James Byron Dean

James Byron Dean (February 8, 1931September 30, 1955) was an American actor. He became one of the most influential figures in Hollywood in the 1950s, despite a career that lasted only five years. His impact on cinema and popular culture was profound, even though he appeared in just three major films. ''Rebel Without a Cause'' (1955), in which he portrayed a disillusioned and rebellious teenager, '' East of Eden'' (1955), which showcased his intense emotional range, and ''Giant'' (1956), a sprawling drama, have been preserved in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress for their "cultural, historical, or aesthetic significance". He was killed in a car accident at the age of 24 in 1955, leaving him a lasting symbol of rebellion, youthful defiance, and the restless spirit.

Dean was the first actor to receive a posthumous Academy Award nomination for Best Actor for his role in ''East of Eden''. The following year, he earned a second nomination for his performance in ''Giant'', making him the only actor to receive two posthumous acting nominations. In 1999, he was honored by the American Film Institute, being ranked as the 18th greatest male film star from Golden Age Hollywood on their " AFI's 100 Years...100 Stars" list. ''Time'' magazine recognized Dean as one of the "All-Time Most Influential Fashion Icons."

Dean's film roles and style had a strong impact on Hollywood, capturing the spirit of 1950s youth and creating an enduring legacy that shaped American pop culture and defined rebellious, countercultural attitudes for generations.

Early life and education

Dean was born on February 8, 1931, in Marion, Indiana, the only child of Mildred Marie Wilson and Winton Dean. He claimed that his mother was partly Native American and that his father belonged to a "line of original settlers that could be traced back to the ''Mayflower''". Six years after his father had left farming to become a dental technician, Dean moved with his family to Santa Monica, California. He was enrolled at Brentwood Public School in the Brentwood neighborhood of Los Angeles but transferred soon afterward to the McKinley Elementary School. The family spent several years there, and by all accounts, Dean was very close to his mother. According to Michael DeAngelis, she was "the only person capable of understanding him". In 1938, Dean's mother was suddenly struck with acute stomach pain and quickly began to lose weight. She died of uterine cancer when Dean was nine years old. Unable to care for his son, Dean's father sent him to live with his aunt and uncle, Ortense and Marcus Winslow, on their farm in Fairmount, Indiana, where he was raised in their Quaker household. Dean's father served in World War II and later remarried.

In his adolescence, Dean sought the counsel and friendship of a local Methodist pastor, the Rev. James DeWeerd, who seems to have had a formative influence upon Dean, especially upon his future interests in bullfighting, car racing, and theater. According to Billy J. Harbin, Dean had "an intimate relationship with his pastor, which began in his senior year of high school and endured for many years".See also Joe and Jay Hyams, James Dean: Little Boy Lost (1992), p. 20, who present an account alleging Dean's molestation as a teenager by his early mentor DeWeerd and describe it as Dean's first homosexual encounter (although DeWeerd himself largely portrayed his relationship with Dean as a completely conventional one). An alleged sexual relationship was suggested in Paul Alexander's 1994 book ''Boulevard of Broken Dreams: The Life, Times, and Legend of James Dean''.Paul Alexander, ''Boulevard of Broken Dreams: The Life, Times, and Legend of James Dean'', Viking, 1994, p. 44. In 2011, it was reported that Dean once confided in Elizabeth Taylor that he was sexually abused by a minister approximately two years after his mother's death. Other reports on Dean's life also suggest that he was sexually abused by DeWeerd either as a child or as a late teenager.

Dean's overall performance in school was exceptional, and he was a popular student. He played on the baseball and varsity basketball teams, studied drama, and competed in public speaking through the Indiana High School Forensic Association. After graduating from Fairmount High School in May 1949, he moved back to California to live with his father and stepmother, Ethel Case Dean. Dean enrolled in Santa Monica College and majored in pre-law. He transferred to University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) for one semester and changed his major to drama. His attempt to reconcile with his father ended with an impasse of "uncommunicative antagonism" caused by Winton's efforts to direct him into a more traditional career. He pledged to the Sigma Nu fraternity but was never initiated. While at UCLA, Dean was picked from a group of 350 actors to portray Malcolm in ''Macbeth''. At that time, he also began acting in James Whitmore's workshop. In January 1951, he dropped out of UCLA to pursue a full-time acting career.

Acting career

Early career

In 1950, Dean made his television debut in a Pepsi commercial. He quit college to act full-time and was cast in his first speaking part, as John the Apostle in ''Hill Number One'', an Easter television special dramatizing the Resurrection of Jesus. Dean worked at the widely filmed Iverson Movie Ranch in the Chatsworth area of Los Angeles during the production of the program, for which a replica of the tomb of Jesus was built on location at the ranch. Dean subsequently obtained three walk-on roles in movies: as a soldier in ''Fixed Bayonets!'' (1951), a boxing cornerman in '' Sailor Beware'' (1952), and a youth in '' Has Anybody Seen My Gal?'' (1952). While struggling to gain roles in Hollywood, Dean also worked as a parking lot attendant at CBS Studios. During that time, he met Rogers Brackett, a radio director for an advertising agency, who offered him professional help and guidance in his chosen career, as well as a place to stay.On Dean's relationship with Brackett, see also Hyams, ''James Dean: Little Boy Lost'', p. 79. Brackett opened doors for Dean and helped him land his first starring role on Broadway in ''See the Jaguar''.

In July 1951, Dean appeared on '' Alias Jane Doe'', which was produced by Brackett.
In October 1951, following the encouragement of actor James Whitmore and the advice of his mentor Rogers Brackett, Dean moved to New York City. There, he worked as a stunt tester for the game show ''Beat the Clock'', but was subsequently fired for allegedly performing the tasks too quickly. He also appeared in episodes of several CBS television series, ''The Web'', '' Studio One'', and ''Lux Video Theatre'', before gaining admission to the Actors Studio to study method acting under Lee Strasberg. In 1952, he had a nonspeaking bit part as a pressman in the movie '' Deadline – U.S.A.'', starring Humphrey Bogart.

Proud of these accomplishments, Dean referred to the Actors Studio in a 1952 letter to his family as "the greatest school of the theater. It houses great people like Marlon Brando, Julie Harris, Arthur Kennedy, Mildred Dunnock, Eli Wallach... Very few get into it ... It is the best thing that can happen to an actor. I am one of the youngest to belong." There, he was classmates and close friends with Carroll Baker, alongside whom he would eventually star in ''Giant'' (1956). Dean's career picked up, and he performed in further episodes of such early 1950s television shows as ''Kraft Television Theatre'', ''Robert Montgomery Presents'', ''The United States Steel Hour'', ''Danger'', and ''General Electric Theater''. One early role, for the CBS series ''Omnibus'' in the episode "Glory in the Flower," saw Dean portraying the type of disaffected youth he would later portray in ''Rebel Without a Cause'' (1955). This summer 1953 program featured the song "Crazy Man, Crazy," one of the first dramatic TV programs to feature rock and roll.

Positive reviews for Dean's 1954 theatrical role as Bachir, a pandering homosexual North African houseboy, in an adaptation of André Gide's book ''The Immoralist'' (1902), led to calls from Hollywood. During the production of ''The Immoralist'', Dean had an affair with actress Geraldine Page. Angelica Page said of their relationship,

"According to my mother, their affair went on for three-and-a-half months. In many ways, my mother never really got over Jimmy. It was not unusual for me to go to her dressing room through the years, obviously many years after Dean was gone, and find pictures of him taped up on her mirror. My mother never forgot about Jimmy—never. I believe they were artistic soul mates."

Page remained friends with Dean until his death and kept a number of personal mementos from the play—including several drawings by him.

''East of Eden''

In 1953, director Elia Kazan was looking for a substantive actor to play the emotionally complex role of Cal Trask for screenwriter Paul Osborn's adaptation of John Steinbeck's 1952 novel '' East of Eden''. This book deals with the story of the Trask and Hamilton families over the course of three generations, focusing especially on the lives of the latter two generations in Salinas Valley, California, from the mid-19th century through the 1910s. In contrast to the book, the film script focused on the last portion of the story, predominantly with the character of Cal. Though he initially seems more aloof and emotionally troubled than his twin brother Aron, Cal is soon seen to be more worldly, business savvy, and sensible compared to their pious and constantly disapproving father (played by Raymond Massey), who seeks to invent a vegetable refrigeration process. Cal is bothered by the mystery of their supposedly dead mother and discovers she is still alive and a brothel-keeping 'madam'; the part was played by actress Jo Van Fleet.

Before casting Cal, Elia Kazan said he wanted "a Brando type" for the role, and Osborn suggested Dean, a relatively unknown young actor. Dean met with Steinbeck, who did not like the moody, complex young man personally but thought him to be perfect for the part. Dean was cast in the role and, on April 8, 1954, left New York City and headed for Los Angeles to begin shooting.

Much of Dean's performance in the film was unscripted, including his dance in the bean field and his fetal-like posturing while riding on top of a train boxcar (after searching out his mother in nearby Monterey, California">Monterey