#stockwell sassies

[lisbeth-kk]

May Prompts (26) Manipulate

The Luckiest Girl in the World (chapter 26)

Summary: Rosie finds an unmarked box in her wardrobe. When John scolds himself for lacking as a parent, Rosie sets things straight.

Twenty-Six Years Old

Six months after my return to London, I was moving out again. The internship at the ministry of justice paid surprisingly well. I couldn’t help but think that a certain uncle had been using his manipulation skills again… In addition to my wage, the generous inheritance from Nana and Timothy’s income from his published novel, were more than sufficient to buy a decent flat in Stockwell. 

Nana had clearly wanted that 221 Baker Street was well looked after, and gifted it to her two boys, and insisted in her will that if Deidre, or Dee, as she preferred to be called, needed a home, 221A should be hers. And for the last two years, 221A had been occupied by Dee. My parents got along with her like a house on fire.

“It’s like having a younger version of Hudders down there,” Papa stated.

“Agreed. The sassiness runs in the family, I presume. Dee’s skills in the kitchen are sadly things she did not inherit from her aunt, though,” Dad said.

“Definitely not! She almost sat the flat on fire when she was boiling eggs,” Papa filled in.

***

Moving out the first time, had been poles apart to this move. That time I was going on an adventure, and I knew it was for just a period. When I moved in with Timothy, it was forever, and that was more bittersweet than I’d anticipated.

Moving to Paris, I had only taken clothes, some books, my laptop and the like. Stripping my room bare, was something entirely different. There were so many memories, and I knew I had to get rid of some of them because the flat wasn’t exactly big, and there were Timothy’s things to consider as well.

Over the next weeks I felt that I lived inside a cardboard box. They were everywhere, even downstairs to let me have some room to move around upstairs and leave the bed free to sleep in.

On the floor inside my wardrobe, I found an old box that had remained hidden behind clothes, rucksacks, shoes and a bag with blankets. It wasn’t marked and I couldn’t remember having placed it there. I opened the flaps and gasped in surprise.

“How are you getting on?” Dad called from the stairs and seconds later he entered my room.

I looked up at him with a stunned expression. When he saw the box, his shoulders slumped, and he sighed heavily.

“Right. I’d forgotten all about that one,” he said sheepishly. “I’ve failed to keep her memory alive for you, haven’t I?”

“Dad,” I scolded him. “You had far more important things to cope with when she died. Raising me with Papa is the greatest gift you could’ve given me. Never be sorry for that. I don’t remember her at all. From what I’ve gathered she did some horrible things to you both. No, stop. She did. I may not know the full extent of it, but it doesn’t matter that she was my mother. Remember what Papa said about extended and chosen family. They can be way better than the biological one. Not that I would want to replace you, mind.”

We both looked down at the photo of my mother and Dad on their wedding day. I didn’t recall when it had been replaced with the wedding photo of Dad and Papa. It felt strange and a bit eerie to look at Dad embracing another person like that. I took it out and placed it in the box that was going to the bins.

“Rosie!” Dad exclaimed, more out of shock than anything else.

“It’s wrong, Dad. I don’t need that. To me she’s the one who gave me life, but she was never in it when it mattered, and I’ve never missed having a mother. I consider myself the luckiest girl in the world having you and Papa as parents. You’ve done a great job, and uncle Myc, Nana, Molly, Granny, Pops, and uncle Greg have been brilliant carers as well. Now, what else is in here?”

I found Ted, still stained with tomato sauce, a white baby blanket with a bee pattern, tiny boxes containing a curl of my hair, my first tooth, a book where my growth, my first real meal, my first words, my first steps, my first trip, (to Barts), my favourite toys and books were painstakingly written down in Papa’s handwriting. My eyes filled with tears when I realised how much love lay behind those notes.

“He didn’t let me near that book with my horrible handwriting,” Dad said in a choked voice, clearly as emotional as me.

Another book caught my eye. The one uncle Greg had mentioned. A book with children’s names. It was worn, and I didn’t know whether that was from Papa searching for male names starting with a G, or my mother’s search for names meant for me.

“Did you…”

“No,” Dad cut me off. “She’d already decided on a name once we got back together. After…”

He didn’t have to finish that sentence, and I’m glad he stopped himself. Just thinking about it made me nauseous. 

I hadn’t told Timothy about her yet, but I knew I needed to. He would eventually ask. The lack of photos of her would ensure that. I reminded myself to ask uncle Myc how much I could reveal. Not that I knew more than half of it myself.

After I’d put the box aside, I leant into Dad where he sat beside me and placed my head on his shoulder. He put his arm around me and pulled me in for a hug.

“I’m so glad you decided to move back here with me after she died,” I murmured. “We would’ve been miserable without him.”

“Yeah, two years was enough for a lifetime,” Dad said and drew me closer, kissing the top of my head.

“I bet Papa is relieved that he can walk around in just a sheet now that I’m moving out for good,” I quipped to brighten the mood.

Dad chuckled and he was unable to hide the glint in his eyes at this prospect.

Also available on AO3

All the love to the other magnificent participants <3 Thanks to everyone for the endless support and especially to those who normally don't read parent!lock, but despite that are walking the extra mile. I'm in awe!

@calaisreno @totallysilvergirl @keirgreeneyes @raina-at @helloliriels

More tags in the replies

[winderlylandchime]

May I ask what is your favorite to least favorite seasons of qaf arrangement? And what are your favorite episodes?

Hello dear sweet anon! What a wonderful question.

My most favorite to least favorite seasons in order… to be clear this is a little like asking me to rank order my favorite pets (or children if I had any). The margins on this are so slim, except for season 5. But here we go:

1. Season 2 - the aftermath of the bashing and the sweet honeymoon period Brian and Justin have is EVERYTHING to me. I love how we get a disabled romantic lead and Brian, this sex god of gay Pittsburgh, just is… unfazed by that? He still sees Justin as sexy and wants him and cares for him without it Being a Thing. As someone who is a partner to someone with a disability (their preferred language), this is so personal and meaningful. And then we have the angst of them slipping apart and not communicating and then the end… oh my god, the angst. Just seeing them love each other but not trust the other’s love is so heartbreakingly beautiful. For their character arcs, I think a break up is necessary.

2. Season 3 - the angst of them being apart at the start of the season is so delicious. I hate the way Justin and Ethan break up because it’s not a clear rejection of monogamy nor is it Justin saying “I won’t be closeted again” but rather Ethan cheats on him… which plenty of monogamous couples do not cheat! … BUT minus that, perfection. And then, of course, the most historic reunification since Germany and that delight blends right into the Stockwell take down. There are a couple of things that are perfect about this arc - the call back to Jason Kemp/Dumpster Boy from the prior season, using art to enact social justice, the take down of a corrupt politician. Realistic? No. Great story? Absolutely.

3. Season 1 - our boys meeting and falling in love and some peak sassy Justin and Brian being absolutely like a cartoon character who got smacked over the head with a hammer falling for this boy to what is probably one of my favorite episodes of TV of all time, prom with episode 122. Oof, everything about that is perfection. Gale’s acting in the parking garage and the last shot at the hospital? AMAZING.

4. Season 4 - great TV, great season. I love the establishing of Kinnetik, I love the cancer arc. I wish we had more of the cancer arc though. Also, Justice for Vic. No complaints, but also nothing that screams to me the way the first few seasons do. The ending “as for the times you are not here” though will always be so special to me. The series could have ended there and left the viewer with the assumption that Justin goes to LA for a bit and then returns and lives with Brian. Perfect. Lovely ending.

5. Season 5 - honestly, season 5 can jump off a cliff for all I care. We have a some lovely Brian doubting Justin will ever return from LA and cancelling his surprise visit, love that. Totally Brian. Then we have Justin eventually returning and reassuring Brian. Perfect. Totally Justin. And then everything goes off the rails. Brian reverts to behavior we honestly haven’t seen from him since S2. Justin suddenly, at the ripe old age of 22, wants monogamy, marriage, and a baby (???) Like who are these characters and what did they do to our boys? Break up, heartbreak. Okay then we have the bombing of Babylon and the “I love you” heard ‘round the world. LOVE! I love that Brian finally gave Justin the words… but oh my god marriage and Britin? Makes no sense. It fits because Brian of course doesn’t take things to a 7 or 8 or even a 10. He goes overboard, takes things all the way off the scale 11. But then… Justin, bb, sunshine, tell that man that you don’t need monogamy or marriage or a house in the boondocks. Tell him you just want a little bit more commitment than you had. But no. So we have the marriage that was doomed from the start (although the scene trying on tuxes and the golden gardenias scene does things to my soft heart). And then someone guy publishes an article about Justin and that’s enough to send him to NYC to establish himself. With no job, no money, and NO BRIAN. Brian, who, it has been long established, longs to move to NYC. WTF. I get that that’s a bit of raising him to be the “best homosexual he can be” and surpassing Brian is the goal, but c’mon. They were going to get married. I love love love the line “Only Time” because I do think their relationship transcends time and space. They are a true OTP. Absolutely. But even if Brian is going to stay in Pittsburgh for a bit or whatever, at least show Justin and Brian dancing together at the reopening of Babylon. Or at least Justin there. Brian dancing alone at the end of the series is just so heartbreaking for me. Like they truly erased all growth and now he’s more alone than ever. I hate it. I want to yeet it into hellfire.

[deanstockwellgal]

Here's a poem for Dean Stockwell that I discovered on https://stockwellsassies.tripod.com/creations1.html.

Rest well, dear, wonderful, sweetheart Dean. Love you. ~Sararose~

A little Poem for Dean by dragon100787311 (the old Sassies Yahoo group)

As I sat at my window looking at the snow making its way to the corner of the window frame, I sipped a cup of hot chocolate. As I breathed it shot fumes in the air, and a siluate emerged in the shape of a face.  The face seem so familiar to me, it was almost like looking into a crystal ball. As the image grew so clear I could only see that you were always on my mind.  I sat there dreaming of how it could have been if you had only looked my way, your lips softly touching mine, your gentle arms caressing my body so close to you that I could feel your heart beat.  Gentle are you who drifts into my life only in a dream and never staying long enough to be mine.  I only admire you from a far, seeing you on the screen and envy those who have made you theirs.  Sweet Gentle Dean, may you always be the person in our hearts, never be far from our dreams and keep your spirit free as an eagle who soars through the sky.

[alcalavicci]

(Disclaimer: if either of you wrote this and don’t want it up, send me an ask and I’ll take it down)

Lisa and Laurie meet Dean:

Laurie: Well, I started talking [to Dean at Dragon*Con] and I reminded him that Lisa brought him a book of my poems last October. At which he said, "Oh, you're Laurie." He was so kind. I gave him a copy of the new book and asked him to sign mine, which he did. Then he . . . ."

Well, he leaned over to Jay, whispered something to him and then turned back to me and said, "I'd like to take you out to dinner." He looked at Lisa and said, "I want you to come too."

Just a moment before that he handed me his drink and I took a few sips of his scotch and soda. I was bowled over by that so when he asked us to dinner, I just mumbled, "Uh, sure." He had just checked in and didn't know where we could go. Lisa jumped right in with "The Marquis Steakhouse is good!" He said, "That's what we'll do" and suddenly we had dinner reservations with Dean at the most expensive restaurant in the building. <G>

We met Dean at seven at the restaurant. He got there first and was waiting for us. We had dinner with Dean Stockwell!!! At his invitation!!!

Exactly what happened at dinner will be in future posts when we're both more coherent. We're still in the clouds. Right now I wish I had more of Dean's scotch and soda. The man drinks good scotch. He's not as picky with wine. <g>

Part I: (by Lisa)

Hello all. My turn to tell some of the tale!

Okay...As Laurie has said, We were invited, by Dean himself to dinner on Friday night. This happened within five minutes of meeting him. Dean was so impressed with Laurie's poetry that he wanted more of a chance to talk to her about it. LOL...I think I was invited along because he didn't know what else to do with me. So, while Dean and Laurie talked I gave Jay the name of the restaurant again. The Marquis Steakhouse. Jay set it up for reservations for three at 7pm.

Laurie and I left the autograph section, the "Walk Of Fame" flying higher than air and shaking out of our skin. In just under six hours we were going to be having dinner with Dean! So, we took a walk outside to get some air before we both passed out. Everything was kind of a blur. I of course was on the cell calling my sisters and telling them all about it.

I honestly don't remember a lot of what happened in those hours of waiting. If I remember correctly, that is the day I had to lay down and take a nap. Ah, I'm IMing with Laurie as I write this and she's filling me in on a bit. I went back to my room to practice breathing and she went to the connecting mall for some "alone time."

We set up a time to meet down in the Atrium at "our" table and wait for 7pm.

I went about ironing the best outfit I had brought with me and trying to get my hair just right. (A very big task for me my hair is) Okay, okay...you all don't want to hear this part of it all. On to the good stuff.

Laurie just asked me to add this..... "This was a big deal for me. I had no expectations other than meeting him and giving him the poetry. I was stunned and amazed that he could even want to spend time with us at all. I had to be alone to begin to sort it all out and begin to believe it."

(And also from Laurie....."My hair is a lost cause and I was already wearing my best blouse so all I did was make sure my breath was okay and that my shoes were tied.")

So, we meet downstairs and sit at our table trying to pretend that our world is normal and that we aren't looking for Dean to walk past. At just a few minutes to 7:00 we make our way to the restaurant which is all of hmmm...200 feet away from us.

We enter, turn the corner and there standing with his back to us is Dean. Somehow how he got past us in the atrium and made it into the restaurant ahead of us. Yes, the gall of us, we left Robert Dean Stockwell waiting.

I spoke to him and he didn't hear me. I do believe now more than ever that our guy is a wee bit hard of hearing. Calvin the Maitre'd/diningroom supervisor then let Dean know that his guests were behind him. Dean turned to us and I have no idea what words were spoken or just how we made it to our table, but we were being seated.

Laurie and I sat across from each other and Dean sat to Laurie's left and to my right.

Oh, Laurie just asked me to add in that we requested the waiter we had had our first night there, Sylvester. We wanted only the best for Dean.

So, we're all seated and notice Dean has his laptop with him. He asked me to please move to the seat across from him, to Laurie's right. LOL...He told me I could move back if I wanted to in a bit, but hey, I was across the table from him now looking into his eyes. I wasn't going anywhere! Anyway, Dean sits his laptop on the table and again says something that my air starved brain can't remember. Laurie comments to him that this is all very surreal, to which Dean replies..."It's about to become even more surreal." During all of this, our waiter and the Maitre'd are fussing all around us. Filling glasses and tending to us and, LOL, hovering over us like a couple of very hunky well-dressed buzzards not missing a thing at our table.

So, after the "even more surreal" comment from Dean, he starts to slide his laptop around and with a great amount of grace knocks his water glass over and sends it spilling my way like Niagara Falls! Laurie said Dean's face turned several shades of red. (Laurie just added this..."He was so red I thought it was apoplexy! His eyes rolled up into his head just like Al does every so often on QL.") I couldn't tell you because to busy wondering if I was going to drown. I do however remember hearing Dean say, "Great way to start off the night." Honestly, like he was worried about impressing us? He was so embarrassed. And the staff went crazy. They wanted us to switch tables, they wanted to change the table cloth. They were beside themselves.

Side note from Laurie: "Dean wasn't fussy and fretting about how fast the staff attended to him. He tried to put them at ease. There was nothing put on or self-important about him at all. He wasn't there to impress anyone - not even us. He was there because he wanted to be."

Once we convinced the staff that we were fine and the table was fine and that we would all survive, and that I would dry out at some point during the evening, Dean tried to get past his embarrassment and make us all feel at ease by joking to me, "I bet you'll never wash that shirt again because I spilled my water on it." (Please note, quotes will be off by a word or two. Remember, I was trying to remember to keep breathing at the time. Some words got past my over worked brain.) And I told him that no I wouldn't and could get a good price for it on eBay.

Okay, so back to the "even more surreal" comment from Dean… It did become very, VERY more surreal. For on Dean's handy laptop were images from his show that has just now (but not as of that night) opened in Santa Monica at the Chris Krull Gallery! No only that, but there were images that are not to be included in the new exhibit! Robert Dean Stockwell himself showed us his work! He shared them with us and studied our faces while we looked at them, with me open mouthed I'm sure, and waited for our comments on them. He was like a proud father. No, he WAS a proud father. I mean, he wanted our opinions and he listened and commented when we gave them!

Now, you ask "Why did he do this?" I thought it was because he so happy to be in a convention environment, yet have people who appreciated his art and he just had to share it. And I do believe that was part of it. But the main reason for showing them to us, to Laurie...He wanted her to see them so she could write her poetry to them as well!!!!! Get this...he said "If you want to." Like she wouldn't?!?!?! Of course Laurie was (and is honored) and not being a stupid woman she told him yes. So he told her what email address to be looking out for and let her know that he would be sending her the images!!!!!! How amazing is that? Our Laurie!!! His exact words to her were… "A lot of people write poetry. You are a true poet."

Laurie just asked me to please add this..."My heart dropped from my chest into my gut. I couldn't believe that he would share his art with me so that I could write more. It was more than a dream come true. I'm not clever enough to come up with a scenario like the one that took place in the Marquis that night."

Now, I do have to take a moment here and make a request. I sent scans to Andrea of Dean's work to put up on our website. During our meeting Dean let us know that he feels very strongly about copyright infringement. So, I need to ask that the images I sent for use on the site be pulled. The ones from the Ravens site shouldn't be a problem. But Andrea, please pull all of the ones I sent to you. I respected Dean before ever meeting him that first time back at Chiller, now, after having had this encounter with him, I also want to respect his wishes. Sorry to all for that, but it's clear when talking to him that his art is his soul. I hope you all understand why I'm requesting the ones I sent come down.

So ladies, my fingers hurt and my eyes are drooping. There is a lot more to tell you about this dinner. A lot more! I hope this will hold you over until the next mail. I'm also working very hard to get pics up for you.

More soon!

Part II:

Laurie:

We'll begin tonight with actual eating since that's why we met at a restaurant. The first thing you do when you sit down at a restaurant is tell the waiter, our dear Sylvester, what we'd like to drink. Lisa and I don't usually drink alcohol and I sure didn't want to get blitzed at dinner with Dean so Lisa opted for a cola and I got my usual - club soda with a lime. Dean ordered a glass of the house Merlot. Now this was an upscale place so Sylvester poured Dean half an inch of wine, showed him the bottle and waited for Dean to take a sip and approve the choice. Dean just sort of laughed and told Sylvester he just wanted a glass, not the bottle. Then Dean said, "At home I drink wine from a box. This will be fine." Yes, Dean Stockwell drinks wine from a box. <g> I love that he drinks wine from a box. Even I don't drink box wine. Lisa is IMing with me and said, "I didn't know there was such a thing!"

We had the menus in our hot little hands and Dean kept asking what we wanted to eat. Lisa picked a Petite Filet Mignon and a Herbed Double Baked Potato. I chose Lobster Bisque and Pan Seared Copper River Salmon. Dean had a big lunch so he wanted a Caesar Salad and a side dish, Sauteed Exotic Mushrooms. When Sylvester returned for our order, Dean ordered for us. He pointed to me, "She'll have. . . " Then he pointed to Lisa, "And she'll have. . . " It was so old world of him. Now, I believe myself to be a liberated woman, but it was kind of fun to have him do the ordering. I wanted to giggle, but being the always appropriate woman I am, I refrained. <g> Lisa says, "I love that he ordered for us!!! He can do it anytime he wants! Plus, when he ordered my Filet he looked at me and said 'Honey (I think it was Honey), how do you want that cooked?' And when I said how I wanted it he said 'Don't you want anything else?' and I ordered the potato."

Now this restaurant is the kind where you are served an amuse bouche, an itty bitty tiny hors d'ouevres that is eaten in one bite. That's how small it is. We were served our amuse bouch, a swirl of smoked trout mousse on a quarter-sized slice of cumcumber. Dean ate his. I ate mine and Lisa who does not eat smoked fish or green vegetables chose not to eat hers. So Dean, being ever so proper, took the little plate and began a ceremony to cut it in half for he and I to share. We toasted with our forks and chowed down on these itty bitty bits. So, not only does Dean drink wine from a box, he plays with his food. <g> Dean said he was sorry if he and I were being rude by eating in front of Lisa, but she took one of the incredible cheese biscuits and joined in.

Since Dean and I had appetizers, they came first. My lobster bisque was beautifully served with chunks of lobster on top. Dean's salad was a beautiful affair that came in an unusual bowl. It was rather large,

white ceramic and the shallow bowl was seated on a circular base on the bottom. Now the bowl part itself was tilted slightly and Sylvester placed it in front of Dean with the lower side toward him and the bowl tilting up. Well, you would have thought he was witnessing the absence of gravity or something. He examined that bowl from top to bottom, sticking his face nearly onto the table to see the bottom of it, and just behaving like a little boy seeing Santa. He was beside himself with the shape of this bowl. We weren't sure if he'd ever stop remarking about this bowl. He finally did, but it did bring about a new activity for him which I'll tell you about in a few minutes. Lisa just reminded me. She is saying. "I asked him if he wanted a pic of the bowl to use in a future image. Then a bit later he said something about it and I said I can't take it now because you moved your bread. Then he went all crazy with the piece of bread sliding it around inside his bowl."

Dean eats his salad and I have my soup and we are very happy eaters. Then we have our main courses. Lisa's potato is about the size of Idaho. My salmon could feed about three people and Dean's exotic mushrooms could keep Alice in Wonderland happy for a few weeks, lots and lots of shrooms. Dean commented on how good everything looked and he was eying my salmon. I told him the mushrooms looked good too, so we shared our food. He gave me some of his mushrooms and I cut him a piece of salmon. Lisa offered him some potato, but he doesn't eat carbs. Lisa is saying, "Dean and Laurie were in their own little food world. I could have left the table at that point and they wouldn't have noticed." Well, we would have noticed - eventually. <g> The food was really good!!! Now by eating off each other's plate, I mean exactly that. I stuck my fork into a few mushrooms on his plate and he stabbed at my salmon.

When we finished what we were able to eat, Lisa still had at least half of her steak and most of her potato left. I had at least half of my salmon. Dean wanted us to take our leftovers back to our rooms. Now, I don't usually eat fish left out unrefrigerated overnight. Lisa doesn't usually eat steak left out either, but he was so adamant about us taking the leftovers that we finally said yes just to stop him from talking. Lisa managed to convince him that she didn't want her steak and he took it saying he was going to have it for breakfast. I on the other hand got stuck with delicious, yet (by the morning) stinky fish to take with me. <g>

Sylvester asked if we wanted dessert. Dean roared laughing and sat back almost tipping his chair over. "They didn't eat what they have here!" He is easily amused and finds himself very funny. It was fun to watch him. Lisa says, "And to see him laugh like that in person, so close, oh, it does things to a girl! He has an energy, an addictive energy. And when the man is happy, when he's smiling and laughing, you have no choice but to get carried away in it."

Now, back to wine glasses. Some time during all this, Dean drank about half his glass of Merlot. Then, inspired by the tilted bowl, he started to try to balance his wine glass on the edge of the glass's base. It's hard to describe, but he wanted to balance the glass on an angle like the salad bowl. All I could think was, "First the water and now the wine is going to go!" But the man did it. He managed to balance his wine glass on its edge and he was very very proud of his whole self. Lisa says, "A big part of that is because he was sure we didn't think he could do it. After it sat there balanced for a bit, in a grand gesture he snatched it up and got the most rakish look on his face. Then he toasted us. I told him it was impressive, but the look made the whole thing work that much better. He was very happy that his 'look' was appreciated."

I'm going to let Lisa tell you the next part because she has much clearer memories of it than I do. I was just trying to shield myself. <g> From Lisa - Dean called Sylvester over to get a second glass of wine. Sylvester was beside himself because he did not want to sit another glass of wine in front of Dean until he finished his first. So they went back and forth and Sylvester won. He told Dean he would get him the second glass when Dean finished the first. Dean gave in and said it was fine. Lisa said, “He just wants to try and balance two at the same time. I know what he's after.” To which Dean calls to Sylvester..."Hey babe! I really want..." and he points to a wine glass on the table behind him..."Pour it in here." So Sylvester does. While Sylvester is getting it Dean's says..."Sometimes, one gets a challenge. And then, what do you do? You say you can't do that?" As for what we were saying? We're not sure. We were laughing too hard.

Laurie here again - The challenge was presented and Dean started working on balancing both glasses. Now he goes to the first glass and gets it balanced again. He almost spilled that glass, but he caught it before it fell over. It is not precariously sitting on its edge. I'm holding my napkin in front of me since I know he's going to spill it all like he spilled the water. Dean was having trouble getting the glass to balance since it was too full and the wine was sloshing around too much. So in this beautiful restaurant with elegantly dressed staff Dean shouts out, "Everyone stop walking!" Again, he was highly amused with himself. He licked his finger and rubbed it along the bottom of the glass. He got it balanced. So he had two wine glasses standing on their edges. Now I'm ashamed to admit this, but Lisa had faith in his unique skill, but I didn't. When he told us his record was nine I was astounded. He added, "But that was back when I had a steadier hand." Lisa says, "He was very impressed with himself. And when I told him it was good but he forgot 'the look' this time, he said...'I did the look once. I didn't need to repeat it.'"

And then just to prove the sophistication of his humor, he started to try and balance his reading glasses. He was amused by "wine glass - eye glass!" We tried not to groan. I wasn't successful. Neither was Lisa, but we also aren't sure if he was joking or not. Something tells us he was really trying to balance them! Then he joked about sipping wine from his eyeglasses.

That's about it for the actual food related stuff. We have more stories though!!! Just let us know if you want more. We could probably bore you with this for at least two of three more days. <g>

Laurie (and Lisa on AIM)

P.S. Dean did talk about his art and copyrights so I'd like to back up Lisa's request to only post art on the Sassies page that is already online from galleries where he has his shows. His art works are very dear to him.

Part III (by Lisa):

I had to sign off last night while Laurie and I were working on the last post so I'd like to add a couple of things now.

During some our conversations with Dean, we talked about happy and fun things, sad things and one thing in particular that made Dean very angry. With every new subject Dean was completely comfortable with showing his emotions on the topic. We saw him laugh without abandon, we saw sadness and compassion on his face during tough talks and we saw a blazing anger when we spoke of something that just really pee'd him off. I will never, ever forget how he opened up to us. We started out thinking we were going to have dinner with Dean Stockwell the artist and actor, but we left the restaurant after having dinner with Robert Dean Stockwell the artist, actor and above all else human being. There are not and never will be enough words for me to describe the total and complete new found respect I have for the man.

As Laurie mention, I told Dean about my Mother's passing. Now, last October when I went to Chiller my Mom sent me with a letter to give to Dean. I handed it to him and he read it and asked me to tell my Mother thank you. I later found out the my Mom, ornery little woman that she was, asked Dean to give me a kiss. LOL...He didn't of course. Well, when we were leaving Chiller for the day he did blow me a kiss. Anyway, I was telling Dean a bit about the letter during dinner. I wanted him to know Mom and the sweet, silly woman she was. He smiled when I mentioned the kiss. So, when we were leaving the restaurant Dean gave Laurie a kiss on the forehead and turned to walk away. Of course I shamelessly stopped him and pointing to my forehead asked him where mine kiss was. He turned to me and said "You don't get one there" and proceeded to give me a kiss on the cheek. Suddenly I felt another soft kiss and he whispered to me "That one's for Mom." I have to tell you, Dean and no one reading this could ever begin to know just how must that meant to me. When I went back to my room, I looked out the window over Atlanta and told Mom I got the kissed she had asked for and cried like a baby. I have no doubt Mom was sitting on a cloud, swinging her feet and clapping her hands with that big ornery grin on her face.

And on a more fun note, Dean wanted to know how fast Laurie's [wheel]chair could go. So as we were leaving the restaurant, there is this long hallway you have to walk down before you get into the hotel atrium area. Laurie and I were behind Dean and when he heard us coming he turned around and started running backwards away from Laurie and her chair. She yelled for Dean to be careful and he turned. Se no one behind him he told Laurie so. "There's no one behind me!". LOL...Laurie wasn't worried about that, she just didn't like the thought of 69 year old Dean running backwards. But I have to tell you, I had more faith in his ability to do it than I do in my own.

Okay, that's all for now from me. I have no doubt as bits and pieces come back to us we'll be sending them your way.

Later, in a different thread:

Another member: I think, if it's done the right way, "Sassies Uber Alles" (with the umlaut though) would be hysterical. Of course Dean will forget he said that, so he'll have no idea why the pin says that until someone explains it to him... :-)

Lisa: Karen, that's the true. When our dinner was over with Dean at Dragon*Con, Laurie and I both had food left on our plates (seriously...eat with Dean sitting at your table and talking to you and balancing wine glasses?...ummm...no). I had most of my steak left and Dean asked our waiter to wrap it up to go and he would have it for breakfast. The next morning when we saw him I ask him if he enjoyed his breakfast and he looked at me like I had lost my mind. Explaining just seemed to baffle him more. Got to love that man.

[starstruckteacup]

Cottagecore Films (pt. 9)

Classic Disney Edition - Original Princess Trio!

Snow White and the Seven Dwarves (1937)

starring Adriana Caselotti, Lucille La Verne, Pinto Colvig, Roy Atwell, Otis Harlan, Billy Gilbert, Scotty Matraw, Eddie Collins, Harry Stockwell

A young and beautiful princess, Snow White, grows up under the threatening watch of her stepmother, the Evil Queen. One day, the Queen’s Magic Mirror tells her that she is no longer the fairest in the land, but that Snow White is. Enraged and jealous, the Queen orders her huntsman to kill Snow White, but at the last moment, he is unable to strike. Snow White flees into the woods, and soon arrives at the cozy home of the local dwarves. When the dwarves return from work, they are terrified to discover that someone has been in their house. However, when they meet Snow White, they are immediately taken by her kindness and allow her to stay. The group celebrates with dinner and a small party, but their bliss doesn’t last for long. When the dwarves leave again for work in the morning, Snow White encounters a mysterious old woman--unbeknownst to her, it’s the Evil Queen in disguise--selling apples, who cons her way into the dwarves’ home and gives Snow White a poison apple. When the dwarves find her, they believe her to be dead, and place her in a gold and glass coffin. It seems that all is lost, but true love has other plans.

I’ve seen this movie many times, and as a kid I actually really disliked it. I thought Snow White was a passive and boring character, but on this watch-through I was surprised by how poorly I interpreted her previously. Snow White is a 14 year old girl, but packs such bravery as could rival any Prince Charming. She’s still very clearly a child though, with her innocence, positivity, and unjaded outlook. She puts others’ needs before her own constantly and always finds the good in everyone. She’s still naive though, which is clear from her open interaction with the old woman/Evil Queen, despite knowing that her life was in danger if the Queen found her. After she escapes death by the huntsman’s blade, she runs panicked through the forest, with everything mutating into horrors around her, just as a young, frightened girl would. She’s immediately comforted by the animals afterward, which is reflective of how readily young people can bounce back from trauma. The Evil Queen was also a lot darker than I recall. I was terrified of her as a kid, but I’m still terrified as an adult for an entirely new set of reasons. What kind of woman tries to kill a child over beauty, then celebrates that she’ll be buried alive after eating the poison apple? That kind of coldness and brutality is absolutely horrifying, even now. She may be the most dangerous and genuinely evil Disney villain in history, and she was the very first. 7/10

Cinderella (1950)

starring Ilene Woods, Eleanor Audley, Verna Felton, Lucille Bliss, Rhoda Williams, James MacDonald

When Cinderella’s father passes away, she’s left with her vain, greedy, and cruel stepmother, Lady Tremaine, and two stepsisters, Anastasia and Drizella. She works as their scullery maid every day, until an urgent message from the King arrives. The castle will host a ball for the prince to meet an eligible maiden, and she quickly organizes the chateau and dons the dress her animal friends made for her, hoping to at least attend the ball. However, just as they are about to leave, the stepsisters destroy her dress, dashing her dreams. As she weeps, her fairy godmother appears, dressing her magnificently and creating a splendid carriage for her. She arrives at the ball, catching the undivided attention of the prince (unbeknownst to her), with whom she spends the rest of the night dancing. She nearly loses track of time as the clock tolls midnight; as she flees the castle, she drops her glass slipper, and narrowly escapes the king’s guards. The next day, the Grand Duke visits every maiden in the kingdom, trying the slipper on every one in hope of finding who it belongs to. At long last, he reaches Cinderella’s home, but the slipper breaks due to the interference of Lady Tremaine. As if by destiny, Cinderella has the other slipper, and she lives happily ever after with her Prince Charming.

There’s a reason why this is the classic Disney movie. It’s full of charm and elegance, and it’s impossible to not empathize with Cinderella. Although it’s not as apparent by the unrealistic standards we set for modern-day female characters, Cinderella is actually an incredibly rounded character, and deserves more credit than she gets. She’s a strongly but subtly witty and sassy young woman, yet is never lacking in infallible patience and kindness. She makes a variety of sly remarks to her animal friends about her situation, only to provide some levity and not become depressed and traumatized, as many of us would in her situation, but she is never harsh or cruel. She sees the world for what it is and for what it could be, and never loses hope that things will turn out well for her one day. This film has possibly the most romantic lyrical soundtrack, with “So This is Love” and “A Dream is a Wish Your Heart Makes” outshining almost any Disney love song to date. When you hear these songs, you fall a little in love too. This film has an impeccable focus on true love, but despite its fantasy setting it feels more real and attainable than it does on the surface. Cinderella doesn’t even know she’s dancing with the prince, but she knows she’s in love, and that’s all that matters. (Also it took me literally years of watching this movie to finally pick up that she didn’t know he was the prince, oops.) Love doesn’t have contingencies, and that’s a beautiful thing. 9/10

Sleeping Beauty (1959)

starring Mary Costa, Bill Shirley, Eleanor Audley, Verna Felton, Barbara Luddy, Barbara Jo Allen

At the infant Princess Aurora’s christening, three fairies--Flora, Fauna, and Merryweather--arrive to bless her with three magical gifts. Flora bestows upon her incredible beauty, and Fauna gifts her with a beautiful voice. Before Merryweather can share her gift, the diabolical fairy Maleficent appears, insulted that she was unwanted by the court. She curses the child to prick her finger on the spindle of a spinning wheel and die before her 16th birthday. Merryweather uses her gift to amend the curse so that Aurora will only fall into a deep sleep, to be awakened by true love’s kiss. To prevent this from happening, the three fairies hide her in the woods, where they will remain as peasants until her 16th birthday passes. On her birthday, Aurora meets a handsome stranger, whom she falls in love with. When she returns home to share the news with the fairies, they break the news that not only is she already betrothed, but that they will to the castle that very evening. Before the sun sets, however, Maleficent tricks Aurora into pricking her finger, and she falls into the deathlike slumber. The stranger in the woods, who in actuality is Prince Phillip and Aurora’s betrothed, arrives at the cottage to meet her, where he is captured by Maleficent. She takes him to the Forbidden Mountain, but he quickly breaks out and battles with Maleficent as a fearsome dragon. Felling her, he rushes to Aurora’s side. With true love’s kiss, the curse is lifted, and the entire kingdom awakens.

As the third film in the Disney Princess lineage, Sleeping Beauty shows a remarkable evolution of design and artistic prowess. Snow White and Cinderella are both stunning, but the artists in this film take the backgrounds to a new, fantastical, and ethereal realm. This world is sewn together with magic, and it really comes through in the art. The music is also far more enchanting and romantic as a whole. The instrumental scores are breathtaking and truly immerse the audience in the magic of this world. There were certainly fewer lyrical numbers in this movie, but “Once Upon a Dream” is such a wonderful love song that walks the audience through Aurora’s youthful naivety and its evolution into realistic love. In my opinion, it’s nearly incomparable to the rest of Disney’s musical repertoire as well. Without question, Prince Phillip is Disney’s greatest and most heroic prince. He’s brave, steadfast, and honorable, and shows he will go to any length for the woman he loves. What other prince fights against a demonic dragon to save someone he just met the day before? That’s right, none. There may be more well-rounded princes, especially as we get toward his more modern counterparts, but very few have shown that they are willing to risk their lives or livelihood for the wellbeing of a loved one. With Aurora, on the other hand, I think Disney could have done better. She’s actually a rather shallow character; all we know about her is that she is beautiful, melodious, and imaginative, but we don’t know anything real about her personality. We don’t know what makes her feel good or bad about anything. We briefly see her response when her dreams are dashed, but even that isn’t as thoroughly expounded upon as other princesses are. The film also doesn’t give enough credit to the distress the huge reveal of her royal lineage causes. In other films, the princesses have real, gut-wrenching reactions to serious situations that are thrown their way, but Aurora isn’t given that depth. This may be one of my favorite movies, but it doesn’t quite hold up to many other Disney films. Also Maleficent is the best villain of all, and no I won’t take any criticisms. 7/10

Part One // Part Two // Part Three // Part Four // Part Five // Part Six // Part Seven // Part Eight

[stockwellarchives]

Street Gear (unknown episodes)

Director: (unknown) Dean Stockwell…John Stern Airing date: Summer 1995? Synopsis: Mr. Davis, a widowed African-American doctor shares his home in Seattle with his family. His son Chris gives the family the emotional backbone it needs to stay in tune. Availability: Planned?

This is a strange one, since we found very little information on this show. It’s been listed in some of Christopher Lee’s various obituaries, but mid-1990s newspaper television listings don’t mention this show at all. The Stockwell Sassies website’s filmography, which is generally very accurate for 1990s-era items, doesn’t list this show. If you believe IMDb, there were 13 episodes that aired during the summer of 1995, but IMDb isn’t always the most accurate.

Our best guess is that maybe the production company got as far as filming at least some of the episodes or a pilot that got scrapped. But either the network pulled it, or it aired on local channels instead. 

[allaboutdeanstockwell]

Happiness is Dean Stockwell’s smile.

Come on, you can’t tell me he isn’t the cutest thing you ever laid eyes on. Just look at him! <3

And the last one just broke the internet! <3

(Some photos are the property of members of the Stockwell Sassies association and were saved from The Dean Stockwell Appreciation Society, where they were shared with permission from those owners. Photo scan credit goes to and remains with them. If any of those owners wish for their photographs to be removed from the post, send me a message and I will remove the photo on request.)

[alcalavicci]

In the early 2000s, a Yahoo group was started for fans of Dean Stockwell: the Stockwell Appreciation Society (Sassies for short). Some truly remarkable people commented in the group, including people who had met Dean in the 1970s or later. The head of the group collected many magazine articles about Dean, most of which were transcribed and put on the Sassies website after being posted in the group. She also did a ton of research on Dean, focusing on his less-known hippie years. I got pointed to the group a while ago after talking with a longtime member of the group.

A few weeks ago, when I heard Yahoo Groups were getting shut down as of today, I went into the group and saved as many pictures and stories/articles I could from the group, especially the ones I enjoyed the most (like the superfan from the 70s who tried to start a fan club and even had Dean’s number and address, plus stories I’ve mentioned on here before...). I’ve cut out some of the more personal stuff (one lady who dated Guy and met Dean was a real gossip) and didn’t save the genealogical stuff (c’mon, that doesn’t need to be reposted).

I’ll be posting a lot of the text ones here for a while, and the pictures will eventually go up on the archives as well. I’m also posting some reviews/articles from there to the archives too.

[alcalavicci]

(Disclaimer: if you wrote this and don’t want it up, send me an ask and I’ll take it down)

Aurora’s encounter:

Dean and I aren't close friends... more like passing acquaintances. And the first couple of times I spent most of them trying NOT to hyperventilate and seem like more of an idiot I was. *chuckle*

The first time I met Dean, in 1990, a friend of mine I was with down in California decided it would be a neat thing to surprise me by arranging for me to meet Dean. Somehow, he managed to get Dean to come over to where we were. It's a cruel cruel thing to pull something like this on a Dean-a-holic.. let me tell you. Seeing Dean walk into the room definitely takes away your power of speech... quickly.

I spent two hours trying not to hyperventilate, blushing about sixteen shades of red everytime Dean said: "You sure she's ok? You're okay right? Not going to pass out on me now, right?", and trying to put two coherent words together to form sentences. (I'm pretty sure I said "Glub!" a few times to his questions.) But Dean was really nice and seemed to be quite tickled at the fact that he had such a big fan. I spent most of that time basking in the light that is Dean and trying to look more intelligent than I felt. By the time he left he was calling me: "My #1 fan!" ACK!

(Oh, if you were wondering... Dean was wearing a yellow tee-shirt, blue jeans, and sneakers... pretty sure they were white.. I didn't look down much to tell you the truth. And he was wearing this nice cologne that to this day I can't figure out what it was.)

After he left, all the questions I wanted to ask him FINALLY came into my brain and I spent the next four hours brow beating my friend over the stunt he had just pulled and getting him to tell me how he managed it. *laugh* Turns out the met Dean back in the 70's sometime and they became friends. I spent the entire evening picking his brain of everything he knew about Dean.

The next time was three days later when I was out for supper with my great-aunt and great-uncle. Bleh.. I can't remember what the name of the restaurant was but I do remember that they had a good cheesey brocoli soup. My aunt said: "Oh look, isn't that Dennis Hopper?" I looked, and lo and behold.. there was Dennis! Kewl! And just behind him was... Dean! My great-uncle said: "Oh, that's Dean Stockwell isn't it? Isn't he in some sort of television show now?" Me: "Gulp! Yeah... it's called... uh... um... " Picture me ducking down so Dean doesn't see me here, "Quantum Leap!" I got some strange looks from them and they went on to talk about various films they'd seen the both of them in.

(Again.. Dean was wearing this grey sport coat over a dress shirt with grey slacks... not a very flattering outfit for him!)

I spent most of the meal trying to stay out of Dean's line of sight (I was pretty sure he thought I was the worlds biggest idiot!) and trying to see him. Not an easy task... trust me. I was pretty sure I was safe when I went to the bathroom... but when I was coming back.. guess who noticed me? *blushes and sighs*

"Hey! If it isn't my #1 fan! Dennis, this is the girl I was telling you about..."

Oh dear. Speech out window. Aurora into quivering mass of jello here. Bleh... Dennis was really nice and started joking around that it was about time Dean got some fans and if he hadn't gone on his 'little trip' that he'd probably be as big of a star as him. The conversation devolved into jests and other weird things that I didn't really understand. I actually think they forgot I was standing there for a few minutes. Finally, Dean asks me if I'm there with my friend, I say no that I'm there with my family and Dennis pipes up that they should go meet the family of this charming young lady.

Ack. Eep. Oh dear.

Dean, being the kind and compassionate human being that he is, veto's the idea and says that they've probably put me through enough of an ordeal as it was and that he and Dennis were late already. (For what.. I haven't a clue.) Dean says it was nice meeting me again and Dennis says that I shouldn't talk so much the next time. Dean got cute and kissed my hand! He murmured something about beauty of the flower of womanhood and Dennis rolled his eyes and said to Dean that he probably knew that book from back to front by now. I managed to get my vocal chords to work long enough to blurt out: "What book?"

Dean grins and says: "Why, Lady Chatterly's Lover of course!"

ACK!!! Aurora blushes about sixteen zillion shades of red and her jaw drops to the floor. As they leave, they're throwing quotes at each other trying to stump each other on which books they had come from.

My family had seen most of it and I got chewed out for not bringing the two of them over. *laugh* And I then kick myself for not having Dean sign anything!

[alcalavicci]

Jill’s timeline of Dean, 1936-1979. She said something about working on an 80s timeline too but I didn’t find it: 

Robert Dean Stockwell was born on March 5, 1936, at Cedars of Lebanon Hospital in Los Angeles.

His father was Harry Baylis Stockwell, age 30, an 'artist' employed by motion picture studios. His original birthplace was Missouri. His mother was Elizabeth Margaret Veronica, age 24, a 'housekeeper' employed at home. Her original birthplace was New York. This was her second child. [Me: Jill somehow got his birth certificate. I guess this was in the days before they got a lot more secure about who got birth certificates?? Either way, it’s not really something I approve of because that’s applying genealogical methods to a living person, which genealogists generally frown on doing.]

1953 - 1956: The mystery years. Jill: “Dean left college in the spring of 1953, and disappeared for awhile until he showed up doing live television in 1956. When interviewers asked him what he had been doing, he spun quite a fanciful tale. There is no way for any of us to know how much is true, and how much he was making up. According to him, he changed his name several times, and began an odyssey of traveling across country doing odd jobs and living with the laborers of the land (Woody Guthrie, anyone? Bob Dylan also made up his own past when he hit New York. Must have seemed quite romantic at the time). “Dean says that he worked in the mailroom of a large company in New York....but when people began to figure out who he was, he hit the road. Worked on the railroad in Texas....in Mexico.....worked as a fruit picker.....worked in a bakery in New Orleans.....eventually ended up in New York again, and decided to try acting once more.

Jill: “Here are a few facts I've been able to find: Dean attended the University of California in Berkeley from 1952 to the spring of 1953, when he dropped out. His brother Guy was attending the university at the same time, and when Guy graduated (probably 1954), he became a schoolteacher in northern California. A former pupil of Guy's recalls Dean coming into the classroom occasionally to read Shakespeare to them (how cool would that be?). Also, Dean himself has stated that he was in 'northern California' when James Dean was killed in an automobile accident (which was the fall of 1955).

“Because of these few facts, I get the feeling that Dean was with Guy during a lot of these 'lost years.'

“However, he definitely was in New York during 1956, as that is where the live TV shows were originating from that he appeared in. He attended a few classes at the Actor's Studio, which is where he met Suzanne Pleschette. Since she is a real person, I will take that fact at face value.

“The rest is a mystery.” [K: I think there’s some truth to Dean’s claims- he was in NYC during the summer of 1955 and acted in a religious show, The Wise in Heart, to get money to go back to LA, according to Nature Boy. Nature Boy’s author confirmed this was pulled from a magazine interview with Stockwell. So, between the summer of 1955 and up to fall/winter 1955 at the earliest, spring 1956 at the latest, he was with his brother in Northern California, working as a logger, before going back to LA. Between spring of 1953 and the summer of 1955? I’m sure he found work elsewhere, was recognized there, moved, changed jobs, and that’s why he went through so many, but he may have exaggerated as well. After moving to LA, Dean soon met Berman. They had certainly met well before 1957- Dean wrote a poem that mentioned Berman’s son Tosh blowing out the candles on his 21st birthday cake.]

1957: A new adult Dean Stockwell emerges. Sometimes Dean says he went back to Hollywood in 1956, but another time he stated he returned to Hollywood on his 21st birthday, in order to collect the money that had been held in trust for him (it wasn't very much.......I'm thinking around $25,000, but I'd have to look that up). Dean turned 21 on March 5, 1957.

This is the period when Roddy McDowall took that photo of Dean's that shows up on the mantel in the QL show "M.I.A." [Me: Dean doesn’t look that young in the picture, based on his hair. I’m thinking the picture that’s in Roddy’s art book was taken around this time, while the MIA picture was taken in the early 1960s.]

There is so much happening between 1956 and 1957, that I have a feeling he was traveling between New York and Hollywood, rather than staying put in one place. He makes his first film as an adult, a western, titled "Gun for a Coward." "The Careless Years" will follow that one, plus countless appearances on TV dramas, plus a run in a Broadway play "Compulsion" with Roddy McDowall from late 1957 to early 1958 (while rehearsing for Compulsion, he appears in live TV dramas from New York........he was busy!).

Also, in 1957, he began to hang out with the beatniks living in Topanga Canyon, above Los Angeles. His address is listed as an apartment building in Hollywood (there's a photo of that building in our Files section), but he eventually buys his own home up in the canyon (I have no idea what year).

Dean states in the recent Neil Young biography that he spent a lot of time with the artist Wallace Berman and his family, and that Berman's revolutionary way of thinking was a profound influence on him. Berman was an avant-garde artist who worked with collages and symbols, often incorporating Hebrew letters (having to do with the Kabbala). When Berman's art exhibition was closed down due to obscenity, it was Dean Stockwell who bailed him out of jail (this was still 1957).

1957 - 1959: This is the period of time that Dean is hanging out at Jazz clubs, and is referred to as a Hollywood Hipster (with the likes of another child star, Bobby Driscoll), when he's not being compared to the late James Dean. He shows up in a documentary about the 'Beats' in California (a film I would love to get my hands on. :-) It's also the time when Dean's name is being connected to quite a few Hollywood starlets (Janice Rule, Diane Varsi, Ina Balin, Suzanne Pleschette, Sandra Dee).

1959 - 1962: At this point, almost every interview/article about Dean Stockwell centers on his relationship with another quirky personality, Millie Perkins. They were young, they were different from the mainstream, they were 'hip' without being obnoxious, and they made a cute couple. It's difficult for me to even figure out what else Dean was doing at the time, because everything centers around his marriage to Millie (1960 - 1962), and their efforts to hide from the press. They are married shortly after he finished "Sons and Lovers" and are going through a divorce by the time of "Long Day's Journey Into Night."

A brief glimpse into Dean's character is provided by Katherine Hepburn, during the filming of Long Day's Journey - he showed up for filming on the first day, an outdoor scene, without a coat during cold weather. That bothered Kate so much, she went out and bought him a coat, and had it there for him the following day. The director stated that Kate Hepburn had a soft spot for heavy drinkers. Apparently Dean arrived for work with a bottle of vodka close at hand. Sounds like he was getting a bit of a reputation.

1963: This is when Dean runs into Dennis Hopper again (they first met in New York in 1957, through their mutual friend Roddy McDowall). They become lifelong friends. Dean is mentioned in 'Andy Warhol's Diary' as being one of the guests at a party at Hopper's house, with Russ Tamblyn and Suzanne Pleschette. [Me: According to Semina Culture, this is also around the time when Dean met his longtime girlfriend Toni Basil.]

A photo of Dean from these days was taken by Dennis Hopper, and can be found in our Files, as well as in the Photo Album on our Website. [Me: That picture- with the egg on Dean’s face- was taken in 1965.]

1965 - Makes frequent appearances as a continuing character on the TV series "Dr. Kildare." Stars in a black and white film shot in France, titled "Rapture."

1966 - creates a short art film titled "Moonstone" with his artist friend George Herms

1966 and 1967 - in a sense, we can call these 2 years as 'lost years' or 'mystery years' also. Only called that because Dean's life at the time cannot be discerned by movies or TV appearances. Instead, we find Dean creating collages for Art Showings, living in Haight-Ashbury (verified by the beatnik poet Charles Plymell, who became a friend of his at the time), and perhaps sojourning in London for awhile. While in Haight-Ashbury, he attends parties at Plymell's apartment with the likes of Neal Cassady and Allen Ginsberg. [Me: There was Mr. Paracelsus, Who Are You? early around this time, but after that, nothing until late 1967.]

1968 - appeared in the psychedelic hippie movie "Psych-Out"; according to sources, the only actor in the film who actually lived in the Haight district at the time. But not for long, because now he's reappearing in Topanga Canyon with Russ Tamblyn, and eating breakfast at the local restaurant there. He befriends the female owner, who introduces him to her new boyfriend - Neil Young.

Also starred in a British TV mystery drama (which puts him in London, if only briefly). [Me: This was Thirty-Minute Theatre: Before Breakfast.]

Also made appearances on The Danny Thomas Show, and FBI.

Finishes the decade by performing (most charmingly) in a Bonanza episode....... and writing a screenplay titled "After the Gold Rush." Introduces George Herms to the music of Neil Young during an acid trip.

1970 to 1973 = Dean continues to make short art films with his friend George Herms. Also makes a short documentary about the making of "Breakaway," which was an art film created by the artist Bruce Connor, starring Dean's girlfriend at the time, Toni Basil.

1970 = stars in the film "Dunwich Horror" with his friend from the 1950's, Sandra Dee. Asks George Herms to paint the hieroglyphics on his torso for a scene in the film.

1971 = Joins his friend Dennis Hopper and other "Misfits of Hollywood" in Peru for the making of Hopper's film "The Last Movie." LIFE Magazine does a cover story about Hopper down in Peru, and stories circulate about the wild times on the set. Hopper spends a year editing the film, but Universal refuses to distribute it. The title of the film is almost prophetic regarding Hopper's career. [Me: His stepmother Nina Olivette passes away this year.]

Also in 1971, Dean stars in two television movies - "Paper Man" and "The Failing of Raymond."

1972 = stars in a low-budget biker-on-the-road flick titled "The Loners." The press release for the film states that Dean Stockwell has 'been living in England.'

1973 = Stars in "The Werewolf of Washington." Dean later says that the script was funny, but he knew by the very first day on the set that he was in a stinker.

1974 = Appears in a play in Albuquerque called "Relatively Speaking," and tells an interviewer from the local paper that he is tired of being typecast as a murderous lunatic who guest stars on television dramas. He would like to try comedy. [Me: There’s a 1972 newspaper article about Win Place or Steal that says he’d love to do more comedy, but I think his first comedic role as an adult was in his 1964 episode of Burke’s Law.]

Also around this time he is showing up in Taos quite a bit, getting drunk and stoned in bars with Dennis Hopper. But even though he was getting quite a reputation in Taos (and not a good one - Dean quotes, with good humor, a person saying "I always thought Dennis Hopper was the biggest asshole in Taos - until I met the other guy....,"), that isn't his entire existence. He is also still living in Topanga Canyon above Los Angeles, and the magazine "Fighting Stars" does a cover story on Dean about his newfound interest, Stickfighting.

Dean comes across in the interview as an eager, enthusiastic man, younger than his stated age (the photos that accompany the article look like a man in his 20's instead of a man approaching 40), who has discovered the martial art Stickfighting after appearing in a low-budget film in the Phillipines. He is so involved with this sport that he brings his instructor over from the Phillipines, Remy Presas, to stay at his house. He also tells the interviewer that he really doesn't care if he never acts again, as long as he can be involved in this martial art.

At the same time, though, Dean is happy to give his blessing to an official Fan Club, started by a woman named Geordie James (whom our member Claire was corresponding with at the time). Dean even telephoned Ms. James when he returned from the Phillipines, and he sounded just as eager and enthusiastic over the phone as he comes across in the magazine interview. Alas, there was a fire at the home of Ms. James, and the Fan Club never got off the ground.

1975 = stars in another low-budget film, this time a comedy, titled "Win, Place or Steal," with his friend and Topanga Canyon neighbor Russ Tamblyn. [Me: This was filmed around 1972.]

Also in 1975, spends a fastpaced summer with his friend David Bowie, who was living in Hollywood at the time. Bowie recalls making the club scene with Dean and Dennis; Iggy Pop remembers them visiting him in the mental hospital.

1976 = Does the photography/artwork for the cover of Neil Young's album "American Stars 'N Bars" (9 years earlier, Dean had contributed a photo of the artist Wallace Berman for the cover of the Beatles "Sgt. Pepper" album).

Also, in 1976, Dean and his girlfriend Toni Basil accompanied Dennis Hopper to the Cannes Film Festival for a showing of the independent film "Tracks," which both Dean and Dennis had appeared in. According to the gossip columns, there were parties on the beach from dusk to dawn, and it was here that Dean meets his future wife, Joy Marchenko. They begin a 5 year correspondence.

1977 to 1978 = Toni is very active in the punk rock scene, and the artist Bruce Conner makes a documentary about punk rock clubs in California, with her in it. Toni introduces Dean to the band Devo. Dean makes a tape of their music and gives it to Neil Young. Then Dean takes Neil to a club to see them.

1978 = Probably the beginning of the breakup with Toni, as she begins an affair with Devo's bass player. Dean moves in with Russ Tamblyn, still up in Topanga Canyon. During a frisbee game with Russ and Neil, the idea for "Human Highway" takes shape. Joined by Dennis Hopper and Devo, they begin filming a movie which will ultimately take 5 years to complete, and will end up being completely different than the original conception.

Stories circulate about the wild times on the set, which began as simple outdoor shots filmed around Taos, New Mexico, but which will end up being a very expensive studio set created by Neil Young's imagination.

1979 = Dean appears in Las Vegas doing comedy dinner theater ("Come Blow Your Horn"). Also directs an avant-garde play in Los Angeles called "Man With Bags," starring Russ Tamblyn (this is where our member Claire gets to meet him). A few weeks later she gets to meet him again at an art exhibition of George Herms' work, which includes a showing of Dean's film creation "Moonstone." A good time was had by all.

[alcalavicci]

Discussing Mr. Paracelsus, Who Are You?

daisymum: “Okay, now that I'm sitting down with the time to write something substantial, my mind draws a complete blank. (Doesn't it always work like that?)

“Anyway, I'm a big Michael Rennie fan & came across this VHS tape of mystery. The guy that found it originally picked it up at a used book sale because it was labelled as a Sherlock Holmes spoof. It's a pristine example of classic late 60s camp and a complete tour de force for Dean Stockwell. He plays a milquetoast undergrad in turn of the century Boston who gets possessed by an immortal 16th century alchemist. Horrors! Stockwell goes from being completely virginal to an out of control seducer (and sorcerer nonetheless) while vamping his way all around the town, in a blink of an eyelash. ‘He's either drunk or been smoking hashish’ is how one character describes him. (How's that for a subtle drug reference?) He kidnaps orphans & sells them into slavery! He marries his fiancee & makes a less than honest woman out of his secretary! He snows his parents & then trys to take over the board of directors at his father's life insurance company! He casts spells using various potions & other nefarious means to further him along his path of complete & total local domination! ‘It's a bit beyond the long arm of coincidence, wouldn't you say?’, is how Michael Rennie's character describes it.

“Michael Rennie himself is terrific & gets to do things you normally wouldn't associate with him, but he's very very good at it nonetheless. He plays a Sherlock Holmes-type professor with tongue firmly planted in cheek, and then later he gets to don several different disguises while spying on Our Villian. The comedic timing is dead on perfect & they obviously had a lot of fun filming it. I strongly believe it was filmed sometime between 1966-68. It's very high camp, in a good way, and Screen Gems spent some money on filming it; there are relatively elaborate sets and costumes, exploding glue factories, dangerous battles to the death, etc. A lot of work went into the production & I wonder why it was shelved. The pacing of the plot is a trifle uneven (when they try to cram in a little too much of the plot into one scene instead of spreading it out over several scenes. That's not a very good description, but if you've ever watched Lost In Space you know exactly what I'm talking about), but it's nothing out of line for what was being broadcast at the time, and could have easily been remedied. In fact, it holds up remarkably well...it's an incredible lot of fun, lo, these almost 40 years later. And like I said, the comedic timing & the overall acting both are perfect as perfect can be. I really do wonder why nothing ever came of it.

“Anyway, most of the credits are missing so not a lot is known about the production. The names on what remains of the credits are all from Screen Gems, which was in high cotton back in 1966/7, with Bewitched, I Dream of Jeannie, The Flying Nun, and especially The Monkees all currently in production & making them a ton of money (and a good deal of money was spent on this as well). Like I said earlier, the dialogue is straight out of Batman, and liberally peppered with drug references galore. I've been searching Variety beginning at the end of 1966 for any kind of information, but no luck yet. Harry Ackerman, the producer, was mentioned several times as one whose fortunes were on the rise, and the pilot viewing season for the network executives had ended in March of 1967, and there's no mention of it there either. So maybe it's from the Summer of '67, perhaps? Does anyone know what Dean S. was up to in the Summer of Love? His hair on the tape is a little long (think Victorian mod), so maybe it does date from somewhere around then? What do you guys think?”

daisymum: “Anyway, if you like Dean Stockwell, you're going to LOVE this. He's prominently featured in the entire thing & spends his time possessed for the most part. He sashays his way around the sets, kind of like a vampish Ellis Dee from The Producers, I kid you not. He pulls it off, though, & the whole thing is really fun to watch.”

Jill: “Well, I have just had the privilege of watching Dean in the tape of 'Professor Queed' and what a treat it was! (thanks, daisymum!). Dean hams it up outrageously in Top Hat and a Cape -- I swear, I haven't seen him act up like this in anything else other than Quantum Leap – and I've seen a lot of Dean in a lot of stuff. In fact, it's a bit disconcerting -- there is all of the comedy schtick from his turn on QL, but in a very young and agile man's body, as he leaps and twirls all over the place. This is not the cool demeanor of Wilbur Whately of Dunwich Horror (which is another over-the-top performance, but not purposefully comedic), nor even the weirdness of the Werewolf of Washington. This is more like "Dave" in Psych-Out. If that director had told Dean Stockwell and Jack Nicholson to REALLY play their parts in Psych-Out for maximum goofiness -- well, then, 'Professor Queed' might have been the result -- provided, of course, that we change Haight-Ashbury into Edwardian times.

“And the dating of this film, which looks very much like an unaired TV pilot, as daisymum said previously, is truly a mystery. Because – Dean supposedly wasn't acting for 3 years (in some interviews, he even says 5.....). And yet, 1966-67 really seems to be the date of this show. Daisymum is thinking late 1966, and I think she's more right than she is wrong.

“1965 is too early, because this isn't the Dean Stockwell of Rapture. Besides, his hair is a bit too long in the back in 'Professor Queed.' Not a lot, but the waves are there at the nape of the neck. His face is very much like 'Dave' in Psych-Out (1968), though not much like the 1968 photo we have of Dean from a UK television show of '68 (where he has a mustache and sideburns). I COULD say it's 1968, like I originally thought........but the film quality itself says earlier than that. It just doesn't look like a 1968 TV pilot to me.........it looks a tad bit older than that.

“Okay, here are my clues, Daisymum (and the rest of you can play along, too). One BIG thing I noticed..........the sound effect when Dean performed 'magic' was the same as when Samantha twitched her nose on 'Bewitched.' And this was produced by the same person, I believe? (Harry Ackerman). So we're at Screen Gems, on ABC. Bewitched first broadcast in color during the 1966-67 season.

“A young Juliet Mills is in the cast. I didn't know if she made TV appearances before 'Nanny & The Professor' of 1970, but upon looking her up at IMDb.com, I noticed she started doing American TV appearances in 1965.

“When I was watching this film, I felt that it was influenced by 'The Great Race' (1965) and 'Those Magnificent Men in Their Flying Machines' (also 1965). I definitely see the villain of The Great Race (Jack Lemmon) in Dean Stockwell's performance. Since it always takes TV a year or two to get on the bandwagon of a popular trend, that would put this Edwardian pilot in 1966 or 1967 (with a nod to other popular Edwardian films of that decade - 'My Fair Lady' -1964, and 'Mary Poppins').

“What this means to my 'timeline' of Dean's life...........well, it could mean that Dean had not completely 'dropped out' of acting for 3 years, as is often claimed. And this performance was much more than just 'making money to put groceries on the table.' This pilot required a lot of effort on Dean's part.

“By the way, as much as I like it, I can also see why this pilot didn't sell. The campiness isn't crazy enough to be laugh-out-loud funny, but if you take it seriously it will make you shake your head and go "huh?" In fact, I need to watch this film several times before I truly understand the story -- and even then, I'm not sure I'll completely get it. Also, Dean was the 'guest star,' so I assume the series was meant to showcase Michael Rennie, not Dean. But Dean is in the film so much, that it ends up being about his over-the-top insanely portrayed character, and you can't sell a series on that much weirdness from a guest star. I don't think.” 

[Me: For what it’s worth, I’ve narrowed down the timing for the filming of this to the first half of 1966.]

[alcalavicci]

Jill: “I didn't put any Spoiler Space, or Warning, because I'm not going to be giving away anything in my review of this movie [Long Day’s Journey Into Night] (I already nitpicked in the TV Guide review, anyway).

“I bought this film after I became a Dean Stockwell fan. I was very happy to own a tape of Dean's early work (1962). This may very well be the first movie I saw of Dean's early adult career (I think I saw this film before I saw Compulsion). Dean didn't disappoint me. For one thing, he is drop dead gorgeous in this movie. And he acts his little ol' heart out. Great wonderful monologues in this film. It's fun to just sit back and listen to the well-written dialogue (I'll see if I can find my transcripts of some of the scenes, here in the Archives).

“As for the movie itself, I felt it was overly long and a bit too stagey; I find it best to view this film in short doses, rather than try to watch it all in one sitting. Yet some of the scenes are so great, that I have to stop and rewind them and view them all over again. I guess what I'm trying to say is that the sum of the parts does not equal the parts themselves.

“But Dean can certainly be proud of having participated in a work of this nature. And this was not filmed during the best part of his life. He was going through a divorce, he seems to have been drinking heavily, and he will soon be dropping out of the Hollywood scene for most of the Sixties, though always appearing in low-budget TV shows that aren't even in the same league as Long Day's Journey Into Night.

“I feel that Long Day's Journey was Dean's last hurrah of the second phase of his acting career. Yes, that's a confusing statement. But it just seems that Dean had very high hopes and integrity when he reappeared in Hollywood back in 1957, at the beginning of his 'adult' phase......but after Long Day's Journey he gave up. Perhaps intentionally, perhaps not. I wonder if his divorce had something to do with it?

“The following year (1963) he will be appearing in a TV show called "The Greatest Show on Earth" with Dennis Hopper, whom he had met in New York back in '57. He will be attending parties at Hopper's home where Andy Warhol is the guest of honor (For a great pic of Dean in the Sixties, check out the photo of him taken by Hopper himself, found in our Files). He will be living in Haight-Ashbury, and hangin' with the likes of Ginsberg and Neal Cassady. He will show up in London. He will make a foreign film called Rapture. He will make a hippie film called Psych-Out. He will live in Topanga Canyon and write a screenplay called 'After the Gold Rush.' And he will purposefully burn the Best Actor Scrolls he received from the Cannes Film Festival.

“Long Day's Journey was the end of the beginning of his 'second' acting phase; and the beginning of phase three.”

[alcalavicci]

Jill, the headmistress of the Sassies, read a LOT of magazine articles and various things about Dean and didn’t always transcribe them, but would mention what she read from them.

Jill: “On the Net once, I ran into a lovely reference about Dean and Guy – a woman who was retiring from the public school system in California had a brief biography of herself written up in the employees' newsletter. One of her memories was as a child in a one-room schoolhouse in the 1950's being taught by Guy Stockwell. His brother Dean occasionally visited the classroom and would read Shakespeare to the class.”

Jill: “Sue, a member on another Stockwell list, once posted the following: At a QL convention, Dean was asked if he had any religion. Dean replied he would describe himself as a Gnostic. He then told the audience to 'look it up in the dictionary.'”

Jill: “When Bowie was asked about this story (in a Q magazine interview just a few years ago [late 90s/early 00s?), he could only conjure up vague memories of it (LOL!). He said that the summer of 1975 was pretty wild for him, he was staying in Hollywood at that time, and hanging out with Dennis Hopper and Dean Stockwell. He remembers one time he and Dean went out to go nightclubbing, but Hopper didn't want to go so Hopper stayed behind, and was swimming in the backyard pool (not sure whose house this was). At dawn, Bowie comes back to the house, and found Hopper still in the pool, passed out, with his head resting on the cement around the water (thank goodness not under the water). They pulled him out -- Hopper was fine-- just very very wrinkled.”

Jill: “The artist George Herms states he heard Neil Young's music for the first time ever back around 1970 when he was tripping on acid at Dean Stockwell's house, and Dean put the song ‘Expecting to Fly’ on the turntable.”

Jill: “And now I have a connection with Dean Stockwell & Eric Clapton (other than Dean saying in interviews that they were friends....): Eric Clapton hung out at Stephen Stills ranch in Topanga Canyon.”

[alcalavicci]

(Disclaimer: if you wrote this and don’t want it up, send me an ask and I’ll take it down)

Laurie on her poetry:

Some of you know that I wrote poetry and that I wrote a lot of poetry based on Dean's art. With his blessing, I entered a few competitions and while I got a few, "You have potential" letters, I actually did get published!!!

So, if you go to the URL I'll put at the bottom of this post, you can read the three poems they took. Two of them were published in the book. I was the only poet to have two poems published!!! And they used the official name, Laurene Slicer.

Thank you, Dean, for letting me do this!

Later on:

I got an email today from CJ Laity who is the head honcho for Chicago Poetry.com. April in National Poetry Month and there is going to be a Celebration of the event on April 28 with Chicago poets reading their work. The poets are invited to read by Chicago Poetry.com and guess what!!!

THEY ASKED ME!!!!

I am such a geek. <g> Now, the cool thing for all of us on this list is that my poetry is all based on Dean's artwork. <g>

THANK YOU, DEAN!!!

and my poetry got into Dean's hands because I joined the Sassies and Lisa offered to take Dean some of my work.

THANK YOU, LISA!!!!

Okay, I'm done now. :-D

Laurie

[alcalavicci]

(Disclaimer: if you wrote this and don’t want it up, send me an ask and I’ll take it down)

Arizona encounter:

Jill’s preface: No, not MY encounter (because there is none). Someone else's. I've been writing off-list to a woman who met Dean back in 1999.

She's a friend of a friend of a friend.....meaning I don't know her at all. But she seems intelligent, and straight up with me.

This lady met Dean briefly, at a restaurant, and after she figured I was A-OK, she agreed to write down all the details for me. Well, all the details she felt were fit for me to know. She knows I am sharing this with you. She also asked that I not divulge her name or email. She meets lots of celebrities, either through her work or lifestyle, I don't know. She made the mistake once before of writing about an encounter with a celebrity for that person's Yahoo Group, and was bombarded with emails afterwards. She does not want that experience again.

Now, here's some things I know: This lady is not a fan of Dean Stockwell's. That doesn't mean she dislikes him. It just means she doesn't think about him one way or the other. She considers him a 'middleweight' in the celebrity hierarchy (Dean's #2, so he tries harder? Lots of Laughs!).

Also, the year is 1999, and Dean definitely called the lady in the restaurant his 'wife.' Though there was no ring on his finger. The lady writing this story wasn't quite sure what was going on with Dean. I sent her photos of Joy to determine if that was the person in the restaurant. She said it very well could have been......except the lady she saw in person looked much older. But.....she also said this lady looked so pissed off, that the expression on her face could have aged her. Personally, I bet it was Joy - the lady described her as a brunette, about 5'5 or 5'6 - attractive, but not 'model-pretty.' Lots of food for thought there, huh? Does Dean play games with people, sometimes pretending he's married, but it's just such a bummer, man, and other times saying he's separated or divorced? Also, I don't think this lady who met Dean is aware that he really DID have a real estate license at one point, and that it's an easy story for him to list as his occupation. Also - who's the very ill friend? I immediately thought of Guy, who lived in Arizona.

And here's another bit of food for thought: If these two women had acted like fans of Dean........would he have sat with them for an hour, or would he have beat a hasty retreat to the door? Well, the day I see Dean sitting at a corner table in a restaurant is the day Hell freezes over. Okay, here's the post she sent me:

Lady’s encounter:

Hey, Jill!

I finally have a minute....

I met Dean in Scottsdale, AZ when I was helping a friend move. We were going to an outdoor cafe, and I saw him sitting at a table, reading "Red Dragon" of all things. The girl I was with had no idea who he was, but I asked her if we could sit at the table next to him. We brushed past to sit down (tight tables) and said a simple "Hi"...he looked annoyed.

He kept looking at us, but ignored us when we asked about his book. A little while later he got up and asked us if we would watch his book and sunglasses for a minute. (He didn't have to do that...nobody could have got to them to take them).

When he came back a few minutes later, he just sat with us out of the blue. He introduced himself by first name only and started talking like it was no big deal. He was very flirtatious, and went on and on about how much he loved the Southwest. He said he was in Real Estate, in New Mexico I think he said, and that he was in town to visit a very ill friend. I don't know why he lied about his profession...it wasn't necessary for him to even bring it up. His overall demeanor was a bit strange, but no he was not drunk.

We talked for about an hour...he said he was waiting for his wife, and kept looking at his watch and looking irritated. We never mentioned that we knew who he was...it was too much fun not to. But he was all Hollywood. Like one of those people who try so hard to be a "regular guy", but since he was raised in movies, he has no real idea how. I have worked with/met a few celebs in my time, and he was really as show-biz as it comes, but obviously doesn't want to be.

A weird side note...he mentioned that someone was molested by a guy in his neighborhood in California.... he had asked us if we had any trouble with men while we were in Scottsdale...part of his weird flirty thing...and was talking about how there are so many "sickos" out there these days. He looked upset talking about it, but he talked about it easily.

Very strange guy.

An austere but very attractive woman walked up to him, and he bid a very hasty but dramatic farewell before walking off with her. She was bitching at him about sitting with us....

So that's about it...in a nutshell

***

Another member: This was a very interesting story, not to be mean or anything- are you sure this wasn't a hoax?

Jill: No, I have no reason to believe this person I personally have been writing to, is lying to me. First of all, I got her email address from someone that I DO know and trust. My Internet friend told me that she had a friend who had met Dean Stockwell once. I asked her to tell me ALL the gory details. LOL! She said it would be easier just to go to the source itself, and gave me this person's email address. This person, whom I didn't know, was very nice, and we corresponded back and forth a little bit before she told me her account.

Jill: We also clarified a few things back and forth: for example, my sending her photos of Joy from the Internet, to see if it looked like the same person. And I thought it was very responsible of her to say 'It could be Joy, but I can't be sure.'

Jill: She also told me that at the time she met Dean Stockwell, she didn't personally know anybody who was a fan of his, or she would have paid more attention to details. In other words, it would be like me going to work, and saying 'I just met Dean Stockwell!'.....and, you know...…

Jill: I want everyone to realize, also, that to this woman, Dean was just an actor who used to co-star on an old TV show. It would be like me meeting Tom Bosley from Happy Days, or something. So, I'd be asking Mr. Bosley about the book he was reading.....he'd be annoyed. Then later, after returning from the restroom, he'd sit down with me and my friend, and start talking to us, telling us his name was Tom and that he sold Real Estate.....and yes, I'd be getting freaked out a little. And then Mr. Bosley's wife would come in, and obviously there's trouble......and after he left, I'd be thinking 'Weird. Very weird.’

Jill: Whereas, for us on this list, we would have a whole different feeling about seeing Dean casually in a restaurant somewhere.

Later on, in a different thread, Jill: Here's a great dichotomy for you guys: Why would a man who guards his personal life start telling two complete strangers intimate details of that life after meeting them for only about five minutes? I had to gloss over that Encounter a bit before I published it on this list.

[alcalavicci]

(Disclaimer: if you wrote this and don’t want it up, send me an ask and I’ll take it down)

Snippets of Geordie James’ letters to Claire, May-August 1974

Letter 1:

As you've probably noticed, there aren't enough of us Stockwell fans around. Before my first letter about Dean and Guy was published in the January issue of RBH [Rona Barrett's Hollywood], I felt a bit paranoid in my affection for them. I knew they must have fans somewhere, although maybe few and far-between. Now that I'm corresponding with several other fans of theirs, I can't believe it! I really enjoy exchanging praises about Dean and Guy. They are two subjects I never tire of reading or writing about. I hope you feel the same.

I know that when you wrote your letter, you didn't know how much I adore Dean -- as you've probably guessed by now, I've done as much research as possible on him. The one thing I didn't know about Dean was that he's living with Russ Tamblyn. I had heard from this fellow who wrote a book about former child stars that Dean "lives in Topanga Canyon with a very beautiful roommate." Now Russ Tamblyn is attractive, but I must admit I had something else in mind!

************

Your letter is very interesting and intelligent. This has been the case with all the Dean fans who have written me. If it's true that certain artists attract certain types of fans, I'd say that Dean definitely attracts mature and intelligent people.

Dean fans are generally older than are the fans of others, which prompts me to ask your age, if you don't mind telling me?

About myself -- I'm 27, a Pisces like Dean. In fact, his birthday is the day before mine.

*********

The most up-to-date information I've heard about Dean is that he was in Albuquerque in March of this year, on stage in a comedy called "Relatively Speaking." In an interview from the Albuquerque newspaper, Dean said that he would "prefer to exclude neurotics" in his roles in the future. He complained of being typecast, probably as a result of "Compulsion," his success at playing a poetic, deranged genius, his common character up til now. He said that he would like to do comedy and work with Mel Brooks. Reviews from the play raved that Dean was brilliant in comedy.

How does this news impress you? I ask because I'm wondering if you share my views, which are in complete sympathy with Dean. From that old "Bonanza" segment Dean did, I knew he had comedic sense that was very appealing. If you'll recall, that show opened with Dean playing a drunk, begging for whiskey in the saloon. When taken out of context from the story, that swaying, groping drunkeness showed a great scope for comedy. He is fantastic, able to play it up or down. It is Dean's subtleness, somehow, that makes him so great -- he could never be described as a ham, don't you agree? His acting style is convincing and he makes it look so easy! Just a look, the tiniest gesture, and he says everything. Dean definitely has a charisma, some sort of magic that only a few actors have shared. I often compare Montgomery Clift to Dean, which must be very terrible to do, but I consider Monty to have been the similar type of acting genius Dean is. I'd call it "realism," I guess. When an actor is charged with so much emotion in his work and is able to convey it without over-acting, that's something to praise.

**********

I'm sure I know that look you describe on Dean's face, that disgusted look. When reading this part of your letter, I could see him doing it, so you must have described it well. When I watch the adult Dean acting, I always wait for that subtle, quick scratch. Do you know what I mean? Usually it's his eyebrow that itches him, sometimes his nose. Somehow when I see his scratch, I know everything is all right. I realize I sound a bit like a nut here, but I'm so fond of Dean that I love his little quirks. I think if I ever saw him act when he didn't scratch something, I'd probably think something was wrong. Perhaps I'd better change the subject before I sound like a genuine nut!

*****************

Have you by any chance ever heard from Dean? I ask because no one who's written me has. Personally, I have written Dean half a dozen times at various addresses without any luck. For some time now I have been trying to get in touch with him and ask his permission about starting a fan club for him. All we Dean fans have agreed that we need some means by which we can keep abreast of his career, but the main snag is finding Dean. I'm continuing to try. Right now I have several lines out – if only I can get a bite.

Letter 2:

I agree with you completely in regard to Dean's scope for other characters beyond the neurotic ones. I've read several places about actors and actresses who really suffer prolonged, damaging traumas related to typecasting in neurotic and mercenary roles. Mercedes McCambridge blamed her alcoholism on just such typecasting, as one example. I heard from someone that Bette Davis said that celluloid villains were always the nicest people in Hollywood and now that I consider it, it seems to be so. I think Dean is very together, but all the same it must be very frustrating to see that producers invariably think of him as "the perfect nut" for the part. It is frustrating for any creative person to be confined to one outlet of expression.

"The Happy Years" is one Dean movie I haven't seen, but I'd really love to, especially now after you've described the scene in the classroom. I agree about his flair for comedy, though, in what I have seen of him. What bothers me most about Dean's dissatisfaction is that he just might give up acting, if only temporarily, if producers continue to see him as the perfect nut. This is a secret opinion, never before revealed to another soul, Claire, but have you noticed Dean's lack of enthusiasm for his most recent roles? In particular, that "Police Surgeon" segment, you'll recall, wherein Dean played a prosecuting attorney who was kidnapped in exchange for the mobster he was trying to convict. Dean's fire just wasn't burning very much in that part, unless it was my imagination. Was it? I thought it very refreshing that he played a Good Guy for a change, but something seemed wrong somehow. I don't know if you get "Orson Welles Great Mysteries" there, since we get it here through Canada and it is a British-made series, but Dean was fantastic in that. He had another Good Guy part, as an innocent fellow accused of murdering his girlfriend's husband. What, by the way, do you think of Dean's "ponytail?" I think that I'd love to see his hair let down long -- I'm very curious how he'd look if he "let his hair down." I like long hair on men, anyway, so long as it's not ridiculously long, but in a broader sense Dean's endears me to him more because of its obvious symbolism. Dean is unique, an odd mixture of flashiness and seclusion, a mystery. Someone called him a "male Greta Garbo" and in a way it befits him. I see him as very real, don't you? As a person one could talk to, though I'd probably be terrified to speak to him, I must admit. However, I'd love the chance to be terrified.

"Compulsion," which you mention for its fainting and rape scenes, is one of my favorite Dean films, although I feel like a traitor for saying that, since this movie was the most responsible for his typecasting, it seems. So much was left out of "Compulsion," probably because of the time it was made, but the homosexual relationship, the sado-masochism between Artie and Judd, the helplessness under Judd's superior attitudes. . . so much was trimmed and altered or left out entirely from the book, but Dean put back every word with his eyes, with his gestures, with those melting looks, the never-quite-smiles. For that reason "Compulsion" is one of my favorite films, because never did Dean say so much by saying nothing.

I think my favorite movie from Dean's childhood is "Home Sweet Homicide," so far, but I haven't had the opportunity to see them all. Dean was precious in HSH, don't you think?

Did I tell you last letter about reading how Dean worked as a field laborer in Mexico when he quit acting in his middle teens? I meant to if I didn't. Had you ever read about that?

Letter 3:

Protocol would have me first apologize for the small delay in replying this time and secondly thank you kindly for the adorable pix you copied of Dean for me -- but I know you will forgive me for being rude this time, since I have some fantastic news that just came today. First, I heard from Dean!!! Second, he wrote personally! And thirdly but not leastly, he actually authorized ME to start a FAN CLUB for HIM. Can you believe it? I am so excited that I have scarcely touched the ground all day, as you can imagine. I am absolutely thrilled! He wrote that he has never even felt inclined to endorse a fan club before this, "in all my years," as he phrased it, but recently he has had a change of heart and feels he should "involve" himself in the "give and take" between himself "and those who admire and enjoy my work." He writes a very intelligent letter, needless to say -- and he has told me to go ahead and conduct the club any way I choose and that he will cooperate as much as possible. I repeat, can you believe it? He said I should notify him of receiving this letter and he will write more and contribute information, which of course I did immediately.

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As for the fan club we'll be putting together, we will have to start out on a small scale and build through publicity. Of course, you and the other Dean fans who write to me are automatically members, which goes without saying, but we really do need the publicity to reach the masses of Stockwell fans. Have you any suggestions? Any help you can offer would be very much appreciated. I plan to order some printed ads to send here and there and of course I will try Rona -- I have the National Fan Club organization address somewhere -- they print ads, too. Right now I'm so excited that I feel like going door-to-door!

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No, I didn't get the Albuquerque interview from Richard. I received it from a very nice woman by the name of Olive White who lives in Albuquerque. She just happened upon my letter in Rona's mag and sent me the available material from the newspaper. We now correspond – she's very nice. Yes, I thought too that it sounded just like Dean to say "a bit of fluff." He has a really unique way of writing and speaking as himself, in my opinion, because he sounds very intelligent and yet very -- "free." If you know what I mean. That's a combination one doesn't find every day.

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Dean mentioned in his letter that he has just returned from eight weeks location filming in the Phillipine Islands, but he didn't go into detail about it. I asked, of course, and I'll pass that information along to you as soon as he responds again.

I agree with you about that "Police Surgeon" episode Dean guested on. Like you, I feel he just didn't try to get into the part. I'm not sure I understand why an actor would accept a part that he wouldn't really give his best to, expecially when the actor is as gifted as Dean. (Only Dean is as gifted as Dean, come to think of it.) Perhaps it was a question of timing or maybe he was sick or something like that. I know

Dean is a veteran, though, and a trooper, and I'm convinced he could sing and dance with a 104 degree temperature if he wanted to -- I guess, in conclusion, the only thing that makes sense is that Dean didn't want to do the show and yet for some reason or another was obligated to. Perhaps he and the director were at each other's throats two minutes after they were introduced. Any speculations from you? I think I've run out of possibilities.

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On the question of Dean's ponytail, all I know is that he apparently had it still in March, during his Albuquerque run. The profile long-shot I received shows it clearly, but the photo was definitely inferior for copying material. I would assume he still wears it, probably lets his hair down at home. I think it's very becoming, don't you?

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About your questions on Dean's marriage [to Millie Perkins], I have no facts, only gossip I've been collecting. I don't know how they met but the implication seems to be that it was through Fox, where both were under contract. They supposedly secretly married on a hiatus together and didn't reveal it til they had to -- they opened a bowling alley together -- how's that for a weird fact? Millie retired from her acting career and refused to fulfill her contract to Fox, which caused her several hassles. The general gossip is that Dean said one actor in the family was enough, what with the nomad's life actors lead and all the separations they might face, so Millie gladly retired, wanting only to be his wife. She followed him everywhere and they faithfully shunned photographers and refused to grant interviews. Naturally, Dean was blamed for making Millie "aloof" since he always had that "aloof" reputation. She married him in her heyday, career-wise, I would assume. In any case, I have a small clipping about Millie's reaction to the divorce which heavily insinuates Dean divorced her, and that she was heartbroken about it for awhile. She pulled herself together, one reporter observed, and was determined to "make a comeback" in films. A footnote to this, though, was that she was blackballed for her behavior during her marriage to Dean.

Letter 4:

As far as Dean's side of the club goes, he's still in there supporting and contributing his best. He said that he has no intention of withdrawing his support (I had feared that he might, since it took him so many years to agree to a fan club). He's sent me quite a bit of information, but more on that in a moment.

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The fact of the matter is, Dean has established personal communication with me and I am the only one he has entrusted with his home address and telephone number. In a way I am naturally very honored and in another way, I feel very MEAN indeed having this privilege when you and others love Dean as much as I do. But I'm sure you understand that I can't break Dean's trust because he has really given of himself a great deal to go this far. He told me that he intends to get a post office box number in his home (the city in which he lives, I mean -- Topanga) for the fan club members to use, if they'd care to write.

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Dean sent me a monstrous, fat collection of papers -- his biography, a copy of which should be sent to each member. It's several pages long and would cost a fortune for me to copy, just for a few members. Now I'm holding off having it copied myself, as I'd like to know if you could have it copied free of charge?

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I have constructed a newsletter about Dean's doings which I am getting copied immediately to be sent to the members of the club.

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I have spoken to Dean twice and he is really wonderful, Claire! He is very kind and very natural. Naturally he is very intelligent and has an amazing kaleidoscope of interests. What impressed me singularly about Dean from the phone conversations is that he is very real, very easy. He gives one a very calm, happy feeling about things. My biggest thrill happened when Dean went off in a verbal fantasy, when talking about his hottest new interest, a martial arts form called arnis. He started to act, heatedly talking about this martial art. A performance for me alone. I smiled for days afterward!

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I agree with you, I would like the club to be unique and mature, a true reflection of Dean's greatness. I certainly would not want the club to be teenybopperish, as you say, or in any way an embarrassment to Dean.