Kenneth Kendall Tribute
I recently discovered my friend Kenneth Kendall passed away. He was in his 90’s, I believe, and had a good run. Kenneth was a amazing painter and sculptor. He’s probably best known for the bronze bust of James Dean on display at the Griffith Park Observatory in Los Angeles. I first met Kenneth many years ago when I moved to LA. Being a big James Dean admirer, I sought out everything and everyone I could who met or spent time with Dean when he lived here back in the 50’s. Some time around January of 1955, Dean sought out Kendall and asked if he would consider sculpting a bust of him, like the one he had already done of Marlon Brando. Kendall was polite, but thought “who is this kid, and what has he ever done?- I do BIG stars, like Steve Reeves” Well, within a few months, East of Eden was released, which completely blew Kendall away, and he began work on the Dean bust. Rebel Without A Cause and Giant were soon completed, but not out yet, and Dean was dead by Sept. Since that time, Kendall did probably hundreds of paintings, sculptures and drawings of Dean. His house in West Hollywood was a virtual museum of Dean, Brando, and old Hollywood artwork. He also had Sarah Bernhardt’s autograph. We had yearly Dean birthday parties for several years at his place, where I got to spend time with Vampira (Maila Nurmi, who also just passed away) and Frank Mazzola (actor, Rebel Without A Cause) and hear James Dean stories for hours. Thanks for brightening up my world, Kenneth, and giving me unique insight into the world of that great artist who knocked our socks off, James Dean- AB
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- Kenneth Kendall in his favorite hat
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- Me, Frank Mazolla & Kenneth celebrate Dean's birthday
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- Kendall's house was a labrynth of books and artwork
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- the original Dean bust, on a shelf at Kenneth's house
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- Kenneth "holding court"
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- Art as far as the eye can see- and there were at least 4 more rooms full of it
Did you ever meet Samson De Brier? He and Kenneth were very good friends.
the name is familiar, but I don’t know if I actually met him. There were always lots of interesting characters at Kenneth’s parties. Is he the guy whose wife was Brando’s assistant?
Oh wow… I was a friend of KK’s. I lost touch with him. Met him through Warren Beath and some other fans I didn’t know! Kenneth and I became friends and loved to talk about opera. I am an operatic soprano and I must say, KK knew more about opera than I did! We used to have tea, and talk about James Dean. And one time he took me to the Huntington Museum and gave me a personal tour, replete with anecdotes about every painting! I expressed an interest in those 18th century masters and so he gave me a beautiful book about them.
I moved away to CT for many years….he used to write and send those priceless fabulous postcards with his glorious signature. I moved back to CA a couple of yrs ago and tried to find him. Oh I am too late. I miss my friend. He was an exceptional talent, a truly brilliant person and a lovely and dear friend. Thank you for this tribute!!! He deserved much greater recognition in life - his work was and is so alive!
Thanks! Did you ever see his autographed photo of SARAH BERNHARDT? Talk about a rarity. Kenneth was definitely a gem in the Hollywood treasure trove. And yes, I have some of those cards with that exquisite signature as well. He is mentioned on a bronze plaque on the James Dean bust he sculpted at the Griffith Observatory. Great, generous man.
-AB
Samson never married. He had a house on Barton Ave in LA that was the “spot” to go to for a time.
As for the postcards Rebecca spoke of I have some of those too! They are so cool!