Dean once mentioned in a 1958 interview for a writers magazine that he used Royal typewriters. He spoke highly of their quality and a few features he enjoyed. One of Royal's executives saw the article and decided that Dean would be perfect for promoting their new Futura portable typewriter to aspiring writers.

Dean was excited by the offer and took the gig. He was paid a handsome endorsement fee and was also given five brand new Futura typewriters. The reason they gave him five was because the Futura came in five pastel designer colors: pink, blue, yellow, green, and orange.  Might I mention that this was 40 years before the colorful iMac.

This ad can occasionally be found on an Internet auction site with the final bid somewhere in the $6 range.