Well read on. This is about the making of the film and a boy who met James Dean.
East of Eden was filmed in 1954 in Mendocino, CA. In 1994 when the gentleman who compiled this magazine style book was visiting Mendocino, recording memories of the locals who could recall that time long ago when that Warner Brothers bus rolled into town. Often a local would tell him, “You should contact Professor Silva at the University of Alaska. He spent a lot of time with James Dean.”
And, so contact him he did. Professor Silva was able to provided many never before seen photographs. Pictures taken by his mother or himself using her camera. He also provided lots of color into James Dean when he was away from the camera. Eventually Ron Silva was asked to provide a short story to be included in the book. It is a 12 page, 2 column short story. Thus I have provide only some snippets of interest.
Ron and his cousin are the 2 boys riding their bicycles in the movies opening scene. (Netflix, Prime et al have a habit of cutting that out. You’ll need to find an unedited version). It was an exciting time for the 15 year old Ron and the townspeople to watch that Warner Brothers bus roll into town.
The wild, unkept young man encouraged Ron to hang out with him. Eventually the boy from Portigee Flat befriended the young, up and coming movie star.
Ron was an extra in the movie, as were many of his relatives, friends and neighbors. In fact both Ron and his brother Lee got thier Social Security cards thanks to Warner Brothers. Standing next to each other in the line, their SS# are 1 digit apart. Ron was in the gym scene and was very excited when told to report to wardrobe to get a military uniform to be in the battle scene.
James Dean didn’t care to spend time with the “suits” and other Hollywood types. So, Ron took him fishing.
They would often eat lunch at Ron’s Grandmother’s house on Portigee Flat.
The book James Dean in Mendocino goes in and out of print. If you’re in the area, Mendosa’s store (the same store Gram would send Ron to for an onion and cigarettes) usually has the book available.
Read more of the story of Gram’s Last Supper. It didn’t end with James Dean!
This is fabulous! Love the scene where he’s trying to buy The Last Supper. And it sure looks like Mendocino has not changed one iota in all those years! We were in the general store. I would have searched for this book had I known. A couple of photo comparisons:
Hence the title of Ron’s short story.
JD and JC.
So, you’ve been to Ron’s hometown. Portigee Flat was considered an undesirable area to live. Up on the cliffs overlooking the ocean, unprotected from the storms. Mostly inhabited by Italians and Portuguese. Of course, today that is prime property. Multimillion $$ properties with ocean views. Fathers would build homes for their sons, thus 2 or 3 family homes would be in a row. Some of Ron’s relatives and friends families still own multiple homes there. Ron’s father was the town scoundrel and sold the 2 homes they had (for money to chase women) while Ron was still very young.
I did not put any of this together! Had to go back and re-read the entire thing. I do remember you telling me Ron was from Mendocino, but I’d forgotten until now. First time I read it, I thought your mention that you still have The Last Supper was sort of out of context. You mean you have THAT EXACT Last Supper! Went right over my head! Too very way cool!!
Sorry, didn’t make things quite clear. Made the assumption reader knew Ron is my Worse Half. I was a bit discombobulated trying to find excerpts from the book that would portray the young Dean and his interactions with Ron and inserting them in a sensible chronological order. And, when I would upload images the thumbnails were too small to see and was using a magnifying glass. Lol. Sad story huh? Wait, let me find that tiny violin.