James Dean

'''James Byron Dean''' ([[February 8]] [[1931]] – [[September 30]] [[1955]]) was a two-time [[Academy Award|Oscar]]-nominated [[United States|American]] [[film]] [[actor]]. Dean's status as a [[cultural icon]] is best embodied in the title of his most celebrated film, ''[[Rebel Without a Cause]]'', in which he starred as troubled high school rebel Jim Stark. The other two roles that defined his star power were as the awkward loner Cal Trask in ''[[East of Eden (1955 film)|East of Eden]]'', and as the surly farmer Jett Rink in ''[[Giant (film)|Giant]]''. His enduring fame and popularity rests on only three films, his entire starring output. His death at a young age helped guarantee a legendary status. He was the first actor to receive a [[Posthumous recognition|posthumous]] [[Academy Award]] nomination for [[Academy Award for Best Actor|Best Actor]] and remains the only person to have two posthumous acting nominations (although other people had more than one posthumous nomination in other Oscar categories).

James Dean was born to Winton Dean and Mildred Wilson Dean at the "Seven Gables" apartment house, at the intersection of 4th and McClure Streets in [[Marion, Indiana]]. Six years after his father had left farming to become a dental technician, James and his family moved to [[Santa Monica, California]]. The family spent some years there, and by all accounts young Jimmy was very close to his mother. According to Michael DeAngelis, she was "the only person capable of understanding him".<ref>Michael DeAngelis, ''Gay Fandom and Crossover Stardom: James Dean, Mel Gibson and Keanu Reeves'' (Duke University Press, 2001), p.97,</ref> He was enrolled in [[Brentwood, Los Angeles, California|Brentwood]] Public School until his mother died of [[cancer]] in 1940.  

Unable to care for his nine year old son, Winton Dean sent the young James to live with Winton's sister Ortense and her husband Marcus Winslow on a farm in [[Fairmount, Indiana]], where he entered [[high school]] and was brought up with a [[Religious Society of Friends|Quaker]] background. Here Dean sought the counsel of, and formed an enduring friendship with, [[United Methodist Church|Methodist]] pastor Rev. James DeWeerd. DeWeerd seemed to have had a formative influence upon the teenager, especially upon his future interests in [[bullfighting]], [[car racing]], and the theater. According to Billy J. Harbin, "Dean had an intimate relationship with his pastor... which began in his senior year of high school and 'endured for many years.'"<ref>For more details concerning this homosexual relationship, see Billy J. Harbin, Kim Marra and Robert A. Schanke, eds., ''The Gay And Lesbian Theatrical Legacy: A Biographical Dictionary Of Major Figures In American Stage History in the Pre-Stonewall Era'' (University of Michigan Press, 2005), 133. See also Joe and Jay Hyams, ''James Dean: Little Boy Lost'' (1992), p.20, who present an account alleging Dean's molestation as a teenager by his early mentor DeWeerd and describe it as Dean's first homosexual encounter (although DeWeerd himself portrayed his relationship with Dean as a completely conventional one).</ref> In high school, Dean's overall performance was mediocre, but he successfully played on the [[baseball]] and [[basketball]] team and studied [[Public speaking|forensics]] and [[drama]]. After graduating from Fairmount High School on [[May 16]], [[1949]], Dean moved back to California with his beagle, Max, to live with his father and stepmother. He enrolled in [[Santa Monica College]] (SMCC) and majored in [[pre-law]]. Dean transferred to [[University of California, Los Angeles|UCLA]] and changed his major to drama, which resulted in estrangement from his father. He pledged the [[Sigma Nu]] [[Fraternities and sororities|fraternity]] but was never initiated. While at UCLA, he beat out 350 actors to land the role of Malcolm in ''[[Macbeth]]''. At that time, he also began acting with [[James Whitmore]]'s acting workshop. In January 1951, he dropped out of college to pursue a career as an actor.

Dean initially had little success in Hollywood, then got his first acting job in a [[Pepsi Cola]] [[television commercial]].<ref>[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MQfikxbS4zE Youtube: 1950 Pepsi commercial]</ref> He quit college to act full time and was cast as John the Beloved Disciple in "Hill Number One", an Easter television special, and three walk-on roles in movies, ''Fixed Bayonets'', ''Sailor Beware'', and ''Has Anybody Seen My Gal''. His only speaking part was in ''[[Sailor Beware]]'', a [[Paramount Pictures|Paramount]] comedy starring [[Dean Martin]] and [[Jerry Lewis]];  Dean played a [[boxing]] trainer.  While struggling to get jobs in [[Hollywood]], Dean also worked as a parking lot attendant at [[CBS Studios]], during which time he met Rogers Brackett, a radio director for an advertising agency, who offered Dean professional help and guidance in his chosen career, as well as a place to stay.<ref name=SurvivingJD>Bast, W., ''Surviving James Dean'', New Jersey: Barricade Books, 2006.</ref><ref>On Dean's relationship with Brackett, see also Hyams, ''James Dean: Little Boy Lost'', p.79.</ref>

In October 1951, following actor James Whitmore's and his mentor Rogers Brackett's advice, Dean moved to [[New York City]]. In New York he worked as a stunt tester for the ''[[Beat the Clock]]'' [[game show]]. He also appeared in episodes of several CBS television series, ''[[The Web]]'', ''[[Studio One (TV series)|Studio One]]'', and ''[[Lux Video Theater]]'', before gaining admission to the legendary [[Actor's Studio]] to study [[Method acting]] under [[Lee Strasberg]]. Proud of this accomplishment, Dean referred to the Studio in a 1952 letter to his family as "The greatest school of the theater. It houses great people like [[Marlon Brando]], [[Julie Harris]], [[Arthur Kennedy]], [[Mildred Dunnock]]. ... Very few get into it ... It is the best thing that can happen to an actor. I am one of the youngest to belong."<ref name=SurvivingJD/> His career picked up and he performed in further episodes of such early 1950s television shows as ''[[Kraft Television Theater]]'', ''[[Robert Montgomery Presents]]'', ''[[Danger]]'' and ''[[General Electric Theater]]''. One early role, for the CBS series, ''[[Omnibus (U.S. TV series)|Omnibus]]'', (''Glory in the Flower'') saw Dean portraying the same type of disaffected youth he would later immortalize in ''[[Rebel Without a Cause]]'' (this summer, 1953 program was also notable for featuring the song "[[Crazy Man, Crazy]]", one of the first dramatic TV programs to feature [[rock and roll]] music). Positive reviews for his 1954 theatrical role as "Bachir", a pandering North African houseboy, in an adaptation of [[André Gide]]'s book ''[[The Immoralist]]'', led to calls from Hollywood.<ref>Reise, R. ''The Unabridged James Dean'', 1991</ref>