Minneapolis Star and Tribune Wednesday, June 18, 1986

D. Reed, U.S. Singer; settled in E. Germany

Associated Press

Berlin, Germany
Dean Reed, a U.S.-born folk singer who had lived in Communist East Germany since 1972, has died from a "tragic accident," the state-run ADN press agency reported Tuesday. He was 47.

The brief ADN dispatch did not give the type of accident or say when it occurred, but Reed's mother, Ruth Anna Brown, said in Honolulu she was told Reed died Tuesday morning while swimming in a lake.

Reed, born in Colorado, left the United States in 1962 and lived in Mexico and Italy before moving to East Germany. He worked as an actor and film director, but was most widely known in the soviet bloc as a singer, ADN said.

Reed returned to his hometown of Denver last October for the first time in 25 years for the premier of "American Rebel," an American made documentary about his life that was shown at the Denver International Film Festival.

He said during the visit that he hoped to live in the United States again because he feared dying in another country.

During the 1985 tour Reed also appeared in the Twin Cities to promote the film. In 1978, Reed made headlines in Minnesota when he was arrested with 18 other people in a Wright County power line protest during a promotional tour. He subsequently was acquitted of trespassing charges by a jury in Buffalo, Minn.

Reed was virtually unknown in his native country but was mobbed when appearing in the Soviet Union and other Eastern European countries. Reed retained his U.S. citizenship.