Is Dean Stockwell dead

Answer 1

no

This is a tricky one. Some people believe that the wonderfully talented child star Dean Stockwell died (or was murdered) in 1950, aged 14, when he still had one more film to do under his MGM contract. Because he was a big star and a huge money maker for the studios, this was hushed up and MGM found a boy of similar age and appearance to take his place who unfortunately couldn't act. Dean had a mop of dark brown, curly hair and his replacement was broader in build and with straight, black hair, which must have been noticed at the time. Even so, MGM loaned their new "Dean Stockwell" out to Universal to make make a Western called "Cattle Drive". His performance in it was so mediocre that some people must have wondered what on earth had happened to Dean's acting talent. After that, "Dean Stockwell" quit acting for five years until he somehow wangled a part in another Universal Western called "Gun For a Coward". His performance in that was so awful, he made star Fred MacMurray look like a real actor. If you look at the 12 years old Dean Stockwell in "Down To The Sea In Ships" and the 20 years old Dean Stockwell in "Gun For a Coward", it's apparent that they are not the same person, because there is no facial resemblance whatsoever. The eyes and the mouth are all wrong. Whoever the present Dean Stockwell is, it's highly unlikely that he's the former child star of the same name and has most probably been bluffing his way through as the former child star for over sixty years, which is no mean feat.