I always wanted to be a starlet….with apologies to Goodfellas.
I secretly idolized the blonde bombshells of the fifties, preferring Mamie Van Doren and Jayne Mansfield to the mainstream fascination with Ms. Monroe.
Then there was home grown Diana Dors. Like Jayne she had a thing for Cadillacs, a rarer trait in conservative Britain. Her most famous was her first, a 1955 series 62 baby blue convertible that she took with her to France. On the streets of London it caused a sensation, pastel and chrome, people ran after it having never seen something so cool.
I heard rumours she had a 1959 Cadillac like moi. One hire firm claimed to have a pink 59 Eldorado convertible that belonged to her. Seemed too good a story to be true, I had never seen any candid or publicity photos showing her with her over the top automotive counterpart. Last year I found a photo of her with just part of the rear fin visible, clearly a 59 but it could have been taken when she lived the States. Finally last night proof an official fan site. A 1959 series 62 convertible (not Eldorado), you can tell by the single row of teeth in the rear grill and Cadillac V and crest on the trunk lid it is not the very similar Eldorado model. The best part is the licence plate DD 200 !
It is a black and white picture…would it be too much to assume it was painted pink?
Extra:
watch her bio pic here:
Hugs,
April
I think it goes without saying it would be pink. :c)
ReplyDelete== Cass
We have this Cadillac in our private collection. When we rescued the car three years ago we were told that it was the Cadillac owned by Diana Dors. As much as we wanted to believe it, we were very sceptical. That was until we bumped into a guy at a classic car show who was talking to us about the Rolls Royce vehicles we had on our stand. We told him that we were restoring a Cadillac reputedly owned by Diana Dors, a '59 with the big fins. He instantly asked if the registration with XUL 6, which ours is. He had remembered the car being at his Fathers garage in New Milton for a few months in 1964. He can't remember what was wrong with it or why it was there, but it was the talk of the town, as it had belonged to Diana Dors. He was only ten at the time, but the car remained in his memory all this time. He came up to our unit and gave us black and white photographs of the car from that date. He was thrilled to see it again.
ReplyDeleteThe car was white with black leather interior at that time with a black roof. When we purchased the car it was falling to bits having been for many years in a damp garage in Hull. We stripped the car down to bare metal and you could see all the colours this magnificent vehicle had been painted over the years. The car was used in Culture Clubs "Church of the Poisoned Mind" music video and was black at that time.
www.rrelite.co.uk We will be putting a full page on the website over the next few weeks with all the photographs, old and new
thanks for the update!!!! sorry it took so long for me to see the comment
ReplyDeleteThis car belonged to a friend of mine who owned it for approx 25 years and inspired me to buy my own Cadillac. I have a few photo's of it painted black, with the same wide whites and a red velour interior.
ReplyDeleteFabulous car.
Hello... I've actually got some history on the car for you all. Before I was born my dad brought this car when in was daytona yellow with reg XUL 6. We have a photo of my mum sitting on the front. I have been desperate to find car. Sadly my dad passed away in April and we had hoped to find its happy ending before. It's a beautiful car. My dad drove and parked it like a beaut. Parked it like a penny. And had his 1st date with my mum driving it xx jo
ReplyDeleteWhat an interesting story, i canot but wonder as to what happened to the Rolls Royce that Diana owned when she was married to her first husband Dennis Hamilton?. I wonder if it still survives to this day?.
ReplyDeleteWhat an interesting story, i canot but wonder as to what happened to the Rolls Royce that Diana owned when she was married to her first husband Dennis Hamilton?. I wonder if it still survives to this day?.
ReplyDeleteI can add more to this story; about 1968/9 this car was in a scrapyard just outside Staines. The owner told me it had come from Shepperton studios and was DD's car; He wanted I think £125 for it; I sat in it everything worked, I was just about 19 at the time and that was a lot of money, to add contrast I bough the 1935 Daimler next to the Caddy for 30 and drove that home 40 miles. Yes it was pink and I have had a craving for one ever since, no chance now but I'd love to see this one again.
ReplyDeleteI think scrapyard owner was telling porkies as when I was a mechanic in a Tilbury garage in the 70s, I fitted brake shoes to Diana Dors pink Cadillac.
DeleteMy friend Allen owned this car, he didn't live in Stains but west London so I would go with Ken Bryant rather than 'Unknown'
DeleteYour friend then must have been Allan Jones who then moved to down Cirencester way
Deleteyes
DeleteIt was white, and lived in my kitchen in preston for ten years....
ReplyDelete