His father sent Dean back to the family farm in Fairmont, Indiana, to be raised by his aunt and uncle. Growing up with a Quaker influence, Dean participated in basketball and showed an interest in forensics and drama. Graduating in 1949 from Fairmont High School, Dean moved to California to live with his father and new stepmother.
He enrolled in Santa Monica College, pledging Sigma Nu fraternity and majoring in pre-law. However, Dean’s love of acting could not be easily masked and he eventually transferred to University of California Los Angeles, and changed his major to drama. This act greatly disappointed his father, and the two were rumored to have been estranged ever since.
For his first job, Dean landed a Pepsi Cola commercial, which was quickly followed by a stretch as stunt tester for the popular game show Beat the Clock. Dean dropped out of college to focus on acting, but he found jobs to be few and far between. Having trouble making the bills every month, Dean worked as a parking attendant on the premises of CBS Studios. Upon a friend’s advice, Dean relocated to New York City where he heard a stage career might jumpstart his film aspirations.
Dean studied under Lee Strasberg at the Actor’s Studio; the owner of the studio, Strasberg, is most notable for his work and lifetime friendship with Marilyn Monroe. Achieving the desired result, Dean’s career picked up shortly thereafter. He appeared in a multitude of 1950s TV shows including Kraft Television Theater and General Electric Theater. He also landed small parts in several films including a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it role in the Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis musical comedy, Sailors Beware in 1952.
However, it was Dean’s stage portrayal of a blackmailer in André Gide’s The Immoralist that won him rave reviews and his anxiously awaited call for Hollywood. In 1955, Dean starred in director Elia Kazan’s East of Eden; looking for a newcomer to star in the film, the decision came down to Dean and a then-unknown actor named Paul Newman. Dean emerged with the role and moved to Los Angeles to begin filming. Playing the son of a constantly disapproving father, Dean drew the obvious parallels between his own father and himself. A very personal role, Dean was known on the set for his improvisational style, and many of the now famous scenes were the direct product of Dean’s creative and spontaneous input.
In this same year, Dean would take his immortalized role as Jim Stark in Rebel Without a Cause. Co-starring Natalie Wood, Sal Mineo, and Dennis Hopper, Dean’s red jacketed portrayal of 1950s teenage angst resonated deeply with movie-going youths. It was during shooting that Dean became interested in competitive auto racing and purchased his eventually doomed Porsche 550 Spyder.
Dean followed Rebel with the posthumously released Giant in 1956, starring Elizabeth Taylor and Rock Hudson. In order to play an older part, Dean even dyed and shaved his hair to simulate a receding hairline. He received posthumous Academy Award nominations for both East of Eden and Giant, the first actor to do so.
Dean died on September 30, 1955, due to a tragic automobile accident in Cholame, California. Dean was driving his Porsche 550 Spyder and collided head-on with another vehicle, driven by twenty-three-year-old student, Donald Turnupseed. Dean’s car, nicknamed the Little Bastard, was customized by George Barris, who would later design the Batmobile. The day of Dean’s death, he had received a speeding ticket, but later simulations have falsified the rumors he was speeding at the time impact. Dean was taken to the hospital but died upon arrival at 5:59 PM. He was only twenty-four years old.
Dean was romantically involved with several starlets including Pier Angeli and Liz Sheridan. However, there are many rumors that Dean was actually bisexual and that the PR division of Warner Brothers falsely created many of his romantic liaisons. Regardless of his orientation or personal life, Dean’s inherent charm, sex appeal, and undeniable talent, coupled with his tragic and untimely death solidified him as one of America’s lasting film icons.
YUDDY
