contest. On 31 December 1976, Harris performed his hit song ''Two Little Boys'' on BBC1's A Jubilee Of Music, celebrating British pop music for Queen Elizabeth II's impending Silver Jubilee.

On many of his television appearances he painted pictures on large boards in an apparently slapdash manner, with the odd nonsense song thrown in, but with detailed results. This was often accompanied by the phrase "Can you tell what is it yet?" just before the painting became recognisable. These appearances led to a string of television series based on his artistic ability, notably ''Rolf Harris's Cartoon Time'' on BBC1 in the 1980s and ''Rolf's Cartoon Club'' on ITV between 1989-1993. On the children's show he also gave out tips to children on how to draw and create easy animation techniques, like flickbooks. The latter programme witnessed another Harris catchphrase, "See you on Ro-o-o-o-o-o-lf's Cartoon Club, next week!" He also hosted a successful variety television series in Canada, which was a second home to Harris during the 1960s.

From 1994-2004 he was the host of the reality television programme ''Animal Hospital'', which chronicled the real-life activity of a British veterinary practice. Harris then adopted a greyhound that had been abandoned at the vet's, named Rocky. Harris presented 19 series of ''Animal Hospital'' for BBC One. It was five times winner in the ''Most Popular Factual Entertainment Show'' category of The National TV Awards. In an Australian Times article, journalist Kris Griffiths wrote of Animal Hospital: “One scene of Rolf’s tearful breakdown as a dog is euthanised became forever ingrained in fans’ memories, a spontaneous display that boosted the next episode’s ratings to a zenith of 10m.” When referring to a dead or dying animal on the programme, one of his catchphrases was, "The Poor Little Blighter".

More recently he presented ''Rolf on Art'', which highlighted the work of some of his favourite artists, including van Gogh, Degas, Monet and Gauguin. ''Rolf on Art'' which made television history when it gained the highest television ratings ever for an arts programme, is now in its sixth year. On 26 September 2004 Harris fronted a project to recreate John Constable's famous ''The Hay Wain'' painting on a vast scale, with 150 people contributing to a small section. Each individual canvas was assembled into the full picture live on the BBC, in the show ''Rolf on Art: The Big Event''. He was named as one of the ''Radio Times'''s list of the top 40 most eccentric television presenters of all time in July 2004.

The story of Harris's 80th birthday portrait painting of Queen Elizabeth II featured as a special edition of ''Rolf on Art'', broadcast on BBC One on 1 January 2006. Harris's portrait of The Queen was voted by readers of the ''Radio Times'' the third favourite portrait of Her Majesty. The royal portrait was exhibited at Buckingham Palace, the Palace of Holyroodhouse in Edinburgh, and was exhibited on a tour of public galleries in the UK.

In September 2006 the Royal Australian Mint launched the first of the new 2007 Silver Kangaroo Collector's Coin series. Harris was commissioned to design the first coin in the series. For the third year running, Harris designed and painted the official Children In Need Christmas card. Harris has presented three series of the BBC art programme ''Star Portraits with Rolf Harris''. In 2007, a documentary ''A Lifetime in Paint'' about Harris's work as an artist - from the early years in Australia to the present day - was screened on BBC One, followed by a ''Rolf On Art'' special titled ''Rolf on Lowry''.

In November 2007 at exhibition of Harris's new paintings was held at Portland Gallery, London. In December 2007 a new DVD titled ''Rolf Live!'' was released through his website.

''Rolf on Art: Beatrix Potter'' was screened on BBC One in December 2007.

Harris appeared with a wobble board in a Churchill Insurance advertisement in 2009, and hosted the satirical quiz show ''Have I Got News for You'', aired on 15 May 2009.

Harris is narrator of the 2010 Australian documentary series ''Penguin Island'', a 6-part natural history documentary about the life of the Little Penguin.

Harris appeared as himself on the Christmas special of ''My Family'' aired on 24 December 2010.

In 2011 Harris made a guest appearance on BBC 1 show The Magicians hosted by Lenny Henry.

In September 2010 - October 2010, Rolf Harris took part in 'Jamies Dream School' teaching Art to a class of 20 students. His personality inspired many of the students, and set a creative spark alight in the classroom. Widely respected by the students, he was seen as one of the favourite teachers at the school in Mill Hill. One of his most memorable scenes on the Channel 4 programme was when Rolf and one of the students called Ronnie sat together in a one to one Art session, when everyone else had left the class and created a masterpiece together.

Honours

Harris was made a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) on 17 June 2006, having previously been created a Member (MBE) in 1968 and an Officer (OBE) in 1977.

On 26 January 1989 he was appointed a Member of the Order of Australia (AM)

In 1975 he was appointed ''King of Moomba''

On 8 November 2007 Rolf Harris was awarded an Honorary Doctorate by the University of East London.

On 1 July 2008 Harris was inducted into the ARIA Hall of Fame. He was joined onstage by The Seekers to perform "Tie Me Kangaroo Down, Sport" and his Jake the Peg routine.

On 26 January 2010 he was awarded an honorary doctorate at Liverpool Hope University.

Styles from birth

Rolf Harris, (1930–1968)

Rolf Harris, MBE (1968–1977)

Rolf Harris, OBE (1977–1989)

Rolf Harris, AM, OBE (1989–2006)

Rolf Harris, CBE, AM (2006–present)

References

External links

The Official Rolf Harris Web Site

Biography of Rolf Harris as a fine Artist

http://ftvdb.bfi.org.uk/sift/individual/55463 BFI Database: Rolf Harris

Some examples of Rolf Harris's art

Walker, John A. (2005) "Rolf Harris: Celebrity artist" ''Jamani/artdesigncafe'', February 2005

Rolf Harris collection at the National Museum of Australia

BBC raw words Quick Reads - Buster Fleabags by Rolf Harris

Category:1930 births Category:ARIA Award winners Category:ARIA Hall of Fame inductees Category:Australian expatriates in the United Kingdom Category:Australian painters Category:Australian people of Welsh descent Category:Australian television personalities Category:Commanders of the Order of the British Empire Category:Didgeridoo players Category:Living people Category:Members of the Order of Australia Category:People educated at Perth Modern School Category:People from Perth, Western Australia Category:Recipients of the Centenary Medal Category:University of Western Australia alumni Category:Western Australian musicians

cy:Rolf Harris de:Rolf Harris fr:Rolf Harris la:Radulphus Harris fi:Rolf Harris sv:Rolf Harris

name	James Dean
birthname	James Byron Dean
birth date	February 08, 1931
birth place	Marion, Indiana, U.S.
death date
death place	Cholame, California, U.S.
othername	Jimmy Dean
occupation	Actor
yearsactive	1951–1955 }}

James Byron Dean (February 8, 1931 – September 30, 1955) was an American film actor. He is a cultural icon, best embodied in the title of his most celebrated film, ''Rebel Without a Cause'' (1955), in which he starred as troubled Los Angeles teenager Jim Stark. The other two roles that defined his stardom were as loner Cal Trask in ''East of Eden'' (1955), and as the surly farmer, Jett Rink, in ''Giant'' (1956). Dean's enduring fame and popularity rests on his performances in only these three films, all leading roles. His premature death in a car crash cemented his legendary status.

Dean was the first actor to receive a posthumous Academy Award nomination for Best Actor and remains the only actor to have had two posthumous acting nominations. In 1999, the American Film Institute ranked Dean the 18th best male movie star on their AFI's 100 Years...100 Stars list.

Early life

James Dean was born on February 8, 1931, at the Seven Gables apartment house in Marion, Indiana, to Winton Dean and Mildred Wilson. Six years after his father had left farming to become a dental technician, James and his family moved to Santa Monica, California. The family spent several years there, and by all accounts young Dean was very close to his mother. According to Michael DeAngelis, she was "the only person capable of understanding him". He was enrolled at Brentwood Public School in the Brentwood neighborhood of Los Angeles until his mother died of cancer when Dean was nine years old.

Unable to care for his son, Winton Dean sent James to live with Winton's sister Ortense and her husband Marcus Winslow on a farm in Fairmount, Indiana, where he was raised in a Quaker background. Dean sought the counsel and friendship of Methodist pastor Rev. James DeWeerd. DeWeerd seemed to have had a formative influence upon Dean, especially upon his future interests in bullfighting, car racing, and the theater. According to Billy J. Harbin, "Dean had an intimate relationship with his pastor... which began in his senior year of high school and endured for many years." Their sexual relationship was earlier suggested in the 1994 book, ''Boulevard of Broken Dreams: the life, times, and legend of James Dean'' by Paul Alexander. In 2011, it was reported that he once told Elizabeth Taylor, his co-star in ''Giant'', that he was sexually abused by a minister two years after his mother's death.

In high school, Dean's overall performance was mediocre. However, he was a popular school athlete, having successfully played on the baseball and basketball teams and studied drama and competed in forensics through the Indiana High School Forensic Association. After graduating from Fairmount High School on May 16, 1949, Dean moved back to California with his beagle, Max, to live with his father and stepmother. He enrolled in Santa Monica College (SMC) and majored in pre-law. Dean transferred to UCLA and changed his major to drama, which resulted in estrangement from his father. He pledged the Sigma Nu fraternity but was never initiated. While at UCLA, he was picked from a pool of 350 actors to land the role of Malcolm in ''Macbeth''. At that time, he also began acting with James Whitmore's acting workshop. In January 1951, he dropped out of UCLA to pursue a full-time career as an actor.

Acting career

Dean's first television appearance was in a Pepsi Cola television commercial. He quit college to act full time and was cast as John the Beloved Disciple in ''Hill Number One'', an Easter television special, and three walk-on roles in movies, ''Fixed Bayonets!'', ''Sailor Beware'', and ''Has Anybody Seen My Gal?'' His only speaking part was in ''Sailor Beware'', a Paramount comedy starring Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis; Dean played a boxing trainer. While struggling to get jobs in Hollywood, Dean also worked as a parking lot attendant at CBS Studios, during which time he met Rogers Brackett, a radio director for an advertising agency, who offered him professional help and guidance in his chosen career, as well as a place to stay.

In October 1951, following actor James Whitmore's and his mentor Rogers Brackett's advice, Dean moved to New York City. There he worked as a stunt tester for the game show ''Beat the Clock''. He also appeared in episodes of several CBS television series, ''The Web'', ''Studio One'', and ''Lux Video Theatre'', before gaining admission to the legendary Actors Studio to study method acting under Lee Strasberg. Proud of this accomplishment, Dean referred to the Studio in a 1952 letter to his family as "The greatest school of the theater. It houses great people like Marlon Brando, Julie Harris, Arthur Kennedy, Mildred Dunnock. ... Very few get into it ... It is the best thing that can happen to an actor. I am one of the youngest to belong."

Dean's career picked up and he performed in further episodes of such early 1950s television shows as ''Kraft Television Theatre'', ''Robert Montgomery Presents'', ''Danger'', and ''General Electric Theater''. One early role, for the CBS series ''Omnibus'' in the episode "Glory in the Flower", saw Dean portraying the type of disaffected youth he would later immortalize in ''Rebel Without a Cause''. (This summer 1953 program was also notable for featuring the song "Crazy Man, Crazy", one of the first dramatic TV programs to feature rock and roll.) Positive reviews for Dean's 1954 theatrical role as "Bachir", a pandering North African houseboy, in an adaptation of André Gide's book ''The Immoralist'', led to calls from Hollywood.

''East of Eden''

thumb|With Julie Harris in ''East of Eden'' (1955)In 1953, director Elia Kazan was looking for a substantive actor to play the emotionally complex role of 'Cal Trask', for screenwriter Paul Osborn's adaptation of John Steinbeck's 1952 novel ''East of Eden''. The lengthy novel had dealt with the story of the Trask and Hamilton families over the course of three generations, focusing especially on the lives of the latter two generations in Salinas Valley, California, from the mid-19th century through the 1910s.

In contrast, the film chose to deal predominantly with the character of Cal Trask. Initially seeming more aloof and emotionally troubled than his twin brother Aron, Cal is quickly seen to be more worldly, aware, business savvy, and even sagacious than their pious and constantly disapproving father (played by Raymond Massey) seeking to invent vegetable refrigeration, and estranged mother, whom Cal discovers is a brothel-keeping 'madame' (Jo Van Fleet). Elia Kazan said of Cal before casting, "I wanted a Brando for the role". Osborn suggested Dean, who then met with Steinbeck; the future Nobel laureate did not like the bold youth personally, but thought him perfect for the part. Kazan set about putting the wheels in motion to cast the relatively unknown young actor in the role; on April 8, 1954, Dean left New York City and headed for Los Angeles to begin shooting.

Dean's performance in the film foreshadowed his role as Jim Stark in ''Rebel Without A Cause''. Both characters are angst-ridden protagonists and misunderstood outcasts, desperately craving approval from a father figure.

Much of Dean's performance in the film is unscripted, including his dance in the bean field and his fetal-like posturing while riding on top of a train-car (after searching out his mother in a nearby town). The most famous improvisation during the film was when Cal's father rejects his gift of $5,000 (offered in reparation for his father's business loss). Instead of running away from his father as the script called for, Dean instinctively turned to Massey and, crying, embraced him. This cut and Massey's shocked reaction were kept in the film by Kazan.

For the 1955 Academy Awards, Dean received a posthumous nomination for Best Actor in a Leading Role for his performance in ''East of Eden'', the first official posthumous acting nomination in Academy Awards history. (Jeanne Eagels was unofficially nominated for Best Actress in 1929, when the rules for selection of the winner were different.)

''Rebel Without a Cause''

Dean quickly followed up his role in ''Eden'' with a starring role in ''Rebel Without a Cause'', a film that would prove to be hugely popular among teenagers. The film is often cited as an accurate representation of teenage angst. It co-starred teen actors Natalie Wood, Sal Mineo, and Dennis Hopper and was directed by Nicholas Ray.

''Giant''

''Giant'', which was posthumously released in 1956, saw Dean play a supporting role to Elizabeth Taylor and Rock Hudson. This was due to his desire to avoid being typecast as Jim Stark and Cal Trask. In the film, he plays Jett, an oil-rich Texan. His role was notable in that, in order to portray an older version of his character in one scene, Dean dyed his hair gray and shaved some of it off to give himself a receding hairline.

''Giant'' would be Dean's last film. At the end of the film, Dean was supposed to make a drunken speech at a banquet; this is nicknamed the 'Last Supper' because it was the last scene before his sudden death. Dean mumbled so much that the scene had to later be re-recorded by his co-stars because Dean had died before the film was edited.

For the 1956 Academy Awards, Dean received his second posthumous Best Actor Academy Award nomination for his role in ''Giant''.

Racing career and 'Little Bastard'

When Dean got the part in ''East of Eden'', he bought himself a red race-prepared MG TD and, shortly afterwards, a white Ford Country Squire Woodie station wagon. Dean upgraded his MG to a 1954 Porsche 356 Speedster, which he raced. Dean came in second in the Palm Springs Road Races in March 1955 after a driver was disqualified; he came in third in May 1955 at Bakersfield and was running fourth at the Santa Monica Road Races later that month until he retired with an engine failure.

During filming of ''Rebel Without a Cause'', Dean traded in the 356 Speedster for one of only 90 Porsche 550 Spyders. He was contractually barred from racing during the filming of ''Giant'', but with that out of the way, he was free to compete again. The Porsche was in fact a stopgap for Dean, as delivery of a superior Lotus Mk. X was delayed and he needed a car to compete at the races in Salinas, California.

Dean's 550 was customized by George Barris, who would go on to design the Batmobile. Dean's Porsche was numbered 130 at the front, side and back. The car had a tartan on the seating and two red stripes at the rear of its wheelwell. The car was given the nickname 'Little Bastard' by Bill Hickman, his language coach on ''Giant.'' Dean asked custom car painter and pin striper Dean Jeffries to paint ''Little Bastard'' on the car. When Dean introduced himself to actor Alec Guinness outside a restaurant, he asked him to take a look at the Spyder. Guinness thought the car appeared 'sinister' and told Dean: 'If you get in that car, you will be found dead in it by this time next week.' This encounter took place on September 23, 1955, seven days before Dean's death.

Personal relationships

Screenwriter William Bast was one of Dean's closest friends, a fact acknowledged by Dean's family. According to Dean's first biographer (1956), Bast was his roommate at UCLA and later in New York, and knew Dean throughout the last five years of his life. Fifty years after Dean's death, he stated that their friendship had included some sexual intimacy.

Early in Dean's career, after Dean signed his contract with Warner Brothers, the studio's public relations department began generating stories about Dean's liaisons with a variety of young actresses who were mostly drawn from the clientele of Dean's Hollywood agent, Dick Clayton. Studio press releases also grouped "Dean together with two other actors, Rock Hudson and Tab Hunter, identifying each of the men as an 'eligible bachelor' who has not yet found the time to commit to a single woman: 'They say their film rehearsals are in conflict with their marriage rehearsals.'"

Shortly before filming began on ''East of Eden'', Dean befriended horse trainer Monty Roberts. Roberts introduced Dean to the area and the two became close friends. Dean had planned to meet with Roberts shortly after the race on September 30 to discuss plans for the construction of a ranch, which would be owned by Dean but managed by Roberts. Roberts and his wife were the first people to learn of Dean's death through a telephone call placed by Dean's mechanic, Rolf Wütherich, immediately following the incident, in which Wütherich mumbled through a broken jaw that Dean had died. Roberts and his family did not attend Dean's funeral because, although the two considered themselves 'brothers', their friendship was unknown to Dean's family.

Dean's best-remembered relationship was with young Italian actress Pier Angeli, whom he met while Angeli was shooting ''The Silver Chalice'' on an adjoining Warner lot, and with whom he exchanged items of jewelry as love tokens. Angeli's mother was reported to have disapproved of the relationship because Dean was not Roman Catholic. In his autobiography, ''East of Eden'' director Elia Kazan, while dismissing the notion that Dean could possibly have had any success with women, paradoxically alluded to Dean and Angeli's "romance", claiming that he had heard them loudly making love in Dean's dressing room. For a very short time the story of a Dean-Angeli love affair was even promoted by Dean himself, who fed it to various gossip columnists and to his co-star, Julie Harris, who in interviews has reported that Dean told her about being madly in love with Angeli. However, in early October 1954, Angeli unexpectedly announced her engagement to Italian-American singer Vic Damone, to Dean's expressed irritation. Angeli married Damone the following month, and gossip columnists reported that Dean, or someone dressed like him, watched the wedding from across the road on a motorcycle. However, when Bast questioned him about the reports, Dean denied that he would have done anything so "dumb", and Bast, like Paul Alexander, believes the relationship was a mere publicity stunt. Pier Angeli only talked once about the relationship in her later life in an interview, giving vivid descriptions of romantic meetings at the beach. Dean biographer John Howlett said these read like wishful fantasies, as Bast claims them to be.

Actress Liz Sheridan claims that she and Dean had a short affair in New York. In her memoir, she also states that Dean was having a sexual involvement with director Rogers Brackett, and describes her negative response to this situation. However, again Bast is skeptical whether this was a true love affair and says Dean and Sheridan did not spend much time together.

Dean avoided the draft by registering as a homosexual, then classified by the US government as a mental disorder. When questioned about his orientation, he is reported to have said, "No, I am not a homosexual. But, I'm also not going to go through life with one hand tied behind my back."

Death

On September 30, 1955, Dean and his mechanic Rolf Wütherich set off from Competition Motors, where they had prepared his Porsche 550 Spyder that morning for a sports car race at Salinas, California. Dean originally intended to trailer the Porsche to the meeting point at Salinas, behind his new Ford Country Squire station wagon, crewed by Hickman and photographer Sanford Roth, who was planning a photo story of Dean at the races. At the last minute, Dean drove the Spyder, having decided he needed more time to familiarize himself with the car. At 3:30 p.m., Dean was ticketed in Mettler Station, Kern County, for driving in a zone. The driver of the Ford was ticketed for driving over the limit, as the speed limit for all vehicles towing a trailer was . Later, having left the Ford far behind, they stopped at Blackwells Corner in Lost Hills for fuel and met up with fellow racer Lance Reventlow.

After leaving Lost Hills, Dean was driving west on U.S. Route 466 (later State Route 46) east of Cholame, San Luis Obispo County, when a black-and-white 1950 Ford Custom Tudor coupe, driven from the opposite direction by 23-year-old Cal Poly student Donald Turnupseed (1932-1995), moved to take the fork onto State Route 41 and crossed into Dean's lane. The two cars hit almost head-on. According to a story in the October 1, 2005, edition of the ''Los Angeles Times'', California Highway Patrol officer Ron Nelson and his partner had been finishing a coffee break in Paso Robles, when they were called to the scene of the accident, where they saw an unconscious, heavily breathing Dean being placed into an ambulance. Paramedics were attending to Wütherich who had been thrown from the car and was lying on the shoulder of the road next to the mangled Porsche Spyder barely conscious, but survived with a broken jaw and other injuries. Dean was taken to Paso Robles War Memorial Hospital, where he was pronounced dead on arrival at 5:59 p.m. by the attending emergency room physician. His last known words, uttered right before impact when Wütherich told Dean to slow down when they saw the Ford coupe in front of them about to drive into their lane, were said to have been: "That guy's gotta stop... He'll see us."

According to the postmortem, it is believed that Dean's head struck the front grill of the other car. This impact and the accompanying crash resulted in Dean suffering a broken neck, plus multiple fractures of the jaw, arms and legs, as well as massive internal injuries. He is believed to have died around 10 minutes after the crash upon examination in the ambulance. For years, there were rumors a photographer friend, traveling to the race in another car, took photos of Dean trapped in the car dead or dying. Such photos never surfaced in public.

Contrary to reports of Dean's speeding, which persisted decades after his death, Nelson said "the wreckage and the position of Dean's body indicated his speed was more like 55 mph (88 km/h)." Turnupseed received a gashed forehead and bruised nose and was not cited by police for the accident. He was interviewed by the ''Tulare Advance-Register'' newspaper immediately following the crash, saying that he had not seen Dean's car approaching, but after that, refused to ever again speak publicly about the accident. He went on to own and operate an electrical contracting business and died of lung cancer in 1995. Wütherich died in a road accident in Germany in 1981 after surviving several suicide attempts.

While completing ''Giant'', and to promote ''Rebel Without a Cause'', Dean filmed a short interview with actor Gig Young for an episode of ''Warner Bros. Presents'' in which Dean, instead of saying the popular phrase "The life you save may be your own" instead ad-libbed "The life you might save might be mine." [sic] Dean's sudden death prompted the studio to re-film the section, and the piece was never aired—though in the past several sources have referred to the footage, mistakenly identifying it as a public service announcement. (The segment can, however, be viewed on both the 2001 VHS and 2005 DVD editions of ''Rebel Without a Cause'').

Memorial

James Dean is buried in Park Cemetery in Fairmount, Indiana. In 1977, a Dean memorial was built in Cholame, California. The stylized sculpture is composed of concrete and stainless steel around a tree of heaven growing in front of the Cholame post office. The sculpture was made in Japan and transported to Cholame, accompanied by the project's benefactor, Seita Ohnishi. Ohnishi chose the site after examining the location of the accident, now little more than a few road signs and flashing yellow signals. The original Highway 41 and 46 junction where the accident occurred is now a pasture, and the two roadways were realigned to make the intersection safer. In September, 2005, the intersection of Highways 41 and 46 was dedicated as the James Dean Memorial Junction as part of the commemoration of the 50th anniversary of his death. (Maps of the intersection )

The dates and hours of Dean's birth and death are etched into the sculpture, along with a handwritten description by Dean's friend William Bast of one of Dean's favorite lines from Antoine de Saint Exupéry's ''The Little Prince''—"What is essential is invisible to the eye."

Documentary

On Feb. 15, 2009, all three CHP officers who dealt with James Dean on the day of his death—Officer Otie Hunter, who ticketed Dean for speeding; and Officers Ernie Tripke and Ronald Nelson, who investigated the fatal crash—participated in an SCVTV documentary coproduced by the Santa Clarita Valley Historical Society and shared their memories of that fateful day. The Stuff of Legend: James Dean's Final Ride (Documentary).

Legacy and iconic status

Impact on culture and media

American teenagers at the time of Dean's major films identified with Dean and the roles he played, especially in ''Rebel Without A Cause'': the typical teenager, caught where no one, not even his peers, can understand him. Joe Hyams says that Dean was "one of the rare stars, like Rock Hudson and Montgomery Clift, whom both men and women find sexy." According to Marjorie Garber, this quality is "the undefinable extra something that makes a star." Dean's iconic appeal has been attributed to the public's need for someone to stand up for the disenfranchised young of the era, and to the air of androgyny that he projected onscreen. Dean's "loving tenderness towards the besotted Sal Mineo in ''Rebel Without a Cause'' continues to touch and excite gay audiences by its honesty. The ''Gay Times'' Readers' Awards cited him as the male gay icon of all time."

Dean is mentioned or featured in various songs, which include titles such as "Allure" by Jay-Z, "American Boy" by Chris Isaak, "American Pie" by Don McLean, "A Young Man is Gone" by The Beach Boys, "Bla bla bla (Blah Blah Blah)" by Perfect, "Chciałbym umrzeć jak James Dean (lit. I Wish to Die Like James Dean)" by Partia, "Come Back Jimmy Dean" by Bette Midler, "Daddy's Speeding" by Suede, "Electrolite" by R.E.M., "Famous" by Scouting for Girls, "Five Years Time" by Noah & The Whale, "Flip-Top Box" by Self, "Girl on TV" by LFO, "Hello my Hate" by Black Veil Brides, "Jack and Diane" by John Mellencamp, "James Dean" by Bonnie Tyler, "James Dean (I Wanna Know)" by Daniel Bedingfield, "James Dean" by That Handsome Devil, "James Dean" by the Eagles, "Jim Dean of Indiana" by Phil Ochs, "Jimmy Dean" by Icehouse, "Lost on Highway 46" by Sham 69, "Choke On This" by Senses Fail, "Mr. James Dean" by Hilary Duff, "My Kind of Girl" by Collin Raye, "My Shine" by Childish Gambino, "Peach Trees" by Rufus Wainwright, "Picture Show" by John Prine, "Rather Die Young" by Beyoncé, "Rock On" by David Essex, "Rockstar" by Nickelback, "Speechless" by Lady GaGa, "Teenage Wildlife" by AJ McLean of the Backstreet Boys, "These Days" by Bon Jovi, "Under the Gun" by The Killers, "Vogue" by Madonna, "Walk on the Wild Side" by Lou Reed, and "We Didn't Start The Fire" by Billy Joel.

In addition, he is often noted within television shows, films, books and novels. In an episode of ''Degrassi: The Next Generation'', the character Liberty likens the rebellious, anti-social Sean Cameron to James Dean. On the sitcom ''Happy Days'', Fonzie has a picture of Dean in his closet next to his mirror. A picture of Dean also appears on Rizzo's wall in the film ''Grease''. On the American version of the TV series ''Queer as Folk'', the main character Brian Kinney mentions James Dean together with Cobain and Hendrix, saying, "They're all legends. They'll always be young, and they will always be beautiful". In the alternate history book ''Homeward Bound'' by Harry Turtledove, Dean is stated to have not died in a car crash and to have made several more films, including ''Rescuing Private Ranfall'', based on ''Saving Private Ryan''.

Dean's estate still earns about $5,000,000 per year, according to ''Forbes Magazine''.

On April 20, 2010, a long "lost" live episode of the ''General Electric Theater'' featuring James Dean was uncovered by NBC writer Wayne Federman while working on a ''Ronald Reagan'' television retrospective. The episode, originally broadcast in December 1954, drew international attention and highlights were featured on numerous national media outlets including: ''The CBS Evening News'', ''NBC Nightly News'', and ''Good Morning America''. It was later revealed that some footage from the episode, entitled ''The Dark, Dark Days'', was first featured in the 2005 documentary, ''James Dean: Forever Young''.

Speculated sexual orientation

Today, Dean is often considered an icon because of his "experimental" take on life, which included his ambivalent sexuality. There have been several accounts of Dean's sexual relationships with both men and women.

William Bast, one of Dean's closest friends, He recently published a revealing update of his first book, in which, after years of successfully dodging the question as to whether he and Dean were sexually involved, he finally stated that they were. In this second book, Bast describes the difficult circumstances of their involvement and also deals frankly with some of Dean's other reported homosexual relationships, notably the actor's friendship with Rogers Brackett, the influential producer of radio dramas who encouraged Dean in his career and provided him with useful professional contacts.

Journalist Joe Hyams suggests that any homosexual activity Dean might have been involved in appears to have been strictly "for trade", as a means of advancing his career. Val Holley notes that, according to Hollywood biographer Lawrence J. Quirk, gay Hollywood columnist Mike Connolly "would put the make on the most prominent young actors, including Robert Francis, Guy Madison, Anthony Perkins, Nick Adams and James Dean." However, the "trade only" notion is debated by Bast and other Dean biographers. Aside from Bast's account of his own relationship with Dean, Dean's fellow biker and "Night Watch" member John Gilmore claims he and Dean "experimented" with homosexual acts on one occasion in New York, and it is difficult to see how Dean, then already in his twenties, would have viewed this as a "trade" means of advancing his career.

Screenwriter Gavin Lambert, himself homosexual and part of the Hollywood gay circles of the 1950s and 1960s, described Dean as being homosexual. ''Rebel'' director Nicholas Ray is on record as saying that Dean was homosexual. Additionally, William Bast and biographer Paul Alexander conclude that Dean was homosexual, while John Howlett concludes that Dean was "certainly bisexual". George Perry's biography reduces these aspects of Dean's sexuality to "experimentation". Still, Hyams and Paul Alexander also claim that Dean's relationship with pastor De Weerd had a sexual aspect, too. Bast also shows that Dean had knowledge of gay bars and customs. Consequently, Robert Aldrich and Garry Wotherspoon's book ''Who's Who in Contemporary Gay and Lesbian History: From World War II to the Present Day'' (2001) includes an entry on James Dean.

The "curse" of "Little Bastard"

Since Dean's death, a "legend" has arisen that his Porsche 550 Spyder was "cursed" and supposedly injured or killed several others in the years following his death.

One version of the tale goes as follows:

The famous car customizer George Barris bought the wreck for $2,500, only to have it slip off its trailer and break a mechanic's leg. Soon afterwards, Barris sold the engine and drive-train, respectively, to physicians Troy McHenry and William Eschrid. While racing against each other, the former would be killed instantly when his vehicle spun out of control and crashed into a tree, while the latter would be seriously injured when his vehicle rolled over while going into a curve. Barris later sold two tires, which malfunctioned as well. The tires, which were unharmed in Dean's accident, blew up simultaneously causing the buyer's automobile to go off the road. Subsequently, two young would-be thieves were injured while attempting to steal parts from the car. When one tried to steal the steering wheel from the Porsche, his arm was ripped open on a piece of jagged metal. Later, another man was injured while trying to steal the bloodstained front seat. This would be the final straw for Barris, who decided to store "Little Bastard" away, but was quickly persuaded by the California Highway Patrol (CHP) to lend the wrecked car to a highway safety exhibit. The first exhibit from the CHP featuring the car ended unsuccessfully, as the garage storing the Spyder went up in flames, destroying everything except the car itself, which suffered almost no damage whatsoever from the fire. The second display, at a Sacramento high school, ended when the car fell, breaking a student's hip. "Little Bastard" caused problems while being transported several times. On the way to Salinas, the truck containing the vehicle lost control, causing the driver to fall out, only to be crushed by the Porsche after it fell off the back. On two separate occasions, once on a freeway and again in Oregon, the car came off other trucks, although no injuries were reported, another vehicle's windshield was shattered in Oregon. Its last use in a CHP exhibit was in 1959. In 1960, when being returned to George Barris in Los Angeles, California, the car mysteriously vanished. It has not been seen since.

While it has proven impossible thus far to confirm or deny all the claims in this legend, it suffers from several clear factual errors. Barris was not the initial purchaser of the wrecked 550. Rather the doctors Troy McHenry and William Eschrid, both 550 Spyder owners, purchased the car directly from the insurance company. They removed the drivetrain, steering and other mechanical components to use as spares in their cars, then sold the shell to George Barris. William Eschrid used the engine in his Lotus race car. Troy McHenry was killed at a race at Pomona 1956 when the Pitman arm in his 550's steering failed; however this was not one of the "cursed" parts fitted to his 550.

Historic Auto Attractions in Roscoe, Illinois has claimed to have the last known piece of Dean's Spyder (a small chunk a few square inches in size). However this is untrue, as several other large parts are known to exist. The passenger door was on display at the Volo Auto Museum. The engine (#90059) is reported to still be in the possession of the son of the late Dr. Eschrich. Lastly the restored transaxle–gearbox assembly of the Porsche (#10046) is known to be in the possession of car collector Jack Styles.

Filmography

Year	Film	Role	Notes
	''Fixed Bayonets!''	Doggie	(uncredited)
rowspan="2"		Boxing opponent's second	(uncredited)
	Youth at soda fountain	(uncredited)
	''Trouble Along the Way''	Extra	(uncredited)
rowspan="2"		Cal Trask	Nominated – Academy Award for Best ActorNominated – BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role
''[[Rebel Without a Cause''	Jim Stark
		Jett Rink

Stage

Broadway

''See the Jaguar'' (1952)

''The Immoralist'' (1954) – based on the book by André Gide

Off-Broadway

''The Metamorphosis'' (1952) – based on the novella by Franz Kafka

''The Scarecrow'' (1954)

''Women of Trachis'' (1954) – translation by Ezra Pound

''La Légende de Jimmy'' (1990) – Musical by Michel Berger and Luc Plamondon

Television

''Father Peyton's Family Theater'', "Hill Number One" (Easter Sunday, April 1, 1951)

''The Web'', "Sleeping Dogs" (February 20, 1952)

''Studio One'', "Ten Thousand Horses Singing" (March 3, 1952)

''Lux Video Theatre'', "The Foggy, Foggy Dew" (March 17, 1952)

''Kraft Television Theatre'', "Prologue to Glory" (May 21, 1952)

''Studio One'', "Abraham Lincoln" (May 26, 1952)

''Hallmark Hall of Fame'', "Forgotten Children" (June 2, 1952)

''The Kate Smith Show'', "Hounds of Heaven" (January 15, 1953)

''Treasury Men In Action'', "The Case of the Watchful Dog" (January 29, 1953)

''You Are There'', "The Capture of Jesse James" (February 8, 1953)

''Danger'', "No Room" (April 14, 1953)

''Treasury Men In Action'', "The Case of the Sawed-Off Shotgun" (April 16, 1953)

''Tales of Tomorrow'', "The Evil Within" (May 1, 1953)

''Campbell Soundstage'', "Something For An Empty Briefcase" (July 17, 1953)

''Studio One Summer Theater'', "Sentence of Death" (August 17, 1953)

''Danger'', "Death Is My Neighbor" (August 25, 1953)

''The Big Story'', "Rex Newman, Reporter for the Globe and News" (September 11, 1953)

''Omnibus'', "Glory In Flower" (October 4, 1953)

''Kraft Television Theatre'', "Keep Our Honor Bright" (October 14, 1953)

''Campbell Soundstage'', "Life Sentence" (October 16, 1953)

''Kraft Television Theatre'', "A Long Time Till Dawn" (November 11, 1953)

''Armstrong Circle Theater'', "The Bells of Cockaigne" (November 17, 1953)

''Robert Montgomery Presents the Johnson's Wax Program'', ''Harvest'' (November 23, 1953)

''Danger'', "The Little Women" (March 30, 1954)

''Philco TV Playhouse'', "Run Like A Thief" (September 5, 1954)

''Danger'', "Padlocks" (November 9, 1954)

''General Electric Theater'', "I'm A Fool" (November 14, 1954)

''General Electric Theater'', "The Dark, Dark Hour" (December 12, 1954)

''The United States Steel Hour'', "The Thief" (January 4, 1955)

''Lux Video Theatre'', "The Life of Emile Zola" (March 10, 1955) – appeared in a promotional interview for ''East of Eden'' shown after the program aired

''Schlitz Playhouse of Stars'', "The Unlighted Road" (May 6, 1955)

Biographical films

''James Dean: Portrait of a Friend'' aka ''James Dean'' (1976) ''James Dean: The First American Teenager'' (1976), a television biography that includes interviews with Sal Mineo, Natalie Wood and Nicholas Ray. ''Sense Memories'' (PBS ''American Masters'' television biography) (2005) ''Forever James Dean'' (1988), Warner Home Video (1995)

''James Dean'' (fictionalized TV biographical film) (2001)

''James Dean – Kleiner Prinz, Little Bastard'' aka ''James Dean – Little Prince, Little Bastard'', German television biography, includes interviews with William Bast, Marcus Winslow Jr, Robert Heller (2005) ''James Dean: The Final Day'' features interviews with William Bast, Liz Sheridan and Maila Nurmi. Dean's bisexuality is openly discussed. Episode of ''Naked Hollywood'' television miniseries produced by The Oxford Film Company in association the BBC, aired in the US on the A&E; Network, 1991. ''Living Famously: James Dean'', Australian television biography includes interviews with Martin Landau, Betsy Palmer, William Bast, and Bob Hinkle (2003, 2006). ''James Dean – Mit Vollgas durchs Leben'', Austrian television biography includes interviews with Rolf Weutherich and William Bast (2005). ''James Dean – Outside the Lines'' (2002), episode of ''Biography'', US television documentary includes interviews with Rod Steiger, William Bast, and Martin Landau (2002).

References

Further reading

Alexander, Paul: ''Boulevard of Broken Dreams: The Life, Times, and Legend of James Dean ''. Viking, 1994. ISBN 0670849510

Bast, William : ''James Dean: A Biography''. Ballantine Books, 1956.

Bast, William : ''Surviving James Dean''. Barricade Books, 2006. ISBN 1-56980-298-X

Dalton, David : ''James Dean-The Mutant King: A Biography''. Chicago Review Press, 2001. ISBN 1-55652-398-X

Frascella, Lawrence and Weisel, Al : ''Live Fast, Die Young: The Wild Ride of Making Rebel Without a Cause''. Touchstone, 2005. ISBN 0-7432-6082-1

Gilmore, John : ''Live Fast-Die Young: Remembering the Short Life of James Dean''. Thunder's Mouth Press, 1998. ISBN 1-56025-169-7

Gilmore, John: ''The Real James Dean''. Pyramid Books, 1975. ISBN 0-515-03814-8

Holley, Val: ''James Dean: The Biography''. St. Martin's Griffin, 1996. ISBN 0-312-15156-X

Howell, John: ''James Dean: A Biography''. Plexus Publishing, 1997. Second Revised Edition. ISBN 0859652432

Hyams, Joe; Hyams, Jay: ''James Dean: Little Boy Lost''. Time Warner Publishing, 1992. ISBN 0446516430

Martinetti, Ronald: ''The James Dean Story'', Pinnacle Books, 1975. ISBN 0-523-00633-0

Morrissey: ''James Dean Is Not Dead''. Babylon books, 1983. ISBN 0907188060

Perry, George: ''James Dean''. DK Publishing, 2005. ISBN 1-4053-0525-8

Sheridan, Liz: ''Dizzy & Jimmy: My Life With James Dean : A Love Story''. HarperCollins Canada / Harper Trade, 2000. ISBN 0-06-039383-1

Spoto, Donald: ''Rebel: The Life and Legend of James Dean''. Harpercollins, 1996. ISBN 0-06-017656-3

External links

AMC's James Dean Photo Gallery: Living Fast and Dying Young

James Dean.com link to "Official" CMG James Dean website

10 James Dean Essentials: Photo Essay on AMCtv.com

James Dean: Hollywood's Rebel Icon - slideshow by ''Life magazine''

Mad about the boy on the Guardian Unlimited.

James Dean Gallery site

, includes photos of Dean's Tombstone.

James Dean at American Legends.

JamesDeanArchives.com

William Bast, Dean's biographer.

The Stuff of Legend: James Dean's Final Ride (Documentary)

Category:1931 births Category:1955 deaths Category:Actors from Indiana Category:Actors Studio alumni Category:American film actors Category:American people of Scottish descent Category:American Quakers Category:Best Drama Actor Golden Globe (film) winners Category:LGBT people from the United States Category:People from Marion, Indiana Category:Road accident deaths in California Category:University of California, Los Angeles alumni

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