Ramona Reed - Red Elvis

Dean Reed's Hollywood career was brief, but he became an international superstar during the height of the Cold War, living in Latin America and communist Europe. After going public about wanting to return home to the United States, Dean's life came to a mysterious end. Decades later, his daughter Ramona is determined to find out what really happened to him.

Episodes here:

https://www.iheart.com/podcast/1119-red-elvis-105219647/

ABOUT RAMONA REED

Ramona Reed is the daughter of Dean Reed who Red Elvis is about. Decades after her dad's mysterious disappearance she is she is determined to find out what really happened to him. Ramona is executive producer, narrator and advisor to the documentary film Red Elvis: The Coldwar Cowboy,, now streaming on Amazon Prime.

ABOUT THE FILM DEAN REED: THE COLDWAR COWBOY BY ELENA RINGO OF INDIE-CINEMA.COM

The film is a documentary dedicated to an American singer Dean Reed, who became a superstar in the Soviet Union and Eastern Germany. In a way he was much more than Elvis Presley. He was not only a singer, he was also a film director, a writer, an actor and a social activist. He was a rebel with a strong feeling of social injustice and was fighting the existing capitalist system of the Western World. American Rebel - it is written on his grave and he lived as a rebel.

The film was released in 2022 and was screened on British Sky TV and American documentary streamer Curiosity. The story of Dean Reed told by several people, including Dean's daughter Ramona Reed is touching and captivating. It is illustrated by numerous footage which show the actor in Latin America, in the USA, in Russia and Eastern Germany.

The life of Dean Reed reflects also the complexity of that time. For the first time he visited Russia in the sixties - time of hope and freedom. Dean Reed was a breath of fresh air in Soviet Union and Eastern Germany. He was singing revolutionary songs but at the same time he represented to Russian people the American dream; tall, artistic charismatic cowboy with a Hollywood smile. He was like a ray of sunshine coming through the iron curtain.

In the seventies Dean Reed often appeared on Soviet TV, and he was very popular. He toured the Soviet Union and crowds of people cheered him at stadiums. Women fell in love with him and men wanted to copy his haircut. For the Soviet Government Dean was a useful tool of propaganda - he was singing revolutionary songs and was a living proof that the West is on the brink of revolution.

But in the eighties his popularity started to decline. The leaders of communist regime were carefully preparing the perestroika - demolition of communism and privatization of manufacturers. They were preparing to benefit from the new order. Red Elvis was not needed for them anymore.

Russia little by little opened up to Western culture. When in the eighties I studied at university, we were listening to Joe Dassin, Boney M, ABBA, Frank Sinatra and other western music. Seldom to Dean Reed.

When Dean Reed died there was very little information in Soviet press concerning his death. He was supposed to have drowned, but this version obviously did not look credible, as he was an excellent swimmer and was found near the shore. Later it was suggested he committed suicide.

Ramona Reed, daughter of Dean Reed, raised in the film concern regarding her father's death. She did not believe in the official version of events. Other American relatives of Dean also did not believe in accidental death and neither in his suicide. And they have a reason because this tragic story has many missing links. Unfortunately, this horrible end was not investigated properly and even now, after many years, no more facts came out. As it turns out, secret services guard their secrets...