British actor Alec Guinness (1914–2000), a prominent theatre, film and television performer, despite starring in such authentic film classics as “Lawrence of Arabia” and “The Bridge on the River Kwai” in his career, is not really famous on the planet became. level thanks to the original Star Wars trilogy, where he played Obi Wan Kenobi, the wise Jedi Master with extra powers who helped young Luke Skywalker learn the unfathomable secrets of the Force.
Bizarrely, Alec Guinness starred in a strange extravaganza episode in 1955, 22 years before “Star Wars” premiered, alongside legendary young American actor James Dean, who died in a car accident on September 30 of that year. Was. Only three films that make him a legend: “Rebel Without a Cause” (1955), “East of Paradise” (1955) and “Giant” (1955).
On September 23, 1955, seven days before James Dean’s death, after meeting the young actor outside a Los Angeles restaurant, Alex Guinness had a premonition and warned Dean that if he were to drive the little Porsche Spyder 550 Aboard the car, which has just been bought, will be killed in a car accident within a week. In fact, shortly after that fateful deadline, the young actor met his death on a highway in Salinas, California, driving a gray sports convertible, which he named “Little Bastard” (“The Little Bastard”).
During an interview for the program “Parkinson’s Talk”, Alec Guinness, already a celebrity in the mid-1950s, who astounded critics by playing leading roles and won Best Actor for the film “Gold in Bars” He would remember that in September 1955 he had just arrived from Copenhagen to Los Angeles, United States, with screenwriter Thelma Moss.
After a 16-hour flight, they were both tired and hungry, but after being turned away from three restaurants in that city because Moss was wearing pants, they resigned themselves to leaving a fourth restaurant due to a lack of tables. However, when he left clearly dejected, a young celebrity came to his aid.
Guinness would relate that “I heard footsteps on the street, and it was James Dean. He said to me: ‘I was in the restaurant and I saw you didn’t get a table. My name is James Dean, would you like to join us? ?’ We very willingly agreed and as we walked back to the restaurant, Dean’s table, in the courtyard of this little restaurant, was this beautiful little silver thing, all wrapped in cellophane and roses tied to the hood. I asked Jimmy how fast it was going, to which Dean told me it was going 250 km/h.
Alec Guinness would recall with a shudder that “Then something strange came over me. I was freezing cold and in an almost disembodied voice I said to Jimmie, ‘I have something to say: please don’t get in that car. If you , If you get in that car, it’s Thursday now, 10 p.m., next Thursday at 10 p.m., you’ll be dead.”
Dean, eventually, laughed at Guinness’s awful remark and the group proceeded to a very pleasant dinner, as recounted in the British actor’s autobiography, “Blessings in Disguise”.
However, the prediction of the actor who would play Obi Wan Kenobi in “Star Wars” two decades later would essentially come true. On September 30, 1955, James Dean and his trusted mechanic, Rolf Wütherich, set out for a weekend race aboard “Little Bastard”. Around 3:30 p.m., a police patrol stopped them south of Bakersfield and issued them a ticket for speeding in a confined area.
Later, as James Dean was driving on Route 466 near Cholme, a 23-year-old student named Donald Turnupseed, at the wheel of a Ford, collided head-on with the “Rebel” star’s Porsche after turning unexpectedly into an intersection. struck. ,
The silver 550 Spyder sports car was completely destroyed by the impact and Wütherich was badly injured but survived, although Dean was not so lucky. He broke his neck and died instantly. He was only 24 years old.
“James Dean died in that car the following Thursday afternoon. It was one of those rare things that happen in life. It was a very strange and scary experience. I liked him very much. I wanted him more.” Would love to know”, confesses Alex Guinness, the same actor who predicted the death of one of the biggest stars in Hollywood with an inexplicable paranormal premonition.
Two years after that episode, Alex Guinness won a Best Actor Oscar for the film “The Bridge on the River Kwai”, receiving three more nominations in subsequent years, including for his performance as Obi Wan Kenobi in “Star Wars”. Also included is a nomination for Memorable Role. ,
Ironically, screenwriter Thelma Moss, who was a direct witness to Alex Guinness’ premonition announcing James Dean’s death, left cinema to focus on parapsychology, creating a bestselling book called “The Odds of the Impossible”. Seller wrote.
