A global known Actor James Byron Dean born on Sunday, February 08, 1931 in an extraordinary town of Marion, Indiana, USA. He’s the professional Hollywood Actor who born in Marion. He earned cash by signing these movies contracts: Rebel With out a Trigger, East of Eden, Trouble On the way, Provides Anybody Seen My Gal? We also added few advertisements revenue which include Giant, East of Eden
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| 1 |
Jack Warner forbade James Dean to ride his Triumph 500cc TR5 motorcycle and his Porsch Spyder while under contract at Warner Brothers Studio. Jack Warner's concession to Dean was that Warner allowed Dean to race the Porsch Spyder on professional auto racing track meets. The Warner contract and Jack Warner-James Dean agreement, nevertheless, did not prevent Dean from driving the Triumph motorcycle and his "Little Bastard" Spyder in Hollywood and the San Fernando Valley. That Friday morning on October 30th, the Porsch was to be mounted on a tow vehicle's car trailer transporting Dean's car and Dean and his pit crew team to the Salinas racing track. Dean had already decided to drive the Porsch himself, and the pit team crew were to follow him with the car trailer in tow. Vern Lanegrasse was one of the few Hollywoodites recognizing James Dean driving, with his mechanic Rolf Weütherich sitting in the passenger seat, as Dean stopped in traffic at the Hollywood intersection of Fountain and Vine streets at 9:45 a.m. heading North. |
| 2 |
Madonna's song "Jimmy Jimmy" from her True Blue album, was written in his honor. |
| 3 |
His fragrance of choice was Knize Ten. |
| 4 |
Mentioned in Adam Lambert's song Ghost Town "I tried to believe in God and James Dean but Hollywood sold out". |
| 5 |
Mentioned in Taylor Swift's song, "Style" "You've got that James Dean daydream look in your eye.". |
| 6 |
Lana Del Rey has a song titled "Blue Jeans" where she mentions a man reminding her of James. Saying, "Blue jeans, white shirt. Walked into the room you know you made my eyes burn. It was like, James Dean, for sure.". |
| 7 |
Senses Fail mentions him in a song titled "Choke on this". The lyrics go "you can be my James Dean, I'll be your sweet queen.". |
| 8 |
Leonardo DiCaprio is said to have admired James Dean and mentioned that watching Dean's performance in East of Eden (1955) was one of the factors that influenced him to become an actor. |
| 9 |
The character of Fry on Futurama is based on his look in Rebel Without A Cause. |
| 10 |
Is mentioned in Beyoncé's song "Rather Die Young". |
| 11 |
James Dean's grave is located at Park Cemetery in Fairmount, Indiana, which is nearly 2,300 miles from where he perished in his fatal car crash on the intersection leading to Cholame, California. |
| 12 |
Had an interest in bullfighting. |
| 13 |
Before his acting career took off, Dean would often sleep in his car if he couldn't afford rent. |
| 14 |
He said on numerous occasions that he did not expect to live past the age of 30. |
| 15 |
Was a skilled painter and excelled in art class. |
| 16 |
His three well-known film characters in Rebel Without a Cause (1955), East of Eden (1955) and Giant (1956) share some odd similarities. The full name of all of his three roles are formed by eight letters (Jim Stark, Cal Trask and Jett Rink); all of them are finished with a 'K'; and two of them have a surname with the exact same letters (Stark and Trask). |
| 17 |
On the night Dean was killed, four of his co-stars: Sal Mineo, Natalie Wood, Nick Adams, and Dick Davalos, were all having dinner together in New York. The conversation turned to Dean, his new Porsche, and speculation that his speeding would cause him to have an accident during the coming year. |
| 18 |
Actor James Whitmore, whose class Dean was attending recommended to the actor that he apply to th Actor's Studio. Among his friends at the studio were Roddy McDowall, Vivian Nathan, and David Stewart. |
| 19 |
At the time of his death, Dean was set to star in Somebody Up There Likes Me (1956) at MGM, a loan-out from his home studio Warner Bros. in exchange for Elizabeth Taylor's services in Dean's last film Giant (1956). |
| 20 |
His headstone was stolen twice but recovered. |
| 21 |
In 1952 when Dean and two friends hitchhiked to Indiana, Clyde McCullough, catcher for the Major League Pittsburgh Pirates gave them a ride from the end of the Pennsylvania Turnpike to Des Moines, where he was scheduled to play and exhibition game. |
| 22 |
One version of how Dean acquired the nickname Little Bastard was that Warner Bros. stunt driver Bill Hickman , who was known as 'Big Bastard', bestowed it on him. But another more vouched for version is that studio boss Jack Warner once referred to Dean as a 'little bastard' after the young star had refused to give up his trailer parked on the temporary spot assigned it during production of East of Eden (1955). |
| 23 |
He did a promo for Highway Safety on TVs "Warner Bros Presents"(1955), just prior to his death. His last line, "The life you save could be mine". |
| 24 |
Madonna's song "Jimmy Jimmy" from her True Blue album was written in his honor. |
| 25 |
He suffered from very erratic mood swings and it is believed that he may have had undiagnosed Bipolar Disorder. |
| 26 |
Was a mediocre student in high school although he was a very popular athlete. |
| 27 |
He had originally majored in pre-Law but switched to Drama, which angered his father. |
| 28 |
Lived in Los Angeles from the ages of 6 to 9 before his mother's death. |
| 29 |
Was very close friends with Elizabeth Taylor. |
| 30 |
Former lover William Bast wrote a book about their relationship titled "Surviving James Dean". |
| 31 |
Mentioned in the song "Walk on the Wild Side" by Lou Reed. |
| 32 |
According to Elizabeth Taylor, Dean was molested consistently by a trusted clergy member at the age of 11 years and in a state of having been bereft of his mother. |
| 33 |
According to Dennis Hopper, he once threatened to kill a director with a switchblade. |
| 34 |
Is referenced in the Lady Gaga song Speechless, "I can't believe how you looked at me with your James Dean glossy eyes". |
| 35 |
One of only six actors to receive an Academy Award nomination for Best Actor for his first screen appearance. The other five actors are: Orson Welles, Lawrence Tibbett, Alan Arkin, Paul Muni and Montgomery Clift. |
| 36 |
Mentor and friend of Dennis Hopper. |
| 37 |
'Rolf Weütherich', the German auto mechanic who was riding with Dean in the passenger seat during his fatal auto crash, was thrown from the car by the impact and received multiple injuries. After Dean's death, he fell into a depression from the trauma of the incident and made several suicide attempts. He died in Germany in 1981 in an auto accident similar to the one that James Dean died in. |
| 38 |
At the time of his death, he was signed to play in "The Battler" on the Playwrights '56 (1955) television series. The role went instead to Paul Newman. |
| 39 |
While filming The Swan (1956) in Hollywood, Alec Guinness he met James Dean, just days before the young actor's death. Sir Alec later recalled predicting that Dean would die in a car crash: when Dean showed Guinness his newly-bought Porsche, Guinness advised him to "Get rid of that car, or you'll be dead in a week!" Guinness unfortunately proved right. |
| 40 |
His father inherited his estate, which was valued at the time of his death at $96,438.44 after taxes. The bulk of the estate came from his life insurance policy as well as $6,750 in insurance claims from his Porsche Spyder. His checking account had a balance of $3,256.48. |
| 41 |
Much like Dean himself was with Marlon Brando, Elvis Presley emulated and idolized James 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. |
| 42 |
His closest and most intimate friend for the last five years of his life was William Bast. |
| 43 |
Was originally considered for the leading role in Oklahoma! (1955). |
| 44 |
Mentioned in Don McLean's hit song "American Pie". |
| 45 |
Was biggest idol of Elvis Presley. |
| 46 |
Referenced by name in the Skid Row song, "Forever" ("wild cigarettes like James Dean"). |
| 47 |
Was terribly near-sighted and wore thick glasses when not on screen. |
| 48 |
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. |
| 49 |
Was Oscar nominated in two-thirds of his films, a record which will probably never be bettered. |
| 50 |
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 (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). Three other roles with which he was being linked were the leads in Gun for a Coward (1957), The Sea Wall (1957) and Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (1958). |
| 51 |
His performance as Jim Stark in Rebel Without a Cause (1955) is ranked #43 on Premiere Magazine's 100 Greatest Performances of All Time (2006). |
| 52 |
Was good friends with Martin Landau. |
| 53 |
While a struggling actor in the 1950s, he once lived at 19 West 68th Street, off Manhattan's Central Park West. |
| 54 |
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 (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. |
| 55 |
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. |
| 56 |
Signed a nine-picture, $1-million deal with Warner Bros. before his death. He did not live long enough to honor it. |
| 57 |
At the time of his death, Dean was signed to appear in Somebody Up There Likes Me (1956) at MGM and The Left Handed Gun (1958) at Warner Bros. Both parts 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)). |
| 58 |
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. |
| 59 |
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. |
| 60 |
His tastes in music were eclectic. He liked African Tribal music and Afro-Cuban music, as well as classical (Béla Bartók, 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". |
| 61 |
President Ronald Reagan referred to Dean as "America's Rebel". |
| 62 |
Lost his two front teeth in a motorcycle accident in his youth. |
| 63 |
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 (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. |
| 64 |
Received posthumous Oscar nominations for his his first and last ever screen performances: East of Eden (1955) and Giant (1956). |
| 65 |
One of the many personalities mentioned in Billy Joel's song "We Didn't Start the Fire" (1989). |
| 66 |
He was descended largely from early British settlers to America. |
| 67 |
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. |
| 68 |
Is one of the many movie stars mentioned in Madonna's song "Vogue" |
| 69 |
Hilary Duff's 2005 "Most Wanted" album includes the song "Mr. James Dean", which is all about him. |
| 70 |
Loved playing practical jokes on friends and reading. |
| 71 |
Was named #18 greatest actor on The 50 Greatest Screen Legends list by the American Film Institute. |
| 72 |
He was voted the 30th Greatest Movie Star of all time by Premiere Magazine. |
| 73 |
His favorite book was "The Little Prince" by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry. James Franco - who played Dean in the biopic James Dean (2001), voiced The Fox in the animated film adaptation of the book, Mazasis princas (2015). |
| 74 |
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. |
| 75 |
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 Bros. lot to keep an eye on him, so wild was his nightlife. |
| 76 |
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. |
| 77 |
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. |
| 78 |
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. |
| 79 |
He was voted the 22nd Greatest Movie Star of all time by Entertainment Weekly. |
| 80 |
Referenced by name in the John Mellencamp song "Jack and Diane". |
| 81 |
Along with Martin Sheen and Steve McQueen, is mentioned in R.E.M.'s song "Electrolite". |
| 82 |
Dean's acting breakthrough came on Broadway in the drama "See the Jaguar", despite its run of only 4 days. |
| 83 |
In her book "Dizzy and Jimmy", Liz Sheridan claims she and Dean were engaged. |
| 84 |
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. |
| 85 |
During the filming of Giant (1956), 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." |
| 86 |
Contrary to popular belief, Dean's middle name was not taken from Lord Byron, but from a relative, "Byron" Dean. |
| 87 |
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. |
| 88 |
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. |
| 89 |
He is one of several famous and tragic figures from history to be featured on the sleeve artwork of rock band Marillion's "Clutching at Straws" album, released in 1987. |
| 90 |
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. |
| 91 |
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. |
| 92 |
Pledged Sigma Nu fraternity but dropped out of college before being initiated. |
| 93 |
Pictured on a 32¢ US commemorative postage stamp in the Legends of Hollywood series, originally issued on Monday, June 24th, 1996. |
| 94 |
Only actor in history to receive more than one Oscar nomination posthumously. |
| 95 |
Immortalized in 1974 by the song "Rock On" sung by David Essex. |
| 96 |
Cousin of Marcus Winslow Jr. |
| 97 |
Nephew of Ortense Winslow (sister of his father) and Marcus Winslow. |
| 98 |
Grandson of Charles Dean and Emma Dean. |
| 99 |
Was the first actor to receive an Academy Award nomination posthumously, for his role in East of Eden (1955). However, he did not win. |
| 100 |
Eagles penned a lyric about him that went: "Too fast to live, too young to die." |
| 101 |
He was issued a speeding ticket only two hours and fifteen minutes before his fatal accident. |
| 102 |
Won the Bloom Award as "Best Newcomer" for early Broadway work in "The Immoralist". |
| 103 |
Briefly studied dance with Katherine Dunham. |
| 104 |
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. |
| 105 |
Interred at Park Cemetery, Fairmount, Indiana, USA. |
| 106 |
He also worked as a "stunt tester" on the game show Beat the Clock (1950), testing the safety of the stunts that some of the studio audience members would later perform. However he proved so agile at completing the stunts that his results couldn't be used to set time limits for contestants to complete them. So he was reluctantly let go. |
| 107 |
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. |
| 108 |
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. |
| 109 |
Ranked #33 in Empire (UK) magazine's "The Top 100 Movie Stars of All Time" list. [October 1997] |
| 110 |
Chosen by Empire magazine as one of the 100 Sexiest Stars in film history (#42). |
| 111 |
Mentioned in Adam Lambert's song Ghost Town "I tried to believe in God and James Dean but Hollywood sold out". |
| 112 |
Mentioned in Taylor Swift's song, "Style" "You've got that James Dean daydream look in your eye.". |
| 113 |
Lana Del Rey has a song titled "Blue Jeans" where she mentions a man reminding her of James. Saying, "Blue jeans, white shirt. Walked into the room you know you made my eyes burn. It was like, James Dean, for sure.". |
| 114 |
Senses Fail mentions him in a song titled "Choke on this" the lyrics go "you can be my James Dean. Ill be your sweet queen.". |
| 115 |
Leonardo DiCaprio is said to have admired James Dean and mentioned that watching Dean's performance in East of Eden (1955) was one of the factors that influenced him to become an actor. |
| 116 |
The character of Fry on Futurama is based on his look in Rebel Without A Cause. |
| 117 |
Is mentioned in Beyoncé's song "Rather Die Young". |
| 118 |
James Dean's grave is located at Park Cemetery in Fairmount, Indiana, which is nearly 2,300 miles from where he perished in his fatal car crash on the intersection leading to Cholame, California. |
| 119 |
Had an interest in bullfighting. |
| 120 |
Before his acting career took off, Dean would often sleep in his car if he couldn't afford rent. |
| 121 |
Ironically, he said on numerous occasions that he did not expect to live past the age of 30. |
| 122 |
Was a skilled painter and excelled in art class. |
| 123 |
His three well-known film characters in Rebel Without a Cause (1955), East of Eden (1955) and Giant (1956) share some odd similarities. The full name of all of his three roles are formed by eight letters (Jim Stark, Cal Trask and Jett Rink); all of them are finished with a 'K'; and two of them have a surname with the exact same letters (Stark and Trask). |
| 124 |
Ironically on the night Dean was killed, four of his co-stars: Sal Mineo, Natalie Wood, Nick Adams, and Dick Davalos, were all having dinner together in New York. The conversation turned to Dean, his new Porsche, and speculation that his speeding would cause him to have an accident during the coming year. |
| 125 |
Actor James Whitmore, whose class Dean was attending recommended to the actor that he apply to th Actor's Studio. Among his friends at the studio were Roddy McDowall, Vivian Nathan, and David Stewart. |
| 126 |
At the time of his death, Dean was set to star in Somebody Up There Likes Me (1956) at MGM, a loan-out from his home studio Warner Bros. ironically in exchange for Elizabeth Taylor's services in Dean's last film Giant (1956). |
| 127 |
His headstone was stolen twice but recovered. |
| 128 |
In 1952 when Dean and two friends hitchhiked to Indiana, Clyde McCullough, catcher for the Major League Pittsburgh Pirates gave them a ride from the end of the Pennsylvania Turnpike to Des Moines, where he was scheduled to play and exhibition game. |
| 129 |
One version of how Dean acquired the nickname Little Bastard was that Warner Bros. stunt driver Bill Hickman , who was known as 'Big Bastard', bestowed it on him. But another more vouched for version is that studio boss Jack Warner once referred to Dean as a 'little bastard' after the young star had refused to give up his trailer parked on the temporary spot assigned it during production of East of Eden (1955). |
| 130 |
He did a promo for Highway Safety on TVs "Warner Bros Presents"(1955), just prior to his death. His last line, "The life you save could be mine". |
| 131 |
Madonna's song "Jimmy Jimmy" from her True Blue album was written in his honor. |
| 132 |
He suffered from very erratic mood swings and it is believed that he may have had undiagnosed Bipolar Disorder. |
| 133 |
Was a mediocre student in high school although he was a very popular athlete. |
| 134 |
He had originally majored in pre-Law but switched to Drama, which angered his father. |
| 135 |
Lived in Los Angeles from the ages of 6 to 9 before his mother's death. |
| 136 |
Was very close friends with Elizabeth Taylor. |
| 137 |
Former lover William Bast wrote a book about their relationship titled "Surviving James Dean". |
| 138 |
Mentioned in the song "Walk on the Wild Side" by Lou Reed. |
| 139 |
According to Elizabeth Taylor, Dean was molested consistently by a trusted clergy member at the age of 11 years and in a state of having been bereft of his mother. |
| 140 |
According to Dennis Hopper, he once threatened to kill a director with a switchblade. |
| 141 |
Is referenced in the Lady Gaga song Speechless, "I can't believe how you looked at me with your James Dean glossy eyes". |
| 142 |
One of only six actors to receive an Academy Award nomination for Best Actor for his first screen appearance. The other five actors are: Orson Welles, Lawrence Tibbett, Alan Arkin, Paul Muni and Montgomery Clift. |
| 143 |
Mentor and friend of Dennis Hopper. |
| 144 |
'Rolf Weütherich', the German auto mechanic who was riding with Dean in the passenger seat during his fatal auto crash, was thrown from the car by the impact and received multiple injuries. After Dean's death, he fell into a depression from the trauma of the incident and made several suicide attempts. He died in Germany in 1981 in an auto accident similar to the one that James Dean died in. |
| 145 |
At the time of his death, he was signed to play in "The Battler" on the Playwrights '56 (1955) television series. The role went instead to Paul Newman. |
| 146 |
While filming The Swan (1956) in Hollywood, Alec Guinness he met James Dean, just days before the young actor's death. Sir Alec later recalled predicting that Dean would die in a car crash: when Dean showed Guinness his newly-bought Porsche, Guinness advised him to "Get rid of that car, or you'll be dead in a week!" Guinness unfortunately proved right. |
| 147 |
His father inherited his estate, which was valued at the time of his death at $96,438.44 after taxes. The bulk of the estate came from his life insurance policy as well as $6,750 in insurance claims from his Porsche Spyder. His checking account had a balance of $3,256.48. |
| 148 |
Much like Dean himself was with Marlon Brando, Elvis Presley emulated and idolized James 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. |
| 149 |
His closest and most intimate friend for the last five years of his life was William Bast. |
| 150 |
Was originally considered for the leading role in Oklahoma! (1955). |
| 151 |
Mentioned in Don McLean's hit song "American Pie". |
| 152 |
Was biggest idol of Elvis Presley. |
| 153 |
Referenced by name in the Skid Row song, "Forever" ("wild cigarettes like James Dean"). |
| 154 |
Was terribly near-sighted and wore thick glasses when not on screen. |
| 155 |
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. |
| 156 |
Was Oscar nominated in two-thirds of his films, a record which will probably never be bettered. |
| 157 |
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 (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). Three other roles with which he was being linked were the leads in Gun for a Coward (1957), This Angry Age (1957) and Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (1958). |
| 158 |
His performance as Jim Stark in Rebel Without a Cause (1955) is ranked #43 on Premiere Magazine's 100 Greatest Performances of All Time (2006). |
| 159 |
Was good friends with Martin Landau. |
| 160 |
While a struggling actor in the 1950s, he once lived at 19 West 68th Street, off Manhattan's Central Park West. |
| 161 |
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 (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. |
| 162 |
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. |
| 163 |
Signed a nine-picture, $1-million deal with Warner Bros. before his death. He did not live long enough to honor it. |
| 164 |
At the time of his death, Dean was signed to appear in Somebody Up There Likes Me (1956) at MGM and The Left Handed Gun (1958) at Warner Bros. Both parts 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)). |
| 165 |
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. |
| 166 |
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. |
| 167 |
His tastes in music were eclectic. He liked African Tribal music and Afro-Cuban music, as well as classical (Béla Bartók, 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". |
| 168 |
President Ronald Reagan referred to Dean as "America's Rebel". |
| 169 |
Lost his two front teeth in a motorcycle accident in his youth. |
| 170 |
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 (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. |
| 171 |
Received posthumous Oscar nominations for his his first and last ever screen performances: East of Eden (1955) and Giant (1956). |
| 172 |
One of the many personalities mentioned in Billy Joel's song "We Didn't Start the Fire" (1989). |
| 173 |
He was descended largely from early British settlers to America. |
| 174 |
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. |
| 175 |
Is one of the many movie stars mentioned in Madonna's song "Vogue" |
| 176 |
Hilary Duff's 2005 "Most Wanted" album includes the song "Mr. James Dean", which is all about him. |
| 177 |
Loved playing practical jokes on friends and reading. |
| 178 |
Was named #18 greatest actor on The 50 Greatest Screen Legends list by the American Film Institute. |
| 179 |
He was voted the 30th Greatest Movie Star of all time by Premiere Magazine. |
| 180 |
His favorite book was "The Little Prince" by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry. |
| 181 |
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. |
| 182 |
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 Bros. lot to keep an eye on him, so wild was his nightlife. |
| 183 |
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. |
| 184 |
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. |
| 185 |
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. |
| 186 |
He was voted the 22nd Greatest Movie Star of all time by Entertainment Weekly. |
| 187 |
Referenced by name in the John Mellencamp song "Jack and Diane". |
| 188 |
Along with Martin Sheen and Steve McQueen, is mentioned in R.E.M.'s song "Electrolite". |
| 189 |
Dean's acting breakthrough came on Broadway in the drama "See the Jaguar", despite its run of less than a week (only 4 days). |
| 190 |
In her book "Dizzy and Jimmy", Liz Sheridan claims she and Dean were engaged. |
| 191 |
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. |
| 192 |
During the filming of Giant (1956), 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." |
| 193 |
Contrary to popular belief, Dean's middle name was not taken from Lord Byron, but from a relative, "Byron" Dean. |
| 194 |
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. |
| 195 |
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. |
| 196 |
He is one of several famous and tragic figures from history to be featured on the sleeve artwork of rock band Marillion's "Clutching at Straws" album, released in 1987. |
| 197 |
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. |
| 198 |
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. |
| 199 |
Pledged Sigma Nu fraternity but dropped out of college before being initiated. |
| 200 |
Pictured on a 32¢ US commemorative postage stamp in the Legends of Hollywood series, originally issued on Monday, June 24th, 1996. |
| 201 |
Only actor in history to receive more than one Oscar nomination posthumously. |
| 202 |
Immortalized in 1974 by the song "Rock On" sung by David Essex. |
| 203 |
Cousin of Marcus Winslow Jr. |
| 204 |
Nephew of Ortense Winslow (sister of his father) and Marcus Winslow. |
| 205 |
Grandson of Charles Dean and Emma Dean. |
| 206 |
Was the first actor to receive an Academy Award nomination posthumously, for his role in East of Eden (1955). However, he did not win. |
| 207 |
Eagles penned a lyric about him that went: "Too fast to live, too young to die." |
| 208 |
He was issued a speeding ticket only two hours and fifteen minutes before his fatal accident. |
| 209 |
Won the Bloom Award as "Best Newcomer" for early Broadway work in "The Immoralist". |
| 210 |
Briefly studied dance with Katherine Dunham. |
| 211 |
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. |
| 212 |
Interred at Park Cemetery, Fairmount, Indiana, USA. |
| 213 |
He also worked as a "stunt tester" on the game show Beat the Clock (1950), testing the safety of the stunts that some of the studio audience members would later perform. However he proved so agile at completing the stunts that his results couldn't be used to set time limits for contestants to complete them. So he was reluctantly let go. |
| 214 |
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. |
| 215 |
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. |
| 216 |
. Ranked #33 in Empire (UK) magazine's "The Top 100 Movie Stars of All Time" list. [October 1997] |
| 217 |
. Chosen by Empire magazine as one of the 100 Sexiest Stars in film history (#42). |
| # | Quote |
|---|
| 1 |
Being a good actor isn't easy. Being a man is even harder. I want to be both before I'm done. |
| 2 |
[on raising children and teenagers] I think the one thing this picture shows that's new is the psychological disproportion of the kids' demands on the parents. Parents are often at fault, but the kids have some work to do, too. |
| 3 |
You can't show some far off idyllic conception of behavior if you want the kids to come and see the picture. You've got to show what it's really like, and try to reach them on their own grounds. |
| 4 |
There is no way to be truly great in this world. We are all impaled on the crook of conditioning. |
| 5 |
The only greatness for man is immortality. |
| 6 |
[on the risk of racing cars] What better way to die? It's fast and clean and you go out in a blaze of glory! |
| 7 |
[Being asked about his sexual orientation] No, I am not a homosexual. But, I'm also not going to go through life with one hand tied behind my back. |
| 8 |
To me, acting is the most logical way for people's neuroses to manifest themselves. |
| 9 |
The cinema is a very truthful medium because the camera doesn't let you get away with anything. On stage you can even loaf a little, if you're so inclined. |
| 10 |
My purpose in life does not include a hankering to charm society. |
| 11 |
Being an actor is the loneliest thing in the world. You are all alone with your concentration and imagination, and that's all you have. |
| 12 |
I think the prime reason for existence, for living in this world, is discovery. |
| 13 |
I think I am gong to make it because on one hand I am like Clift saying help me and of the other hand I am Brando saying, 'Screw you!', and somewhere in between is 'James Dean'. |
| 14 |
(When speaking to a friend) Death can't be considered, because if you're afraid to die there's no room in your life to make discoveries. |
| 15 |
[on acting] You can do "Hamlet" while performing cartwheels . . . as long as the audience sees your eyes - you can make the performance real. |
| 16 |
If a man can bridge the gap between life and death ... I mean, if he can live on after his death, then maybe he was a great man. |
| 17 |
When an actor plays a scene exactly the way a director orders, it isn't acting. It's following instructions. Anyone with the physical qualifications can do that. So the director's task is just that to direct, to point the way. Then the actor takes over. And he must be allowed the space, the freedom to express himself in the role. Without that space, an actor is no more than an unthinking robot with a chest-full of push-buttons. |
| 18 |
[to Hedda Hopper] Trust and belief are two prime considerations. You must not allow yourself to be opinionated. You must say, "Wait. Let me see". And above all, you must be honest with yourself. |
| 19 |
[when told he was too short to be an actor] How can you measure acting in inches? |
| 20 |
Studying cows, pigs and chickens can help an actor develop his character. There are a lot of things I learned from animals. One was that they couldn't hiss or boo me. I also became close to nature and am now able to appreciate the beauty with which this world is endowed. |
| 21 |
To grasp the full significance of life is the actor's duty; to interpret it his problem and to express it his dedication. Being an actor is the loneliest thing in the world. You are all alone with your concentration and imagination, and that's all you have. Being a good actor isn't easy. Being a man is even harder. I want to be both before I'm done. |
| 22 |
It was an accident, although I've been involved in some kind of theatrical function or other since I was a child: in school, music, athletics. To me, acting is the most logical way for people's neuroses to manifest themselves, in this great need we all have to express ourselves. To my way of thinking, an actor's course is set even before he's out of the cradle. |
| 23 |
An actor must interpret life and, in order to do so, must be willing to accept all the experiences life has to offer. In fact, he must seek out more of life than life puts at his feet. In the short span of his lifetime, an actor must learn all there is to know, experience all there is to experience, or approach that state as closely as possible. He must be superhuman in his efforts to store away in the core of his subconscious everything that he might be called upon to use in the expression of his art. |
| 24 |
Dream as if you'll live forever. Live as if you'll die today. |
| 25 |
Gratification comes in the doing, not in the results. |
| 26 |
Only the gentle are ever really strong. |
| 27 |
Being a good actor isn't easy. Being a man is even harder. I want to be both before I'm done. |
| 28 |
[on raising children and teenagers] I think the one thing this picture shows that's new is the psychological disproportion of the kids' demands on the parents. Parents are often at fault, but the kids have some work to do, too. |
| 29 |
You can't show some far off idyllic conception of behavior if you want the kids to come and see the picture. You've got to show what it's really like, and try to reach them on their own grounds. |
| 30 |
There is no way to be truly great in this world. We are all impaled on the crook of conditioning. |
| 31 |
The only greatness for man is immortality. |
| 32 |
[on the risk of racing cars] What better way to die? It's fast and clean and you go out in a blaze of glory! |
| 33 |
[Being asked about his sexual orientation] No, I am not a homosexual. But, I'm also not going to go through life with one hand tied behind my back. |
| 34 |
To me, acting is the most logical way for people's neuroses to manifest themselves. |
| 35 |
The cinema is a very truthful medium because the camera doesn't let you get away with anything. On stage you can even loaf a little, if you're so inclined. |
| 36 |
My purpose in life does not include a hankering to charm society. |
| 37 |
Being an actor is the loneliest thing in the world. You are all alone with your concentration and imagination, and that's all you have. |
| 38 |
I think the prime reason for existence, for living in this world, is discovery. |
| 39 |
I think I am gong to make it because on one hand I am like Clift saying help me and of the other hand I am Brando saying, 'Screw you!', and somewhere in between is 'James Dean'. |
| 40 |
(When speaking to a friend) Death can't be considered, because if you're afraid to die there's no room in your life to make discoveries. |
| 41 |
[on acting] You can do "Hamlet" while performing cartwheels . . . as long as the audience sees your eyes - you can make the performance real. |
| 42 |
If a man can bridge the gap between life and death ... I mean, if he can live on after his death, then maybe he was a great man. |
| 43 |
When an actor plays a scene exactly the way a director orders, it isn't acting. It's following instructions. Anyone with the physical qualifications can do that. So the director's task is just that to direct, to point the way. Then the actor takes over. And he must be allowed the space, the freedom to express himself in the role. Without that space, an actor is no more than an unthinking robot with a chest-full of push-buttons. |
| 44 |
[to Hedda Hopper] Trust and belief are two prime considerations. You must not allow yourself to be opinionated. You must say, "Wait. Let me see". And above all, you must be honest with yourself. |
| 45 |
[when told he was too short to be an actor] How can you measure acting in inches? |
| 46 |
Studying cows, pigs and chickens can help an actor develop his character. There are a lot of things I learned from animals. One was that they couldn't hiss or boo me. I also became close to nature and am now able to appreciate the beauty with which this world is endowed. |
| 47 |
To grasp the full significance of life is the actor's duty; to interpret it his problem and to express it his dedication. Being an actor is the loneliest thing in the world. You are all alone with your concentration and imagination, and that's all you have. Being a good actor isn't easy. Being a man is even harder. I want to be both before I'm done. |
| 48 |
It was an accident, although I've been involved in some kind of theatrical function or other since I was a child: in school, music, athletics. To me, acting is the most logical way for people's neuroses to manifest themselves, in this great need we all have to express ourselves. To my way of thinking, an actor's course is set even before he's out of the cradle. |
| 49 |
An actor must interpret life and, in order to do so, must be willing to accept all the experiences life has to offer. In fact, he must seek out more of life than life puts at his feet. In the short span of his lifetime, an actor must learn all there is to know, experience all there is to experience, or approach that state as closely as possible. He must be superhuman in his efforts to store away in the core of his subconscious everything that he might be called upon to use in the expression of his art. |
| 50 |
Dream as if you'll live forever. Live as if you'll die today. |
| 51 |
Gratification comes in the doing, not in the results. |
| 52 |
Only the gentle are ever really strong. |
$20 Million
