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Full Name: James Byron Dean
Born on February 8, 1931 in Marion, Indiana and raised in a farm in Fairmount, James Dean was an American pop culture icon. Along with Elvis Presley and Marlon Brando, he was one of most popular teen idols in America during the 1950's. He was most famous of his emotional yet natural performance. During his brief but sparkling career, he had only done three films in leading roles. Among them, East of Eden (1955) was the only movie he could see alive. The other two, Rebel Without A Cause (1955) and Giant (1956), had also received a very high appreciation and big success in box office. Besides his acting career, Dean was also fascinated in speed. He was an aspiring car racer off-screen and was an enthusiastic participant in local racing events. In the evening of September 30, 1955, just weeks before Rebel was released, his Porsche Spyder crashed into another vehicle in Cholame, California. Dean was killed instantly with a broken neck. He was 24.
Dean lived with his parents in Fairmount, Indiana before they moved to Los Angeles in 1935. He returned to the Midwest after his mother passed away and was raised in a farm by his aunt and uncle. Later he went back to California after graduating from Fairmount High School and became a student in Santa Monica Junior College and UCLA where he decided to take a serious career in acting. He started out doing a couple of commercials and attended a drama workshop by James Whitmore. Later he did bit parts in TV and movies, until gaining a full swing of new popularity and fame in his role Cal Trask in Elia Kazan's East of Eden (1955).
But the forever-lasting image of James Dean didn't really appear until the release of Rebel Without A Cause in 1955. Many teenagers found themselves related to Dean's character and became immediately attached to his rebellious image. He was idolized as an immortal Hollywood icon after his violent death at the age of 24. The red jacket became a symbol of the complex and confusing spirit of the rebellious American youth. The T-shirt he wore in the film soared a new wave of T-shirt-mania that swept all across the world. People often wonder what Dean would become if he did not die so young. Ironically, in an interview just weeks before his fatal accident, he addressed to his young audience, "Take it easy driving. The life you save might be mine."
East of Eden (1955) - as Cal Trask
1956 1957
Category: Motion Picture
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