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Dead Man's Curve

USA / California / Westwood /
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In January 1961 Mel Blanc (the voice of Bugs Bunny) and former Warner Brothers executive producer John Burton started a commercial production company called Mel Blanc Associates. Three days later, while driving his sports car eastbound at 9:30 p.m., Blanc was hit head-on by a car that had lost control on this notoriously dangerous bend in Sunset Boulevard, a place already known as "Dead Man's Curve."
Although the other driver sustained only minor injuries, Blanc broke nearly every bone in his body, lost nine pints of blood, and was in a coma for three weeks. After regaining consciousness, he stayed an additional two months in a full body cast.
Two years later, KFWB disc-jockey Roger Christian, who had written some hotrod lyrics for the Beach Boys (including "Little Deuce Coupe") wrote a car racing song for Jan Berry of the pop dual Jan & Dean.
The general theme was the danger and excitement of street racing and the song ends with the protagonist nearly getting himself killed in a violent crash here in Dead Man's Curve.
By the time the record "Dead Man's Curve" had been released, this part of Sunset Boulevard had been re-aligned by the Los Angeles department of streets, and fatal car wrecks here were (by and large) a thing of the past.
Wikipedia article: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dead_Man's_Curve_(song)
Nearby cities:
Coordinates:   34°4'25"N   118°26'54"W

Comments

  • Salty (guest)
    This used to be negatively banked because UCLA would not give up land for fill and the City was too cheep to build a retaining wall.
  • No Exit (guest)
    Just how many so-called "dead man's curves" are there in L.A., anyhow? I've counted three just Wiki-traveling west on Sunset Boulevard!
  • (guest)
    An important thing to keep in mind about the Jan&Dean song is that this is NOT where Jan Berry had his terrible car crash
  • Buggs (guest)
    This part of Sunset Boulevard was made safer shortly after Mel Blanc's crash, but the part of Sunset that I'VE always known as Dead Man's Curve (because my mom always described it that way to me, presumably because her mom did so to her as well) is the big blind curve that comes just east of Beverly Glen but before the Beverly Hills city limits. However, I can think of at least a handful of other bends in other streets in LA alone that I've also heard described as "Dead Man's Curve."
  • Jeff Pringle
    http://usclibraries.tumblr.com/post/77398486705/dead-mans-curve-on-sunset-boulevard-near-ucla
  • Art (guest)
    According to the song it's the first curve going west past Doheny, "He passed me at Doheny then I started to swerve But I pulled her out and there we were At Dead Man's Curve" Which makes sense, a little over a mile of near straight road from Doheny to build up speed into the curve at Greenway Drive. Doesn't say anything about going through all the other curves to get to it.
  • Art (guest)
    Also one on Mulholland Drive heading westerly just past Skyline Drive.
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This article was last modified 5 years ago