Dean Reed
Dean Reed | |
---|---|
Background information | |
Birth name | Dean Cyril Reed |
Also known as | Mr. Simpatia, Red Elvis |
Born | September 22, 1938 |
Origin | Denver, Colorado, U.S. |
Died | June 13, 1986 (aged 47) Zeuthen, East Germany |
Genres | Pop, country, rock and roll |
Occupation(s) | Singer, musician, actor, writer, director |
Instrument(s) | Vocals, guitar |
Years active | 1958–1986 |
Labels | Capitol Records, Melodiya, Amiga, Supraphon |
Dean Cyril Reed (September 22, 1938 – June 13, 1986) was an American actor, singer-songwriter, director, and social activist who lived a great part of his adult life in South America and then in
Early life and education
Dean Reed was born in
Career
Reed moved to Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, at the age of 19 and with his good looks won roles in TV.
International fame
Reed never achieved musical success in the U.S., where "The Search" became his only
After learning Spanish, he stayed on in Argentina[7] for approximately four years.
During his live concert performances, he was accompanied by the group Los Dominantes, a rock-band from
In July 1965, he went to Europe for the first time, performing before the World Peace Congress. He traveled frequently to Spain and Italy, and in 1966 he went on a singing tour through the Soviet Union.[3]
Back in Buenos Aires, his politics eventually ran foul of Argentine government policies after the 1966 military coup and he was deported.
From 1967 to 1969 Reed lived in Rome, acting in television commercials and Spaghetti Western movies such as Adiós, Sabata (1970).[3] He toured Central and Eastern Europe, including the Soviet Union, where he was immensely popular.[8]
In 1970, a week prior to the election of Chilean president Salvador Allende, he was arrested for washing a U.S. flag in front of Santiago's U.S. consulate. Pablo Neruda helped him to get out of jail.[3] In 1971, he re-entered Chile only to be arrested again for 21 days. His wife filed for divorce at that point.[3]
Also in 1971, Reed wrote an "open letter" to
Life in the Soviet bloc
In 1973, Reed chose to settle permanently in
While committed to the politics of his adopted communist home, he did not join the ruling Socialist Unity Party (SED). Despite his opposition to many US government and economic policies, he professed his love of America until the end of his life, and his songs often reflected his fondness for his homeland. He never renounced his US citizenship and continued to file tax returns for the Internal Revenue Service.[citation needed]
In a 1986 television interview on
Personal life
Reed married three times. His first marriage was circa 1964 to an American woman, Patricia Hobbs, with whom he had a daughter, Ramona, born 1968.[citation needed] Patricia left him in 1971, returned to the United States with their daughter, and divorced him.[citation needed] Reed married an East German woman, Wiebke Dorndeck (née Schmidt), in 1973, with whom he had a second daughter, Natascha, born 1975.[citation needed] The couple divorced in 1978.[citation needed] In 1981, he married his third wife, East German actress Renate Blume, with whom he stayed until his death despite tensions and allegations that she was informing on him for the Stasi.[13] Reed also had on and off affair for seven years with Estonian actress Eve Kivi.[14]
Death
Six weeks after his appearance on 60 Minutes, Reed was found dead in Zeuthener Lake near his home in East Berlin. Though it was officially ruled an accidental drowning, his friends in Germany suspected his death was a suicide and his family in the U.S. claimed he had been murdered.
Reed's suicide note was later found on the back of a screenplay in his car. In it, Reed expressed his regret about his crumbling relationship with his third wife. He apologised to
In 2004, Russia's
Filmography
- 1964: Love Has Many Faces (USA)
- 1965: Mi primera novia (Аrgentina)
- 1965: Guadalajara en verano (Mexico)
- 1965: Ritmo nuevo y vieja ola (Аrgentina)
- 1967: God Made Them... I Kill Them (Italy)
- 1967: Buckaroo: The Winchester Does Not Forgive (Italy)
- 1968: The Nephews of Zorro (Italy)
- 1969: Il diario proibito di Fanny (Italy)
- 1969: Mitra Baby Face (Italy)
- 1969: Death Knocks Twice (Italy, West Germany)
- 1970: Veinte pasos para la muerte (Italy, Spain)
- 1970: La banda de los tres crisantemos (Spain, Italy)
- 1970: Adiós, Sabata (Italy, USA, Spain)
- 1971: Los Corsarios / I pirati dell'isola verde (Italy, Spain)
- 1971: La stirpe di Caino (Italy)
- 1971: Die Vergnügungsspalte (West Germany) (uses parts of Il diario proibito di Fanny)
- 1973: Storia di karat`e, pugni e fagioli (Spain, Italy)
- 1973: Excerpts from the Life of a Good-For-Nothing (East Germany)
- 1974: Kit & Co (East Germany, USSR, CSSR)
- 1975: Blood Brothers (East Germany)
- 1976: Soviel Lieder, soviel Worte (East Germany, USSR)
- 1978: El Cantor (East Germany)
- 1981: Sing, Cowboy, Sing (East Germany)
- 1984: Uindii / Races (Japan, West Germany)
Legacy
The
Media depictions
Reed's life is the subject of the documentary American Rebel: The Dean Reed Story (1985).[20]
Reed's life story influenced
In 1991 Tom Hanks optioned a biography by Reggie Nadelson, titled Comrade Rockstar, finally published in the U.S. by Walker & Company in 2006.[24] Nadelson had been inspired to write her book after seeing the 60 Minutes broadcast. Hanks planned to produce a movie on Reed's life. In 1993, Dean Reed – Glamour und Protest was released,[25] in 2007 Der Rote Elvis (The Red Elvis)[26][27] and Gringo Rojo (2016).[28][29][30]
In 2001, English singer-songwriter Steve Bush published the song "Salome for Dean Reed" on the album Blossom Freak.[31]
In January 2022,
References
- ISBN 5-7133-1045-0.
- ^ a b c Left star a stranger in his own land. The Guardian November 19, 1986
- ^ a b c d e f g Ariana Harner Values in Conflict The Singing Marxist. Colorado Heritage, Winter 1999 editor of the Society's "Colorado History Now" newspaper
- ^ Christiane Al-Janabi. Dean Reed, zur Person: Filmspiegel 7/1985.
- ^ "DEFA". Defa-stiftung.de. Retrieved December 8, 2018.
- ^ Hollywood Rock, Marshall Crenshaw, HarperPerennial, 1994, page 63
- ^ "Filmschauspieler international" edited by Diana Bohn und Norbert Diener, n.d.
- ^ "Dean Reed – the Red Elvis – the German Way & More". www.german-way.com. Retrieved September 19, 2019.
- ^ "Letter to Solzhenitsyn". Dean-reed.ru. 1971.
- ^ Tajuplná smrt "Rudého Elvise": Kdo byl a co chtěl Dean Reed, Reflex, 15. 6. 2011
- ^ Damphouse, Julia (May 12, 2017). "The Elvis of East Germany". Jacobin. Retrieved November 3, 2018.
- ^ Comrade Rockstar, Reggie Nadelson, Random House, 2010, pages 283–284
- ^ Ariana Harner, "The singing Marxist," Colorado Heritage, Winter 1999, p.14-25.
- ^ Eve Kivi. Diivana elatud elu /Eve Kivi. Life lived as a Diva. Estonian National Television. Aired December 30, 2020
- ^ Furlong, Ray (September 9, 2004). "Hanks to make film about 'Red Elvis'". BBC News.
- ^ Кто Вы, мистер Рид? Телеканал Россия, 2004
- ^ "Кто Вы, Мистер Рид? (Документальный фильм о Дине Риде)". YouTube. Archived from the original on December 12, 2021. Retrieved December 8, 2018.
- ISBN 1592981151
- ^ University of Colorado, Conference on World Affairs, Dean Reed Peace Prize essay contest Archived May 29, 2010, at the Wayback Machine, PDF file, downloaded March 5, 2010.
- IMDb
- ^ Guide to the Rusty Magee papers 1966–2007 (bulk 1978–2002) Brown University Library Special Collections, 30pp, 2010
- ^ Rosen and Saltzberg to star in one-night-only concert version of ‘’The Czar of Rock and Roll’’ April 6 at Joe's Pub, playbill.com
- ^ Hetrick, Adam (April 1, 2009). "Thorell, Rossmer and Ghebremichael Join Czar of Rock and Roll Concert". Playbill. Retrieved September 19, 2019.
- ^ Rock Around the Bloc, Thomas Mallon, The New York Times, July 9, 2006
- IMDb
- IMDb
- ^ The Red Elvis Archived September 12, 2017, at the Wayback Machine showing schedule
- ^ "Gringo rojo Miguel Ángel Vidaurre (director)". Zona de Obras. March 17, 2016. Retrieved December 8, 2018.
- ^ ""Gringo rojo": La vida singular de Dean Reed llega a las salas « Diario y Radio U Chile". Radio.uchile.cl. Retrieved December 8, 2018.
- ^ "Documental "Gringo Rojo": Una respuesta a medias de un mito". El Mostrador. March 19, 2016. Retrieved December 8, 2018.
- ^ "Salome (for Dean Reed) | STEVE BUSH | Bush and Fey". Stevebush.bandcamp.com. Retrieved May 4, 2022.