In Loving Memory of Vampira 1921-2008
We have lost our dear friend Maila "Vampira" Nurmi. She passed away in her Hollywood home on January 10th. at the age of 86.
In the early 1950s, she was close friends with James Dean, and they hung out together at Googie's coffee shop on the corner of Crescent Heights and Sunset Boulevard in Hollywood. Her explanation for their friendship: "We have the same neuroses." Dean commented, "I have a fairly adequate knowledge of satanic forces, and I was interested to find out if this girl was obsessed with such a force."
In loving memory of Composer and Friend, Leonard Rosenman
Leonard Rosenman,83, died from a major heart attack on March 4, 2008. Rosenman wrote the legendary scores for the legendary James Dean films, "East of Eden" and "Rebel without A Cause".
Leonard Rosenman was writing chamber music and teaching piano when he met James Dean, who was then acting on stage and television. "We met at party," recalled Rosenman in a 1997 interview. "He heard me play the piano, and about a month later, my doorbell rings about 11 o'clock at night.
"I open the door, and here's a guy I don't remember all dressed in leather, motorcycle stuff. I said, 'What can I do for you?' And he said, 'I'd like to study piano with you.' "Rosenman and Dean became good friends and wound up sharing an apartment; it was Dean who brought Rosenman to the attention of Kazan.Read more of the story on the Los Angeles Times.
In Loving Memory of Joe Hyams 1923-2008
James Dean Biographer & Friend
Joe Hyams, a former Hollywood columnist and bestselling author of books ranging from biographies of Humphrey Bogart and James Dean (James Dean: Little Boy Lost) to a popular tome on Eastern philosophy, has died. He was 85.
Hyams, a longtime Los Angeles resident who moved to Penrose, Colo., three years ago, died of coronary artery disease Saturday, November 8, 2008, at a Denver hospital, said his wife of 14 years, Melissa.
To read more on the story, click on the Los Angeles Times link.
0 comments:
Post a Comment