James Dean was raised on a farm by his aunt and uncle in Fairmount, Indiana. He received rave reviews for his work as the blackmailing Arab boy in the New York production of Gide's "The Immoralist", good enough to earn him a trip to Hollywood. His early film efforts were strictly bit parts: a sailor in the Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis overly frantic musical comedy Sailor Beware; a GI in Samuel Fuller's moody study of a platoon in the Korean War, Fixed Bayonets! and a youth in the Piper Laurie-Rock Hudson comedy Has Anybody Seen My Gal?. He had major roles in only three movies. In the Elia Kazan production of John Steinbeck's East of Eden he played Caleb, the "bad" brother who couldn't force affection from his stiff-necked father. His true starring role, the one which fixed his image forever in American culture, was that of the brooding red-jacketed teenager Jim Stark in Nicholas Ray's Rebel Without a Cause. George Stevens' filming of Edna Ferber's Giant, in which he played the non-conforming cowhand Jett Rink, was just coming to a close when Dean, driving his Porsche Spyder, collided with another car in Cholame, California. He had received a speeding ticket just two hours before. His very brief career, violent death and highly publicized funeral transformed him into a cult object of apparently timeless fascination.
Giant (1956): $21,000

. Chosen by Empire magazine as one of the 100 Sexiest Stars in film history (#42). [1995] . Ranked #33 in Empire (UK) magazine's "The Top 100 Movie Stars of All Time" list. [October 1997] The famous Failure Analysis Associates, from Menlo Park, California, re-constructed and re-created all details of the accident at the same approximate time on September 30th and have concluded that James Dean was travelling 55 to 56 m.p.h. when the fateful accident occurred, thereby proving he had not been speeding, as rumor had it. Most of his so-called affairs with various starlets were made up by the Warner Brothers PR. He did have love affairs with Pier Angeli and Liz Sheridan. He also worked as a "stunt tester" on the game show Beat the Clock, testing the safety of the stunts that some of the studio audience members would later perform. Interred at Park Cemetery, Fairmount, Indiana, USA. One of only six actors to receive an Academy Award nomination for Best Actor for his first screen appearance. The other five are: Alan Arkin; Lawrence Tibbett; Orson Welles; Paul Muni and Montgomery Clift. Reportedly, Dean was very much in love with Pier Angeli and they planned to marry, but her mother blocked the union because Dean wasn't Catholic and she helped arrange Pier's marriage to Vic Damone. Before she committed suicide, Pier wrote that Dean was the only man she had ever really loved. Briefly studied dance with Katherine Dunham. Won the Bloom Award as "Best Newcomer" for early Broadway work in "The Immoralist". He was issued a speeding ticket only two hours and fifteen minutes before his fatal accident. The Eagles penned a lyric about him that went: "Too fast to live, too young to die." Was the first actor to receive an Academy Award nomination posthumously, for his role in East of Eden. However, he did not win. Fraternal grandson of Charles Dean and Emma Dean. Nephew of Ortense Winslow (sister of his father) and Marcus Winslow. Cousin of Marcus Winslow Jr. Immortalized in 1974 by the song "Rock On" sung by David Essex. Only actor in history to receive more than one Oscar nomination posthumously. Pictured on a 32¢ US commemorative postage stamp in the Legends of Hollywood series, issued 24 June 1996. Pledged Sigma Nu fraternity but dropped out of college before being initiated. Ironically, he filmed a highway safety commercial with actor Gig Young on the set of Giant in July 1955. Dean told Young, "I used to fly around quite a bit, took a lot of unnecessary chances on the highway....Now when I drive on the highway, I'm extra cautious." Donald Turnupseed, the driver of the other car involved in Dean's accident, died of cancer in 1995. Turnupseed couldn't swerve out of the way of Dean's Porsche Spyder, but he successfully swerved journalists who frequently pestered him for interviews about the accident. He is one of several famous and tragic figures from history to be featured on the front and back sleeves of rock band Marillion's "Clutching at Straws" album, released in 1987. East of Eden was the only one of the three movies in which he had major roles to be released while he was alive. One of only four male actors to be posthumously nominated for an Oscar as best actor in a leading role. The others were Spencer Tracy, Peter Finch and Massimo Troisi. Contrary to popular belief, Dean's middle name was not taken from Lord Byron, but from a relative, "Byron" Dean. During the filming of Giant, he and Rock Hudson did not get along. This tension heightened their on-screen clashes. However, according to Hudson's ex-wife Phyllis Gates, he cried after hearing the news of Dean's death. Gates wrote, "Rock couldn't be reached. He was overcome by guilt and shame, almost as though he himself had killed James Dean." At the time of his death, Dean did not leave behind a will, so most of his possessions went to his father, Winton Dean, whose relationship with him was distant at best. Was engaged to Liz Sheridan, who wrote a book about their love called "Dizzy and Jimmy". Dean's acting breakthrough came on Broadway in the drama "See the Jaguar", despite its run of less than a week (only 4 days). Along with Martin Sheen and Steve McQueen, is mentioned in R.E.M.'s song "Electrolite". Referenced by name in the John Mellencamp song "Jack and Diane". He was voted the 22nd Greatest Movie Star of all time by Entertainment Weekly. Was a graduate from Santa Monica College, a California junior college that boasts its elite drama program. Went on to UCLA but left after appearing in one stage production, as Malcolm in "Macbeth", as he was anxious to get his acting career started. According to "The Mutant King", David Dalton's 1974 biography of James Dean, the rumor that Dean was a masochist who liked to have cigarettes stubbed out on his naked body can be traced to a pencil sketch of his called "The Human Ash Tray". The sketch featured a human body, in the guise of an ash tray, with many cigarette stubs in it. Dalton speculates that the sketch has nothing to do with Dean's sexual proclivities but much to do with the fact that he was a heavy smoker. 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. Dated Ursula Andress when she was a starlet in Hollywood in the mid-1950s, as did his idol, Marlon Brando. Elia Kazan, in his 1988 autobiography "A Life", says that during the production of East of Eden, he had to have Dean move into a bungalow near his on the Warner Bros. lot to keep an eye on him, so wild was his nightlife. 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. His favorite book was "The Little Prince" by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry. He was voted the 30th Greatest Movie Star of all time by Premiere Magazine. Was named #18 greatest actor on The 50 Greatest Screen Legends list by the American Film Institute. Loved playing practical jokes on friends and reading. Is portrayed by James Franco in James Dean; by Nick Carpenter in The Mystery of Natalie Wood; by Stephen McHattie in James Dean and by Casper Van Dien in James Dean: Race with Destiny. Hilary Duff's 2005 "Most Wanted" album includes the song "Mr. James Dean", which is all about him. Is one of the many movie stars mentioned in Madonna's song "Vogue" Had a fondness for auto racing and had purchased the 1955 Porsche Spyder sports car, one of only 90 made of that year model, planning to participate in the upcoming races in Salinas, CA on Oct 1, 1955. He was descended largely from early British settlers to America. One of the many personalities mentioned in Billy Joel's song "We didn't start the fire" (1989). Received posthumous Oscar nominations for his his first and last ever screen performances: East of Eden and Giant. Aping 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, 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. Lost his two front teeth in a motorcycle accident in his youth. President Ronald Reagan referred to Dean as "America's Rebel". Cousin of country singer/entrepreneur Jimmy Dean. His favorite drink was coffee and his favorite ice cream flavors were coffee and raspberry. His tastes in music were eclectic. He liked African Tribal music and Afro-Cuban music, as well as classical ('Bela Bartok' , Igor Stravinsky); jazz/blues (Billie Holiday) and pop (Judy Garland and Frank Sinatra). His favorite song was Billie Holiday's "When Your Lover Has Gone" and his favorite album was Sinatra's "Songs for Young Lovers". His first professional acting gig was in a Coca-Cola commercial, handing out bottles of Coke to teenagers who were riding a merry-go-round. His final screen test for East of Eden 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. At the time of his death, Dean was signed to appear in Somebody Up There Likes Me at M.G.M. and The Left Handed Gun at Warner Bros. Both parts subsequently were taken by 'Paul Newman' (I) 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). Signed a 9-picture, $1 million deal with Warner Bros before his death. He did not live long enough to honor it. 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. 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 life-style (motorcyle, bongo drums) and acting techniques, did not return his calls. The two met at least three times: on the set of East of Eden; on the set of Desirée and at a party, where Brando took Dean aside and told him he had emotional problems that required psychiatric attention. While a struggling actor in the 1950s, he once lived at 19 West 68th Street, off Manhattan's Central Park West. Was good friends with Martin Landau. His performance as Jim Stark in Rebel Without a Cause is ranked #43 on Premiere Magazine's 100 Greatest Performances of All Time (2006). Just before his death, his agent, Jane Deacy, negotiated a 9-picture deal over 6 years with Warner Bros. 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, a biopic of boxer Rocky Graziano, in which he was replaced by Paul Newman. Newman also replaced him in the role of Billy The Kid in The Left Handed Gun. Two other roles with which he was being linked were the leads in Gun for a Coward and Cat on a Hot Tin Roof. Was Oscar nominated in 2-thirds of his films, a record which will probably never be bettered. He was given a Siamese cat as gift by Elizabeth Taylor. Was terribly near-sighted and wore thick glasses when not on screen. Referenced by name in the Skid Row song, "Forever" ("wild cigarettes like James Dean").