James Dean's Accidental Killer - Donald Turnupseed - Car Crash 1955 Scott Michaels Dearly Departed

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Hi I'm Scott Michaels.
I own Dearly Departed Tours in Hollywood and the original Celebrity Death webpage, www.Findadeath.com. I've been doing this for over 25 years - my collection of one-of-a-kind death related artifacts includes the legendary Jayne Mansfield Death Car. On top of providing content here, I also have a podcast, and a FREE DEATH A DAY CALENDAR - daily smartphone app linked below.
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www.DearlyDepartedPod.com
www.Findadeath.com

[@charlesfitch3821]

I worked directly for Donald Turnupseed for about two years in the early '80s. Had lunch with him nearly every working day during those two years. He was a very devoted husband, father and honest businessman. We will never know for sure what happened / who's fault it was. James Dean losing his life was tragic of course but I can tell you with first hand knowledge that Don was DEEPLY disturbed by the incident and probably not a day went by that it didn't enter his mind - especially when curious "journalists" or authors came knocking each and every anniversary of the accident. Don was a good human being who shared some very bad luck with a very famous human being.

[@maynardkrebs9865]

If this happened in today’s world, Can you imagine the death threats Turnipseed would have been bombarded with from the out of control lunatics we have walking this Earth these days?

[@TheGuyclark1958]

the person that killed James Dean WAS JAMES DEAN

[@lauraanderson2429]

Very touching. I live near where James Dean was buried. Upon visiting his grave site, there was also a gift shop. I walked in a gentleman was sitting behind the counter. As I looked at the memorabilia, I asked the man if he knew James Dean. His response “I was his best friend. “. RIP James Dean and friend.

[@drc512]

He should have been charged with murder!! That's why he kept his mouth shut all those years. He himself knew he was guilty!!

[@jcollins1305]

I’m an accident investigator, and see fatal crashes often. As I like to say, accidents are a series of events, not always one thing that leads to the crash. There is usually culpability on both sides, and I’m sure this case was no different. Rest In Peace James, and Donald.

[@bigjohn3928]

James Dean would be 89....I don't believe he was meant to ever get that old...

[@1paulgood]

If James Dean’s racing car was on the trailer like it was supposed to be, this video wouldn’t exist

[@angelatemke9160]

I’m so glad that there are people in this world who loves this stuff as much as I lol

[@conniecrawford5231]

On 2/8/2022 Jimmy would have been 91 years old had he lived!

[@rodneywoods9299]

12:27

[@samsum3738]

For the last 40 years of his life , i am sure a day never passed without him thinking of that terrible day .

[@keithjohnson2340]

Another nice job. I had Stewart Stern as a writing teacher. Stewart wrote Rebel Without a Cause and was good friends with Dean. Stewart said he was one of the first to hear of the death. They thought Dean's manager was at Stewarts house and called their first. Stewart went to the funeral and stayed in Jimmy's bedroom. The Navy p-coat in the NY pictures is Stewarts. Jimmy told him he was going back to NY for a visit and wanted to borrow a warm coat.

[@lliamjurdom9505]

Not many people know that Sir Alec Guinness had a premonition on randomly meeting James Dean and observing his new car told him not to get back into it ... within a day or so Dean was dead.

[@debbieclark7031]

This was so interesting. I've always wondered what effect the accident had on him, and what happened to him. Thanks to you Scott and Warren's wealth of knowledge I learned a lot today. R.I.P. Donald Turnupseed.

[@EvilScooterKitty-zq5wv]

I've lost count of how many times I've traveled past there on my motorcycle. Such a sad deal for all involved. We all know that Dean had just gotten a speeding ticket that day in Bakersfield. :(

[@HatersWorld]

I live close to his hometown in indiana..A couple of lovely men run a museum for him in an old victorian its awesome..His final resting place is nearby there too..his family still lives in his childhood home and don't mind if you cruise over there pretty cool stuff! Great video..shame his life was cut so short 🥺

[@phtevlin]

There is a beautiful short film called "Two Friendly Ghosts". It depicts a meeting between an elderly Don Turnipseed and a young James Dean at the crash site.

[@tommymcdonnelljr1582]

I've actually been to James Dean's grave he was born 69 miles from where I was born Fairmont is a real small town in Indiana

[@Brian-bp5pe]

Like many of the other commenters here, I couldn't help but notice how relatively young Donald Turnupseed was at the time of his own death. When the accident occurred, Turnupseed was only a year, or two younger than Dean. It would seem that the car crash and Dean's death weighed heavily on him.