America was in the grip of the Great Depression when this 1930 Duesenberg Model J Torpedo Berline Convertible, engine number J-391, chassis 2315, and body 952 was completed by Walter M. Murphy Coachbuilders of Pasadena, California as a demonstrator for Duesenberg’s Los Angeles sales branch. Originally painted in Washington Blue, it was sold to Hollywood screen writer Gene Markey, who later became a highly decorated Rear Admiral after World War II. A series of owners in the 1940s included James Talmadge (son of Buster Keaton and Norma Talmadge), who in 1952 traded the car to actor Tyrone Power for a new MG. Power owned the car until his death at the age of 44 in 1958, after which it was sold to J.B. Nethercutt and then to Bill Harrah's Auto Museum in Reno, Nevada.
Read all about this one-of-a-kind Duesie being offered at the Mecum Kissimmee Auction Saturday, January 25, 2014 at 3:25 PM.
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