A quick glance east of Highway 25 heading into Hollister reveals
a casual, yet iconic pose.
A quick glance east of Highway 25 heading into Hollister reveals a casual, yet iconic pose.
At 18 feet tall, the plywood cutout of James Dean at South Valley Trailers’ new site may give stature to the American film legend’s larger-than-life personality.
It was Dean who starred in “Rebel Without A Cause,” “Giant,” and “East of Eden” – and influenced a generation of actors before his own career came to an early end at age 24. He died Sept. 30, 1955, after a car crash on Highway 46 near Paso Robles.
The plain, white T-shirt under a red jacket with an upturned collar, the hiked blue-jeans cuffs and the carefree mannerisms are captured in the South Valley Trailers cutout, absent the cigarette.
Dean’s unconventional spirit lives on more than five decades later, and for many, Dean embodied what it was, and even is, to be cool.
For South Valley Trailers owners Sandy and Patrick Stone, that spirit may have convinced them to erect his image at their business in the first place.
“We spent all our money building the business up,” Sandy Stone said. “We never bought anything just because we wanted it.”
Trips on Highway 68 to Salinas – which had been Dean’s final destination before he passed away – introduced the Stones to the artwork of Central Coast mural artist John Cerney.
Cerney’s artwork dots the Salinas Valley like a pop-up book. His themes are often California’s two largest exports – Hollywood and agriculture.
In 1995, Cerney created a series of 10 plywood cutout field workers, each standing 18 feet tall, for a local farmer there.
The Stones commissioned the muralist to create the large James Dean cutout, which they placed at their business in 2002. It would be the first of four Cerney paintings to feature the posthumous Academy Award-winning actor.
To commemorate his death, Cerney painted a mural at Blackwell’s Corner, Dean’s last stop before his fateful trip down the windy highway in the hills above Paso Robles. He was driving a Porsche 550 Spyder, which he was set to race in Salinas.
“I kind of went through a James Dean phase,” Cerney said.
Recently, his first Dean cutout became more visible.
South Valley Trailer made way for the new bypass in March, moving from the intersection of Highway 25 and San Felipe Road. Sandy Stone said up to six people offered to buy the cutout, but Dean’s likeness made the move.
David Huboi, chairman of the city’s planning commission, said he understands the James Dean connection to Hollister. Dean starred in “East of Eden,” which had several scenes filmed in Hollister.
And like the customers of South Valley Trailer and the attendees of the annual Hollister Motorcycle Rally, Dean was independent, Huboi said.
“James Dean was a free-wheeling spirit,” Huboi said.
Huboi said he also likes the use of the cutout, positioned to look like it’s part of South Valley Trailers’ building supports.
“It’s tucked away so it’s not a distraction to travelers on 25,” Huboi said.
