the red elvis uxeta labrit
A type of Alzheimer's has wiped him off the map of his contemporaries and he's damn hard to find on the ipods of the newest generations. But you can still find traces of Dean Reed in maps and history not so far from here.
From Colorado to Hollywood
Dean Cyril Reed was born on the 22nd of September, 1938 in the town of Wheat Ridge, a town that announced itself as the “The Carnation Growing Capital of the World”. As a teenager he learnt how to play the guitar and at the age of twenty he bought an old car and drove off to Hollywood against his parents' wishes. He picked up a hitchhiker on the way who told him that if he gave him some clothes and paid for a motel room for him, he would give him a valuable contact in Hollywood. Dean, as decent as he was gullible, did as he was asked. When he got to Hollywood, he picked up the phone and rang the number. At the other end was an executive at Capitol Records. Two days later he had a recording contract in his back pocket. Dean Reed would never lose that decent gullible trust in other people to the day he died.
Dean Reed was a tall handsome man and his looks opened many doors for him. He started work as an actor at the Warner Brothers Studio. He started studying acting and that was where he met Professor Paton Price, the man who would spark his interest in politics. Jean Seberg and Don Murrai were his classmates and, little by little, he slowly began to become successful. However, he quickly realised that Hollywood was not what it said on the postcards. He recorded 'My Summer Romance' in 1961. The record went to number one in the charts in Chile. When told this, he bought a ticket to Santiago without thinking twice and he certainly didn't expect the type of reception he received there. Thousands of youngsters who wanted to see and touch the American actor and singer flocked to the airport. He later admitted that this was when he first tasted that highly addictive drug called fame. Another thing that caught his eye was the graffiti slogans sprayed on the walls around Chile: "Yankee go home"... And he decided to fight against the image Americans had around the world. He wrote to President Kennedy and asked him to destroy all of America's nuclear arms. Victor Jara would lead him out to play as he shouted "Venceremos".
From South America to the Soviet Union
Reed, though not the most gifted of singers, is North American and he sings rock 'n' roll. As well as the left-wing message he proposes, his melodies and revolutionary stance soon conquers the Latin-American audiences. He heads for Argentina and he carries on his rock star/revolutionary lifestyle until he is deported by the military regime there. He then goes to Madrid. In 1965 he flies to Helsinki to the World Congress for Peace as a member of the Argentinean delegation. Bertrand Russell did not attend and this was cause for some scandal. Though Reed was attending as a spectator only, he picked up his guitar and walked onto the stage. Those there were stunned. They hadn't a notion what to do. Less so when the other members of Reed's delegation, one by one, linked arms around him. That improvised concert would change his life forever. Nikolai Pastujov, the head of Komsomol (The Communist Union of Youth) quickly spotted a great opportunity in this "kind-hearted American." Soviet youth had just discovered the Beatles and were demanding rock 'n' roll. Once again, he didn't have to think twice. Reed accepted the invitation to go to Moscow. He was incredibly successful in Moscow and Dean Reed, who agreed with socialist principles - he was nicknamed The Red Elvis - became a legend. Before deciding to live in socialist East Berlin, he returned to Spain. He made loads of spaghetti westerns but it wasn't too long before the Franco regime 'invited' this unwelcome red pepper to leave the country.
Death in suspicious circumstances.
Dean Reed was in prison in five different countries. After 20 years he returned to the USA and was jailed for being a threat to national security. Joan Baez, Peter Seeger and the composer Shostakovich publicly petitioned President Carter for his release. The judge imposed a $500 dollar get-out-of-prison fine. Dean reeled off one of his speeches at the court hearing and was soon winging his way back to jail. Cinematographer Will Roberts, who had spent time with him in the Soviet Union, Chile, Cuba and other countries, premiered the film at the Denver Film Festival. Reed, on seeing the response to the film by his compatriots, immediately thought about going back to cinema. He returned to Berlin and started work on a new project. He disappeared the day before filming was about to start. Five days later, on the 13th of June, 1986, his body was found in the lake beside his home. Officially, it was pronounced an accident. There are many rumours surrounding the death of Reed. He was a very able swimmer and he drowned in shallow waters. Amongst personal belongings the police returned to his daughter Ramona was his wallet. All the documents in his wallet were bone-dry.
Reed never renounced his American passport and he insisted that the American people were good; it was the system that was wrong. To many he was a traitor and to others he was a hero. Some considered him to be a fake, a mediocre singer, a sex symbol, a revolutionary, a pacifist, an arrogant Dean Reed was in prison in five different countries. After 20 years he returned to the USA cowboy... one thing is for sure; his life and death are a captivating story.
From Colorado to Hollywood
Dean Cyril Reed was born on the 22nd of September, 1938 in the town of Wheat Ridge, a town that announced itself as the “The Carnation Growing Capital of the World”. As a teenager he learnt how to play the guitar and at the age of twenty he bought an old car and drove off to Hollywood against his parents' wishes. He picked up a hitchhiker on the way who told him that if he gave him some clothes and paid for a motel room for him, he would give him a valuable contact in Hollywood. Dean, as decent as he was gullible, did as he was asked. When he got to Hollywood, he picked up the phone and rang the number. At the other end was an executive at Capitol Records. Two days later he had a recording contract in his back pocket. Dean Reed would never lose that decent gullible trust in other people to the day he died.
Dean Reed was a tall handsome man and his looks opened many doors for him. He started work as an actor at the Warner Brothers Studio. He started studying acting and that was where he met Professor Paton Price, the man who would spark his interest in politics. Jean Seberg and Don Murrai were his classmates and, little by little, he slowly began to become successful. However, he quickly realised that Hollywood was not what it said on the postcards. He recorded 'My Summer Romance' in 1961. The record went to number one in the charts in Chile. When told this, he bought a ticket to Santiago without thinking twice and he certainly didn't expect the type of reception he received there. Thousands of youngsters who wanted to see and touch the American actor and singer flocked to the airport. He later admitted that this was when he first tasted that highly addictive drug called fame. Another thing that caught his eye was the graffiti slogans sprayed on the walls around Chile: "Yankee go home"... And he decided to fight against the image Americans had around the world. He wrote to President Kennedy and asked him to destroy all of America's nuclear arms. Victor Jara would lead him out to play as he shouted "Venceremos".
From South America to the Soviet Union
Reed, though not the most gifted of singers, is North American and he sings rock 'n' roll. As well as the left-wing message he proposes, his melodies and revolutionary stance soon conquers the Latin-American audiences. He heads for Argentina and he carries on his rock star/revolutionary lifestyle until he is deported by the military regime there. He then goes to Madrid. In 1965 he flies to Helsinki to the World Congress for Peace as a member of the Argentinean delegation. Bertrand Russell did not attend and this was cause for some scandal. Though Reed was attending as a spectator only, he picked up his guitar and walked onto the stage. Those there were stunned. They hadn't a notion what to do. Less so when the other members of Reed's delegation, one by one, linked arms around him. That improvised concert would change his life forever. Nikolai Pastujov, the head of Komsomol (The Communist Union of Youth) quickly spotted a great opportunity in this "kind-hearted American." Soviet youth had just discovered the Beatles and were demanding rock 'n' roll. Once again, he didn't have to think twice. Reed accepted the invitation to go to Moscow. He was incredibly successful in Moscow and Dean Reed, who agreed with socialist principles - he was nicknamed The Red Elvis - became a legend. Before deciding to live in socialist East Berlin, he returned to Spain. He made loads of spaghetti westerns but it wasn't too long before the Franco regime 'invited' this unwelcome red pepper to leave the country.
Death in suspicious circumstances.
Dean Reed was in prison in five different countries. After 20 years he returned to the USA and was jailed for being a threat to national security. Joan Baez, Peter Seeger and the composer Shostakovich publicly petitioned President Carter for his release. The judge imposed a $500 dollar get-out-of-prison fine. Dean reeled off one of his speeches at the court hearing and was soon winging his way back to jail. Cinematographer Will Roberts, who had spent time with him in the Soviet Union, Chile, Cuba and other countries, premiered the film at the Denver Film Festival. Reed, on seeing the response to the film by his compatriots, immediately thought about going back to cinema. He returned to Berlin and started work on a new project. He disappeared the day before filming was about to start. Five days later, on the 13th of June, 1986, his body was found in the lake beside his home. Officially, it was pronounced an accident. There are many rumours surrounding the death of Reed. He was a very able swimmer and he drowned in shallow waters. Amongst personal belongings the police returned to his daughter Ramona was his wallet. All the documents in his wallet were bone-dry.
Reed never renounced his American passport and he insisted that the American people were good; it was the system that was wrong. To many he was a traitor and to others he was a hero. Some considered him to be a fake, a mediocre singer, a sex symbol, a revolutionary, a pacifist, an arrogant Dean Reed was in prison in five different countries. After 20 years he returned to the USA cowboy... one thing is for sure; his life and death are a captivating story.
