The International Movie Database (IMDb) remains the best single source for information about filmmaking and those who create them. I urge you to check it out. For example, here is a portion of the information IMDb provides about James Dean (1931-1955).
He was born in Marion, Indiana, to Mildred Marie (Wilson) and Winton A. Dean, a farmer turned dental technician. His mother died when Dean was nine, and he was subsequently raised on a farm by his aunt and uncle in Fairmount, Indiana.
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o The famous Failure Analysis Associates, from Menlo Park, California, reconstructed and recreated all details of the accident at the same approximate time on September 30 and have concluded that James Dean was travelling 55 to 56 mph when the fateful accident occurred, thereby proving he had not been speeding, as rumor had it.
o He was issued a speeding ticket only two hours and fifteen minutes before his fatal accident.
o He was the first actor to receive an Academy Award nomination posthumously, for his role in East of Eden (1955). However, he did not win.
o He is the only actor in history to receive more than one Oscar nomination posthumously.
As promotion for Rebel Without a Cause (1955), Dean filmed an interview with actor Gig Young for the “Behind the Camera” segment of the ABC series “Warner Bros. Presents” in July 1955. Dean told Young, “I used to fly around quite a bit, you know, I took a lot of unnecessary chances on the highway…. Now when I drive on the highway, I’m extra cautious.” When asked if he had advice for young drivers, Dean concluded the interview, “Take it easy driving. The life you might save might be mine.” Dean died soon afterward and the interview was never aired.
o East of Eden (1955) was the only one of the three movies in which he had major roles to be released while he was alive.
o During the filming of Giant (1956), he and Rock Hudson did not get along. This tension heightened their onscreen clashes. However, according to Hudson’s ex-wife Phyllis Gates, he cried after hearing the news of Dean’s untimely death. Gates wrote, “Rock couldn’t be reached. He was overcome by guilt and shame, almost as though he himself had killed James Dean.”.
o Dean’s acting breakthrough came on Broadway in the drama “See the Jaguar”, despite its run of only four days.
o Marlon Brando, in his 1994 autobiography “Songs My Mother Taught Me”, says that Dean, who idolized him, based his acting on him and his lifestyle on what he thought Brando’s lifestyle was.
o Elia Kazan, in his 1988 autobiography “A Life”, says that during the production of East of Eden (1955), he had to have Dean move into a bungalow near his on the Warner Brothers lot to keep an eye on him, so wild was his nightlife.
o Director Elia Kazan did not believe that Dean would have been able to sustain the momentum of his career. He felt that Dean’s career, had he lived, would have sputtered out, as he was not well-trained and relied too much on his instincts, as opposed to his idol Marlon Brando, who, contrary to what people believed, had been very well-trained by his acting teacher Stella Adler and relied on that training to create his characters.
o He received posthumous Oscar nominations for his his first and last ever screen performances: East of Eden (1955) and Giant (1956).
o Imitating Marlon Brando, he also bought a Triumph motorcycle. Instead of Brando’s 650cc 6T Thunderbird model, which he used in the film The Wild One (1953), he bought the smaller 500cc TR5 Trophy model. This Triumph featured in a famous series of photographs by Phil Stern, the motorcycle itself being recovered, restored and currently displayed at the “James Dean Museum” in Fairmount, Indiana.
o His final screen test for East of Eden (1955) was shot with Paul Newman, who also was in the final running for one of the roles. Originally, director Elia Kazan had considered casting Marlon Brando and Montgomery Clift in the roles of the two brothers, but they were too old to play teenagers as they were both in the their 30s in 1954. Newman’s age, 29, also put him at a disadvantage. Dean, 23 years old and Richard Davalos, aged 19, were cast as the fraternal twins.
o At the time of his untimely death, Dean was signed to appear in Somebody Up There Likes Me (1956) at MGM and The Left Handed Gun (1958) at Warner Brothers. Both roles subsequently were taken by Paul Newman and helped make him a star. Newman’s career may very well have been retarded if Dean had lived as, while still alive, they competed for the same roles (East of Eden (1955)).
o Like his hero Marlon Brando (Dean had been separated from his own father as a child and was distant from him. Brando apparently served as a role model for Dean) Dean wanted to write. He told gossip columnist Hedda Hopper that writing was his supreme ambition.
o According to Marlon Brando, Dean would often call him, leaving messages with Brando’s answering service. Brando would sometimes listen, silently, as Dean instructed the service to have Brando call back. Brando, disturbed that Dean was copying his lifestyle (motorcycle, bongo drums) and acting techniques, did not return his calls. The two met at least three times: on the set of East of Eden (1955); on the set of Désirée (1954) and at a party, where Brando took Dean aside and told him he had emotional problems that required psychiatric attention.
o Just before his untimely death, his agent, Jane Deacy, negotiated a 9-picture deal over six years with Warner Brothers worth $900,000. Dean’s next project was to be a television version for NBC of Emlyn Williams‘ play “The Corn is Green”, in which he was to star with Judith Anderson. His next film was to be Somebody Up There Likes Me (1956), a biopic of boxer Rocky Graziano, for which Warners were loaning him to MGM and in which he was replaced by Paul Newman. Newman also replaced him in the role of Billy the Kid in The Left Handed Gun (1958).
o Three other roles with which he was being linked were the leads in Gun for a Coward (1956), The Sea Wall (1957) and Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (1958).
o He was Oscar-nominated in two-thirds of his films, a record which will probably never be bettered.
He was known to have loved animals as he spoke fondly of being raised around cows, pigs and chickens when he was young. He also was given a Siamese kitten named Marcus as gift by Elizabeth Taylor.
o Much like Dean himself was with Marlon Brando, Elvis Presley emulated and idolized Dean. He would talk to friends for hours about his reverence for Dean, and got into acting as a way of following in Dean’s footsteps. He confessed to his friends and close ones that Dean had the acting career he always wanted.
o He met Alec Guinness in Hollywood while the actor was filming The Swan (1956). Guinness later recalled that when Dean showed him his newly-bought Porsche, he advised him to “Get rid of that car, or you’ll be dead in a week!” Unfortunately, Guinness’ advice turned out right.
o He suffered from very erratic mood swings and it is believed that he may have had undiagnosed Bipolar Disorder.
o Dean said on numerous occasions that he did not expect to live past age 30. He was 24 at the time of his death.
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To learn more about James Dean‘s brief life and brilliant work, please click here.
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