Remembering James Dean

Fifty four years ago -- September 30, 1955 -- James Dean died in a car accident. Dean was many things: a gifted artist and pioneering "method" actor, idol to a generation of America's youth, the personification of teen angst and rebellion, enduring hero of the 1950s...

Dean was a multifaceted, multi-talented, complex personality who could have become many more things. It was only through a specific combination of talent and ability, desire and focus, and hard work and happenstance that he became a timeless icon and one of the most famous figures in American pop culture.

Much has been written about him but here are ten things most don't know about James Dean:

• Dean grew up in Fairmount, Indiana, a small town that stakes claim to being the birthplace of both the hamburger and the ice cream cone, as well as the ancestral home of Wilbur and Orville Wright, inventors of the airplane.

• In addition to acting, Dean also had a knack for drawing and painting. He also wrote poetry. Frustrated by the limitations and close-mindedness of the small midwestern town he grew up in, he composed the following:

       My town likes industrial impotence
       My town's small, loves its diffidence
       My town thrives on dangerous bigotry
       My town's big in the sense of idolatry
       My town believes in God and his crew
       My town hates the Catholic and Jew
       My town's innocent, selfistic caper 
       My town's diligent, reads the newspaper
       My town's sweet, I was born bare

       My town is not what I am, I am here

• After moving to New York, Dean's first "big break" was in the 1952 Broadway show See the Jaguar, which opened and closed in only four days.





• While living in New York, Dean's struggling actor friends and contemporaries included the then equally unknown Martin Landau, Paul Newman, and Steve McQueen, all of whom Dean competed with at casting calls.

• Also while living in New York, Dean shared an apartment with his good friend Dizzy Sheridan, best known for her role as Jerry's mother on the sitcom Seinfeld.

• Dean had starring roles in only three films, each time portraying a character that (like him) had one syllable in both their first and last names -- "Cal Trask" in East of Eden, "Jim Stark" in Rebel Without a Cause and "Jett Rink" in Giant.

• In the early 50s, Dean dated and fell in love with Pier Angeli, an Italian actress he met on the set of East of Eden. Angeli eventually wound up marrying singer Vic Damone, and on the day of their wedding, a dismayed Dean sat outside the church on his motorcycle and gunned the engine as the bride and groom emerged. Years later, Angeli admitted that Dean was the only man she ever really loved.

• Dean had a premature "aged" look when he died. For the movie Giant, he had shaved his head to create a receding hairline look for his scenes as the older version of his character Jett Rink.

• Foreshadowing Dean's tragic death, in the original script for Rebel Without a Cause, when Jim Stark runs out of the house to show that he removed the bullets from Plato's gun, the police shoot and kill him.

• The cover art of the album The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan, purposely recreates the setting and pose of this famous photograph of Dean.

Finally, from the Pop Culture Fiend Archives, here's a 20/20 story from many years ago that does a nice job of recounting Dean's life and legacy.

Defining Films of the Decades - The 50's

Here's Part 3 in my 8-part series, "The Defining Films of the Decades."

Runners Up

Rebel Without a Cause (1955)

With the two previous decades being dominated by the war effort and the Great Depression respectively, the 1950's marked the first time Americans had the time or inclination to acknowledge teenagers and their place in society. Rebel established Dean as the embodiment of America’s youth and the country’s biggest teen idol.

A Streetcar Named Desire (1951)

In this film adaptation of the Tennessee Williams stage play, Marlon Brando’s explosive performance keenly resonated with audiences, as did those of co-stars Vivian Leigh, Kim Hunter and Karl Malden (all of whom won Academy Awards for their roles.)

Some Like it Hot (1959)

With the possible exceptions of James Dean and Elvis, Marilyn Monroe is the most enduring pop culture figure from the 1950's. She gave one her most memorable performances in this wildly popular Billy Wilder comedy.

On the Waterfront (1954)

Brando strikes again. The best actor of his generation in perhaps the finest of the decade’s many gritty, working class dramas.

THE Defining Film of the 1950's:

The Ten Commandments (1956) 

Credit the enduring popularity of this film to its all-star cast (Charlton Heston, Yul Brynner, Anne Baxter, Edward G. Robinson, Debra Paget, Sir Cedric Hardwicke, etc.) and the sheer scope of this epic’s production. The Ten Commandments was the highest grossing live-action film of the decade and director Cecil B. DeMille’s depiction of the parting of the Red Sea remains one of the most iconic scenes in the history of cinema.

Related Posts:
Defining Films of the Decades - The 60's
Defining Films of the Decades - The 40's
Defining Films of the Decades - The 30's

Remembering James Dean