James Dean: Biography
Born during the Depression of the 1930's, James Dean's early life seems unaffected by the squalor many who lived during this period of time experienced. Where entire families traveled across the country looking for any prospect of a job they could find, the Dean's were considerably more stable as Winton Dean, Jimmy's father, worked for the governent as a dentist, first in Marion, Indiana (Jimmy's birthplace) and then in West Hollywood, California.
Jimmy's early years are significant in that his mother, Mildred, was alive and gave him the love and the dreams that would drive Jimmy for the rest of his life.
He was killed in a road crash (30 Sep 1955) while driving his Porsche to compete in a racing event. He became a cult figure, and for many years after his death remained a symbol of youthful alienation and rebellion.
James Dean: Career
Raised on an Iowa farm, after high school he attended college in California, where he joined a small theatre group and did occasional television commercials and bit-part film appearances. Arriving in New York (1952), he obtained a part in See the Jaguar on Broadway. Continuing with small parts on television, he acted on Broadway in The Immoralist (1954), which gained him a Hollywood screen test. He starred in only three films, East of Eden (1955), Rebel Without a Cause (1955), and Giant (1956), but this moody actor was instantly acclaimed as the epitome of the mid-fifties, representing the alienated American youth of the time, the true rebel without a cause
James Dean: Films
The Complete James Dean Collection (2005), James Dean (2005), James Dean: Forever Young (2005), James Dean: Sense Memories (2005), James Dean (1998), James Dean: The James Dean Story (1998), The James Dean 35th Anniversary Collection (1990), One From the Heart (1982), Giant (1956), East of Eden (1955), Rebel Without a Cause (1955), Harvest (1953), I'm a Fool (1953), A Long Time Till Dawn (1953), James Dean's Lost Television Appearance: Trouble With Father (1952), Westinghouse Studio One - "Abraham Lincoln" (1952), Hill Number One (1951), James Dean: The First American Teenager
