Quote of the Week

Posted by Marisa on August 17, 2014

“I took Dean and that guy who played the bouncer (Timothy Carey) fishing on the rocks above Portuguese Beach, and Glenn Walbridge took them up Big River to fish off the old logging boom. I don’t remember if we caught anything but we probably did.” – Bob Valador

– from James Dean in Mendocino: The Filming of East of Eden; compiled and edited by Bruce Levene (Pacific Transcriptions, 1994)

Portuguese Beach, Mendocino, CA (photo via destinationmendocino.com)

“C’mon Jimmy, quit acting crazy and let’s go fishing.”

James Dean in Mendocino

Posted by Marisa on February 17, 2012

I recently got this nifty little book on eBay, James Dean in Mendocino: The Filming of East of Eden, compiled and edited by Mendocino historian Bruce Levene. It documents the time spent by director Elia Kazan, Dean, and the other cast and crew members shooting key scenes for the film in Mendocino, California (standing in for Salinas and Monterey) during the spring of 1954.

It was a big event for the little town, and the local newspapers gave it plenty of coverage. However, the papers never seemed to get Timothy’s name right.

There are lots of great candid behind-the-scenes shots in the book, including this one (the only one featuring Tim) that I’m sure we’re all familiar with.

Several locals had some unique remembrances to share.

All in all, this is a wonderful slice of film and California history, and a welcome addition to “the Carey file.” For Timothy’s own account of his and Dean’s adventures in Mendocino, please see this post.