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Birth Certificate ~ Accident Report ~ Autopsy Report ~ Death Certificate for: JAMES DEAN. A FINAL FAREWELL: The beginning of the report states that he died intestate and the first few pages of the report is a 'Petition for Letters of Administration' in the Superior Court of the State of California in and for the County of Los Angeles'. Case Number 369944; In the matter of the estate of James B. Dean. September 30, 1955 when he was tragically killed in a car accident. The petitioner was Winton A. Dean, age only 48 himself (Dean's father). There is a signed copy of a letter from Winton Dean presented to the courts in petitioning the assets of James Dean. There are a couple of letters from the 'State Inheritance Tax Appraiser' to James Deans' Father about his Motorcycle and Racing Crash Helmet, which read as follows: FIRST LETTER ABOUT HIS MOTORCYCLE: Dear Sir, In accordance with your request for a letter of appraisal on the following described personal property, please be advised I have placed a value of $500.00 thereon for date of death. 1955 Triumph Motorcycle, Engine No. TR559196, Yours very truly, SECOND LETTER ABOUT HIS RACING CRASH HELMET: Dear Sir, In accordance with your request for a letter of appraisal on the following described personal property, please be advised I have placed a value of $30.00 thereon for September 30, 1955. Racing Crash helmet. Yours very truly. ~ There is a 4 page inventory of James Dean's personal belongings including ironically, 2 gold cup trophies and 1 silver cup trophy for racing. The list is an insight into JAMES DEAN and I had to smile when I read that he was making a wooden stool and coffee table (other items in the inventory). There are 60 items in the inventory. (Valued at $120,464). There is a copy of a signed letter from Ronald Regan, (The then Governor of the State of California in Sacremento), now sadly deceased himself. The letter is to Mr. Martinetti who was writing a book about James Dean. The letter reads: 'March 14 1973 - Dear Mr. Martinetti, There is an I.O.U letter to Warner Bros. Pictures, Inc. dated April 7, 1954, in which James Dean sets out how he is going to pay back his loan as follows: I'm afraid I can't be of too much help to you in the biography you are doing of James Dean. Our shooting schedules and rehearsals on the GE Theater actually only involved about three or four days. I do recall very clearly that I was struck by how very much James Dean off camera resembled the James Dean you saw on camera. Incidentally, this was a live show, as most TV programs were in those days. When you finally went on the air, you were before the audience with no chance to cut the scene and retake it. . He was quiet, not too easy to know, and yet affable, friendly on the set, and I enjoyed working with him. I wish you well. I'm sorry I can't be of more help. Sincerely, Ronald Regan.(Letter is signed). Governor. ~ There is a letter from James Dean to the film studios in Hollywood which is signed by him: ~ 'Gentlemen, This is to acknowledge that I have received from you this day the sum of Seven Hundred ($700) Dollars as a loan and I have given you my promissory notes under which I am required to repay you said sum as follows:.(He agrees to pay it back at $100 per week for 7 weeks). Whilst he was filming East Of Eden - playing the part of 'Cal'! The letter is signed by him, Very Truly Yours, James Dean. (It's a wonderful letter). There is a copy of his final contract with Warner Brothers regarding his services for the filming of 'the tentatively entitled' - 'REBEL WITHOUT A CAUSE'. It states that filming will take 61 days and he will be paid $1,500 per week. Filming was to start 20th December 1954 and end 61 days later. It also mentions the filming of 'Giant' to be filmed from 30 May 1955 to 30th June 1955. The letter is signed by James Dean and the Assistant Secretary for Warner Brothers. Shocking picture of the actual crash scene. ~ All pages are photocopies. - E N D. Seller Inventory # 000092
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