By CORNBREAD (66.185.84.74) on Sunday, March 28, 2004 - 08:39 am:

Read it in the papers this morning. Jan Berry died Friday evening in a L.A. hospital from a seizure. He was 62.

By ~medusa~ (68.248.74.225) on Sunday, March 28, 2004 - 08:42 am:

Saw it on the New Late Lastnight...
Seems every week, someone takes that final trip.

By Dinelle (67.35.238.230) on Sunday, March 28, 2004 - 02:52 pm:

Oh man! I agree with Medusa. It's almost like most famous people die in March.

By douglasm (68.118.223.130) on Sunday, March 28, 2004 - 04:41 pm:

CBS-TV's Sunday Morning did a little tribute to Jan Berry today. Every time i hear of something like this i feel a little older.

By Lynn Bruce (68.41.110.49) on Sunday, March 28, 2004 - 04:59 pm:

This is sad.
One of the first bus tours I went on we had Jan and Dean as one of the acts we backed up. We toured together on that bus for about a month doing one-nighters around Canada and America.

Jan was a very funny guy.He always was friendly with everyone. One of the stops on the tour was at a lake in Kentucky. The stage was outside and very wobbley. Just behind the stage was the lake.During the day when we were setting up Jan stripped down to his shorts and used the back of the stage for a diving board. Much to the amusment of all of us.
On the last show of the tour we were all getting a little punchy from doing the same songs every night. When we introduced Jan and Dean instead of coming out looking sharply dressed,Jan came out wearing a jock strap over some running shorts and his shirt on backwards.Dean came out with a babushka on his head and barefoot. Then they changed all the words to their songs and put in double meaning words in place of them. They had us laughing so hard that we had a very hard time keeping it together. The audience loved it though. They got the songs they came to hear plus they got to see us having a good time without screwing up.(to much).

The day the tour ended was the last time that I ever worked with him or saw him again in person.

It's kind of sad how some people come into your life and you connect and have so much fun,then you never see them again.
Lynn


Jan,may the white light of protection surround you on your journey to the other side

By john dixon (205.188.209.13) on Sunday, March 28, 2004 - 09:41 pm:

Thanks for that fantastic recollection Lynn.

By Lynn Bruce (68.41.110.49) on Monday, March 29, 2004 - 10:03 am:

One more short story about Jan and Dean: When musicians and singers go on a bus tour after about two days everyone has their own pillow(much to the dismay of the first hotel we stay at).

Any musician that has traveled knows that next to their axe, the pillow is right near the top of important things(You gotta have something cushy to lay that head on).

We got a box of crayons and would just right our name on our pillows with maybe a small drawing.

Dean Torrence of Jan and Dean took the crayons and made his own pillow into a work of art!!!
He was a really good artist.We would ask him to put a little taste of his artistic talent on our pillows but nothing compared to his.

I've often wished I would have asked for his pillow case and framed it. I believe that he formed his own company later and did album covers and other graphic art things.I'm not 100% sure though.

By R (62.254.0.32) on Monday, March 29, 2004 - 10:42 am:

Dean's graphics design company was/is called Kittyhawk, and he did indeed design album sleeves, not the least of which was the 1971 Jan & Dean double vinyl anthology - which I still have

By Ralph (209.240.205.62) on Monday, March 29, 2004 - 11:58 am:

Great story Lynn. Yes, life on the road....

By KevGo (64.115.26.80) on Monday, March 29, 2004 - 12:44 pm:

Dean Torrence & Kittyhawk Graphics also designed the album cover of "The Temptations Show" TV soundtrack that was released in 1969.

Jan Berry was not only a great entertainer but an underrated songwriter & producer from 1959's "Jennie Lee" (recorded using two tape machines in Jan's garage and released as Jan & Arnie) and J&D's "Surf City" (with some help from Brian Wilson) until Jan's tragic car crash in 1966.

The film "Deadman's Curve" did Jan a sad injustice for it portrayed him as an arrogant individual, which according to colleagues & friends was not the case.

He will be missed.

Kevin Goins - KevGo

By Lynn Bruce (68.41.110.49) on Monday, March 29, 2004 - 04:08 pm:

Kevin,your right about Jan.I saw the movie and wondered why they made him out to be such a fool. Jan and also dean would be swarmed by the ladies when we were just walking down the street in the daytime since their faces were so well known at the time. He would go out of his way to talk and sign autographs.
When we played the Toledo sports arena we had one day off so they stayed with our guitar player in the Hurricanes Dave Yorko.His mother kept remarking about how well mannered they were.LOL
Of course she didn't see us when we were out drinking that night(I think shit-faced is the word that fits here)

As I said in my first post,in my month working with him he was funny,witty, lot of fun and the very opposite of arrogant.

By Randy Russi (169.139.180.100) on Monday, March 29, 2004 - 04:21 pm:

Yes, I heard this sad news late Sat. eve. I believe they said he would have turned 63 this
week.
I saw Jan & Dean perform once during the spring
of '66 along with the Shangri-Las, Mitch Ryder
& the Detroit Wheels, Paul Revere & the Raiders
and I don't recall who else.
I also agree about the film Dead Man's Curve.
I didn't like it or the way it portrayed him,
although I never knew him.