James Dean took hold of America in a way most heartthrob wannabes only dreamed about. Little
did everyone know how real his struggle was; it was only after he died that America, and
the world, really embraced Dean's hard work. This is the tragic real-life story of James
Dean.
James Dean was born in Marion, Indiana in 1931 to Mildred and Winton Dean. Winton was
a dental technician, a job he found rather dull. When James was about 3, the family moved
south to Fairmont, where Winton decided to take up bullfrog farming, according to biographer
David Dalton. But the farm failed, and the Deans returned to Marion before deciding on
their next adventure by relocating to Santa Monica, California.
In 1938, though, Mildred Dean was diagnosed with cancer, passing away two years later.
At age 9, James found himself riding a train back to Marion with his mother's coffin.
Being back among family gave James time to work through his grief and resume his childhood,
working on a family farm. He also attended high school, pursuing sports and drama classes,
graduating in 1949.
Dean returned to California and majored in drama at UCLA. In 1950, a classmate, James
Bella, talked him into being an extra for a Pepsi Cola commercial. It was Dean's first
appearance on television. Soon he was off: moving to New York, Dean was accepted by the
Actors Studio under Lee Strasberg, and in 1951 Dean landed his first role in 1951 as
"John" on a Family Theater episode titled "Hill Number One."
A series of similar roles carried his career through the early 1950s but he had his eyes
on bigger prizes. In James Dean — Tomorrow Never Comes, biographer Darwin Porter claimed
the actor became a typical Hollywood playboy who, quote, "would sleep with anybody to get
ahead." Women he reportedly bedded included Joan Crawford, Judy Garland, Marilyn Monroe,
and Elizabeth Taylor, all starlets with whom it didn't hurt to be seen with in public.
Dean did have one more serious relationship, with actress Pier Angeli, whom he met when
Dean was filming his first movie, East of Eden, in 1955. But when the couple separated
to work on respective projects, Angeli began dating singer Vic Damone and announced her
engagement to him. Supposedly, a brooding Dean sat astride his motorcycle outside the
church at the wedding, speeding away as the newlyweds came out.
Hollywood's rumor mill began churning out stories that Dean was gay or bisexual. Some
of the rumors might have dated back to 1954 when he played a gay character in the play
The Immoralist. When asked whether he believed Dean was homosexual, however, writer Hal Hackaday
responded, "I never heard anything like that."
Biography also acknowledges that Dean's "sexuality has been a matter of debate." Filmmaker and
author Kenneth Anger is best known for concocting mostly fictitious claims of sordid scandals
in his book Hollywood Babylon, where he made wild assertions claiming Dean was, quote,
"kept by an aging TV producer" among other things. As a result, these rumors about Dean
have become an urban legend attached to his legacy.
James Dean was the epitome of the moody, tortured artist.
"You're tearing me apart!"
As reported on RealUnexplainedMysteries.com, Dean became known as the "Little Bastard"
on-set due to his rebellious nature, sudden mood swings, and disruptive behavior. According
to Dean's friends Lew Bracker and Phil Stern, Jack Warner of Warner Bros. gave Dean the
nickname for refusing to come out of his trailer while filming East of Eden.
At the time, Dean was also developing a taste for speedy sports cars with hot rod engines.
Warner had forbidden him from racing during filming; in retaliation, when Dean bought
his infamous Porsche Spyder 550, he had "Little Bastard" painted on the vehicle.
Giant began filming in May of 1955, after James Dean had already had starring roles
in three television shows and another movie, Rebel Without A Cause. The actor was buying
more and more cars and even began racing professionally.
According to biographer Don Graham, as Giant started filming, director George Stevens made
sure Dean's contract prohibited racing. But that didn't stop Dean from purchasing the
Porsche Spyder 550 on September 21. Stevens warned Dean that he was going to kill somebody
with that car. George Perry, author of James Dean, wrote that Stevens told Dean:
"You can never drive this car on the lot again. You're gonna kill a carpenter or an actor
or somebody."
On September 30, Dean set out in his Spyder for a race in Salinas, California. With him
was mechanic Rolf Wütherich. Dean received a speeding ticket; then, about two hours later,
Dean saw another car making a left turn onto the road.
According to Wütherich, Dean told him, quote, "That guy's gotta stop."
Instead, the two vehicles crashed head on. Wütherich was thrown from the car and survived
while the other driver, Donald Turnupseed, escaped with minor injuries. Dean was trapped
in the car as it spun in the air before hitting the ground. He was pronounced dead upon arrival
at Paso Robles War Memorial Hospital, and is buried in his home state of Indiana.
Dean's Spyder was briefly put on display before generating stories about a curse, which resulted
in injuries and deaths of the owners. The car itself was in transit when it mysteriously
disappeared in 1960 but a Fox Sports report in 2015 identified a man, Shawn Reilly, who
believed his father and others, including Batmobile creator George Barris, hid the car
in Washington state. Though Barris later claimed he did indeed own the vehicle, its whereabouts
have remained unknown.
Dean received best actor Oscar nominations in 1955 and 1956 for his roles in East of
Eden and Giant. And, posthumously, a whopping 23 books and 14 movies have come out about
the actor, according to Internet Movie Database and that doesn't count the times the icon
has been portrayed in other films.
In 1996 he was remembered on a U.S. postage stamp. And his hometown of Marion, Indiana,
celebrates his life each September with a festival, including a Dean look-alike contest,
and of course a showing of Dean's movies. Chris Epting, author of The Birthplace Book:
A Guide to Birth Sites of Famous People, Places & Things, writes that visitors can check out
the Fairmount Historical Museum, which displays the pants Dean wore in Giant, as well as the
speeding ticket he received the day he died.
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