James Dean

He’s the original Hollywood heart throb who’s impact on popular culture continues more than 60 years after his death. James Dean remains one of Hollywood’s most intriguing icons. In this biography, we take a look at the life and career of the young star whose life was cut tragically short. We’ll explore his upbringing, his career, his enduring legacy, the obsession that ultimately took his life and the secrets he took to the grave.

James Dean. Image; Tom McKinnon (CC BY-SA 2.0)

Childhood

James Byron Dean was born February 8th, 1931 in Marion, Indiana. He led a fairly simple life with father Winton Dean and Mother Mildred, until the age of 9 when his mother sadly passed away from cancer. He was very close to his mother and his father found it difficult to care for James once his mother had passed. He was sent to live with his Aunt and Uncle on a farm in Fairmount, Indiana. This caused great strain on his relationship with his father and they would continue to have a tumultuous relationship for most of James’ life.

He spent his adolescence on the farm, attending Fairmont High School, where he was an excellent student and popular among his peers. It was during these years that James Dean struck up a friendship with the local youth pastor Rev. James DeWeerd who supported and encouraged him in many of his hobbies, including acting. It was later speculated that the reverend actually abused the impressionable young James Dean and the pair allegedly had a sexual relationship when James was just a teenager.

After High School James moved to California to live with his father and stepmother. He attended Santa Monica College where he majored in pre-law. He soon transferred to UCLA where he changed his major from law to drama. His father was unhappy with this decision putting further strain on their already difficult relationship. Ultimately this decision caused James and his father to stop speaking altogether. While at college he enrolled in acting workshops, attended auditions and acted in stage productions, including MacBeth. He eventually dropped out of UCLA and pursued a career in acting full-time.

Early Career

James Dean initially worked in theatre and as an extra in the movies Fixed Bayonets, Sailor Beware and Has Anybody seen my Gal? He had speaking parts in television specials as well as advertisements including one for Pepsi Cola. While these small roles were a start, they were not enough to pay the rent so James got a job at CBS studios as a parking attendant. While there he also worked as a stunt tester for the CBS game show Beat the Clock.

His start in Hollywood had not been as successful as he had hoped and so his friend and mentor, James Whitmore, encouraged him to move to New York. This proved to be good advice as James was cast in a key role in Broadway production See the Jaguar. Unfortunately the play was a flop but James maintained a positive attitude and was excited to join the Actors Studio where he could continue to study his craft. In a letter to his family he wrote, “I have made great strides in my craft…I am a member of the Actors studio. The greatest school of the theatre…it is the best thing that can happen to an actor.” While there he immersed himself deeply in his study and became particularly fascinated by the work of Lee Strasberg and his theory of Method Acting. The method is based on Stanislavski’s system which requires actors to experience the role rather than represent it. The actor seeks to understand and identify with the characters emotions and inner motives in order to present a sincere performance. The challenge with this method is that the actor can lose sight of themselves and experience emotional fatigue as they delve deeper into their own psyche. This is perhaps true of James Dean, who became somewhat troubled in his personal life.

During his time at the Actors studio, James was cast in small roles in a number of television programs, one of which he acted opposite Ronald Reaghan who would later go on to become the 40th President of the United Stated of America. It has been reported that Reaghan became frustrated with James’s method acting style and told the director to instruct James to just say the lines as they were scripted. Reaghan would not be the first of James’s costars to become frustrated with his approach to acting.

Making a name for himself

Undeterred by the poor performance of his play See the Jaguar, James continued to seek work on Broadway. He was cast in the stage adaptation of Andre Gide novel The Immoralist. He played Bashir and his portrayal of the young North African houseboy caught the attention of film director Elia Kazan. He invited James to audition for the lead role in his upcoming film, the 1953 screen adaptation of John Steinbeck novel, East of Eden. James won the role of Cal, a troubled teen in search of love and acceptance from his family. The role was James’ first as a leading man and was perfect for the young actor who used his own troubled relationship with his father as inspiration for the role. Steinbeck met with James Dean and instantly took a dislike to him but thought him perfect for the role. It didn’t take long for James to get a reputation on set for being difficult, with his costars becoming increasingly frustrated with his ad libbing. This was not as commonly done in the 1950s and his fellow actors found it to be very off putting. The film makers, however, enjoyed James’ work and many of his ad libbed scenes made it into the final cut. In one scene, Cal gives his father a gift of $5000 which is quickly rejected. The script called for Cal to run away from his father but James had other ideas. Once cameras started rolling James lunged toward his costar Raymond Massey and hugged him while sobbing uncontrollably. Massey was stunned. This version of the scene, including Massey’s shocked reaction, can be seen in the final film.

East of Eden (Warner Bros)

Love Life

Following his success on East of Eden, James signed a contract with Warner Bros studios. While working on the Warner Bros lot, he met actress Pier Angeli who was working on a nearby lot. The two struck up an intense romantic relationship, much to the dismay of the studio’s PR department who had begun marketing James as one of Hollywood’s most eligible bachelors. James and Angelli would spend their weekends at a beach cottage on the Californian coast. They had a sincere respect and admiration for one another and would spend much of their time together in deep philosophical conversation about life and death. They were also rumoured to be engaged, however, many contributing factors caused the couple to ultimately end their relationship, including her mother’s dislike of James, their different religious beliefs, and pressure from Warner Bros themselves for James to end the romance. Many have claimed that this relationship was fake, along with several other romances including one with Ursula Andress were believed to be a cover for the fact that James Dean was actually a homosexuality. James himself would never confirm these rumours but it is widely accepted these days that James Dean was in fact gay or at the very least bisexual.

Hollywood Success

Despite this conflict in his personal life, his professional life was surging ahead. His next role would become his most memorable as the high-school misfit Jim Stark in Rebel Without a Cause. The film became the representative of a generation in a time when the divide between parents and their children was much greater than it is today. The post-war era had parents feeling increasingly frustrated with their disenfranchised children, while teenagers felt completely misunderstood and began to reject societal ideals about family life and how youths should act in public. James embodied the disenchatment of a generation and became an icon as a result. He is perhaps most commonly remembered in the red jacket that his character wore with jeans and a white t-shirt.

Rebel Without a Cause (Warner Bros)

Not wanting to become typecast as a troubled teen, James took on the role of Jett Rink int eh film Giant, alongside Rock Hudson and Elizabeth Taylor. He plays a ranch hand who strikes it rich when he discovers oil while working on his land. James further developed his reputation for being a challenging actor while working on this film. He often got into disagreements with director George Stevens and was openly disliked by co-star Rock Hudson. Hudson believed James’s method acting style to be self indulgent and refused to be flexible in his own performance, sticking to the script no matter what james threw at him. On the other hand, James and Elizabeth Taylor became close friends while filming the movie. She spoke about how they would stay up until the early hours of the morning talking to each other about their lives. James would open up to Taylor about his troubled youth and divulge secrets about his private life. He would then show up to set the following day and act as if he’d never spoken to her. Taylor said, “He was very afraid to give of himself.” It was these late night conversations that gve Elizabeth Taylor insight into the inner working of James Dean and many years later she referenced him in a speech she gave at the GLAAD awards, referring to him as gay.

James Dean in 'Giant'. Image: Tom McKinnon (CC BY-SA 2.0)

James Dean was set to become Hollywoods most successful leading man and the figurehead of a generation but tragedy was just around the corner.

An obsession that led to an early death

James had developed an interest in car racing and had even competed in a few races himself. He had put this hobby on hold while filming Giant, at the behest of director George Stevens. However, with filming wrapped he was eager to once again get on the racetrack and so he registered for an upcoming Salinas Road Race event. On September 30th, 1955, James was driving his Porsche 550 Spyder along US Route 466, on his way to Salinas, with passenger Rolf Wutherich. Earlier in the day, James had been pulled over by Police and given a speeding fine. At 5:45pm, James’s porsche collided with the passenger side of a Ford Tudor driven by a 23 year old student named Donald Turnupseed. Both Wutherich and Turnupseed escaped the accident with only minor injuries but James received several major injuries that would later prove fatal. At 6:20pm James Dean was pronounced Dead on Arrival at Paso Robles War Memorial Hospital. An entire generation had lost their hero.

James Dean in his Porche Speedster. Image: Chad White (CC BY-SA 3.0)

A lasting legacy

What many don’t realise is that the biggest impact James had on film and youth culture occurred after his death. Of the three films he completed in a leading role, two of them were not released in cinemas until after his death. Rebel Without a Cause was released less than a month after his passing and his part in filming of Giant wrapped only 8 days before his death. Elizabeth Taylor had not yet wrapped her part and was reportedly so distraught over the news that she collapsed when she was told of his death and took two weeks off to grieve.

James Dean’s passing set a new precedent for recognition of actors after death. His portrayal in East of Eden earned him an Academy award nomination which was the first acting award nomination ever given posthumously. He also received a posthumous Best Actor Academy award nomination.

Did You Know…?

1. Ironically, James filmed a Public Service Announcement in which he promoted safe driving. He was dressed in his costume from Giant and responded to an interviewers questions with answered that discouraged speeding. At the conclusion of the advertisement he, in true James Dean style, ad libbed a line that said “Take it easy driving, the life you save might be mine.” He died a few weeks later.

2. James Dean has had a significant influence on music and musicians who were inspired by his representation of a rebellious youth. Most notably, he was said to have inspired singers like Elvis Presley, Buddy Holly, David Bowie and Bob Dylan. He has also been referenced in songs by artists like The Beach Boys, Madonna, Don McLean, Lady Gaga, Beyonce and Taylor Swift, along with many others.

3. James Deans career has inspired many successful actors including Johnny Depp, Martin Sheen, Nicholas Cage, Robert Di Niro and Leonardo Di Caprio. Di Caprio was actually set to play Dean in a biopic about the actors life, however, just 19 at the time Di caprio was deemed too young and the film was ultimately scrapped.

4. A biopic titled James Dean that actually was completed, albeit made for television, starred a then up and coming actor James Franco. Franco looked shockingly similar the Dean and embodied the legendary yet troubled actor so successfully that it earned him a Primetime Emmy award for Outstanding actor in a miniseries.

5. After being the first actor to be given an award nomination posthumously, only 6 others have been given the honour since. Orson Welles, Lawrence Tibbett, Alan Arkin, Paul Muni, Montgomery Clift and Heath Ledger were the others. Dean is still the only actor to be nomination twice after his death.

In his all too short life, James Dean left a lasting impact on the world. It can only be speculated as to where his life and career would’ve gone had he lived longer, however, one thing is for sure, James Dean is a Hollywood Legend.

To read about James Dean's life in more detail, you can find his official biography here. This book was written upon the 50th anniversary of Dean's death and was authorized by his family.

You can view James Dean's photography in a beautiful book that is worthy of any film buff's library. The book gives an intimate look at Dean's life in New York and the people he spent his time with. You can find a copy here.

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