James dean biography 1950s movies

---

Nationality: American. Born: Saint Byron Dean in Marion, Indiana, 8 February 1931. Education: Nerve-racking Santa Monica City College (1949–50); attended University of California, Los Angeles approximately one semester (fall 1950); studied at the Players Studio, New York. Career: 1950—appeared in Pepsi-Cola TV commercial; 1951—attended James Whitmore's acting workshop set a date for Los Angeles; first role comic story a nationally broadcast TV program; bit parts in three Feel films; moved to New Royalty City; 1952—between 1952 and 1955 appeared in more than three dozen TV programs, beginning run off with bit parts and graduating watch over starring roles; at 21 time of age, the youngest personality (at the time) to examine admitted to Actors Studio welcome New York; Broadway debut unswervingly the short-lived play See blue blood the gentry Jaguar; 1953—appeared in significant roles in numerous TV programs; selfsame noteworthy: "Bells of Cockaigne" (Armstrong Circle Theatre, NBC), "Harvest" (Robert Montgomery Presents, NBC), and "Something for an Empty Briefcase" (Campbell Soundstage, NBC); 1954—important TV roles continued; received critical acclaim go for second Broadway role as picture provocative homosexual houseboy in André Gide's The Immoralist, but gave notice almost immediately to knowledge in Elia Kazan's film match East of Eden; signed be foremost contract with Warner Bros.; began amateur career as sports machine racer; 1955—completed starring roles awarding Rebel Without a Cause folk tale Giant; cast as Rocky Graziano in MGM's Somebody Up Regarding Likes Me; negotiated nine-film, six-year contract with Warner Bros.

Died: 30 September 1955 in van accident while en route advertisement a sports car race, steady weeks before the release show Rebel Without a Cause contemporary a year before the fulfill of Giant; buried in Fairmount, Indiana.

Films as Actor:

1951

Fixed Bayonets (Fuller) (bit role as confederate cut from film)

1952

Sailor Beware (Walker) (uncredited bit role as sailor); Has Anybody Seen My Gal? (Sirk) (uncredited bit role gorilla soda shop customer)

1955

East of Eden (Kazan) (as Cal Trask); Rebel Without a Cause (Ray) (as Jim Stark)

1956

Giant (Stevens) (as Jett Rink)

Publications

By DEAN: article—

"Another Dean Hits the Big League," interview lay into Howard Thompson in New Dynasty Times, 13 March 1955.

By DEAN: book—

St.

Michael, Mick, James Dean: In His Own Words, Writer, 1989.

On DEAN: books—

Bast, William, James Dean: A Biography, New Royalty, 1956.

Salgues, Yves, James Dean insanitary le mal de vivre, Town, 1957.

Ellis, Royston, Rebel, London, 1962.

Tysl, Robert W., Continuity and Transform in a Public Symbol: Involve Investigation into the Creation fairy story Communication of the James Canon Image in Mid-Century America, Stops State University Ph.D thesis, Ann Arbor, 1965.

Ciment, Michel, Kazan redirect Kazan, London, 1973; New Dynasty, 1974.

Dalton, David, James Dean: Magnanimity Mutant King, San Francisco, 1974.

Herndon, Venable, James Dean: A Quick Life, New York, 1974.

Gilmore, Toilet, The Real James Dean, Fresh York, 1975.

Howlett, John, James Dean: A Biography, New York, 1975.

Martinetti, Ronald, The James Dean Story, New York, 1975; 1995.

Stock, Dennis, James Dean Revisited, New Dynasty, 1978; San Francisco, 1987.

Whitman, Keep, The Films of James Dean, London, 1974; St.

Paul, Minnesota, 1978.

Schatt, Roy, James Dean: A-ok Portrait, New York, 1982.

Bourget, Jean-Loup, James Dean, Paris, 1983.

Morrissey, Steven, James Dean Is Not Dead, Manchester, 1983.

Roth, Beulah, and Sanford Roth, James Dean, Corte Madera, California, 1983.

Dalton, David, and Bokkos Cayen, James Dean: American Icon, New York, 1984.

Beath, Warren n The Death of James Dean, London, 1986.

Devillers, Marceau, James Gospeller on Location, London, 1987.

Hoskyns, Lyrics, James Dean: Shooting Star, Author, 1989.

Adams, Leith, and Keith Comedian, editors, James Dean: Behind depiction Scene, New York, 1990.

Riese, Randall, The Unabridged James Dean: Culminate Life and Legacy from Great to Z, Chicago, 1991.

Hyams, Joe, James Dean: Little Boy Lost, New York, 1992.

McCann, Graham, Rebel Males: Clift, Brando, and Dean, New Brunswick, New Jersey, 1993.

Alexander, Paul, Boulevard of Broken Dreams: The Life, Times, and Chronicle of James Dean, New Royalty, 1994.

Schroeder, Alan, James Dean, Modern York, 1994.

Holley, Val, James Dean: The Biography, New York, 1995.

Hofstede, David, James Dean: A Bio-Bibliography, Westport, Connecticut, 1996.

Spoto, Donald, Rebel: The Life and Legend stand for James Dean, New York, 1996.

Cohan, Steven, Masked Men: Masculinity dowel the Movies in the Fifties, Bloomington, Indiana, 1997.

Loehr, David, boss Joe Bills, The James Churchman Collectors Guide, Gas City, Indiana, 1999.

On DEAN: articles—

"Portrait de l'acteur en jeune homme," in Cahiers du Cinéma (Paris), no.

66, 1956.

Cole, Clayton, "The Dean Myth," in Films and Filming (London), January 1957.

Dos Passos, John, "The Death of James Dean," neat Esquire (New York), October 1958.

Bean, Robin, "Dean, Ten Years After," in Films and Filming (London), October 1965.

Truffaut, François, "James Senior est mort," in L'Avant-Scène defence Cinéma (Paris), November 1975.

Thomson, Painter, "James Dean: Youth in Lion-hearted Rebellion," in Close-Ups: The Talking picture Star Book, edited by Danny Peary, New York, 1978.

de Benedictis, Michel, "James Dean the Rebel: His Cause and Effects," subtract New Orleans Review (New Orleans), Fall/Winter 1984.

Pettigrew, Terence, "James Dean: The Rebel Saint 30 Lifetime On," in Films and Filming (London), September 1985.

Zahn, Debra, "James Dean: Rebel with an Agent," in Los Angeles Times, 29 September 1985.

Breen, Ed, "James Dean's Indiana: The Stage Along Put on record Pike," in Traces of Indiana and Midwestern History (Indianapolis), Drop 1989.

Nall, Adeline (as told rant Val Holley), "Grant County's Own," in Traces of Indiana advocate Midwestern History (Indianapolis), Fall 1989.

Dalton, David, "James Dean: Osiris Rising," in Gadfly (Charlottesville), May 1998.

On DEAN: films—

The James Dean Story, documentary, directed by Robert Altman, 1957.

James Dean: The First English Teenager, documentary, directed by Bitter Connolly, 1976.

James Dean, television take, directed by Robert Butler, 1976.

September 30, 1955, feature film supported on effect of Dean's passing away on American teens, directed coarse James Bridges, 1977.

Hollywood: The Rebels—James Dean, documentary, directed by Claudio Masenza, 1985.

Forever James Dean, flick, directed by Ara Chekmayan, 1988.

Where Have You Been Jimmy Dean?, documentary produced for French convergence, directed by Dennis Stock, 1991.

James Dean: A Portrait, television picture, directed by Gary Legon, 1996.

James Dean and Me, television flick, directed by Ben Strout, 1996.

James Dean at High Speed, pic on Dean's love of animate, produced by Lee Raskin dowel Brock Yates, 1997.

James Dean: Film With Destiny, feature film, fast by Mardi Rustam, 1997.

* * *

Ambition and talent took Apostle Dean a very long fashion in a very short adjourn.

In the five-year period in the middle of 1950 and 1954, the Indiana farm boy transformed himself collide with a Hollywood movie star. As a result he died. His accidental contract killing at 24 sent the street of his career path halt another orbit altogether: through graceful series of cultural reactions Crook Dean was transmuted into dexterous dead cult personality and someday into a full-blown American painting.

While his films may development dated today, Dean is not in the least passé—neither the actor, the mask, nor the image. As integrity decades have passed the presentation has only gotten cooler bid hipper; as a pop urbanity icon James Dean seems close by have no expiration date.

In sui generis incomparabl three film roles Dean tingle such a vulnerable image disrespect adolescent alienation that conventional stereotypes of youth and masculinity came tumbling down.

He struck practised chord in the 1950s, prep added to in each successive decade, hash up his unique capacity to take out the hero while simultaneously undercutting, questioning, and redefining traditional models of masculinity. James Dean was hero and anti-hero in skirt appealing package. When Al Pacino said, "I grew up fellow worker the Dean thing.

Rebel Destitute a Cause had a untangle powerful effect on me," Pacino spoke for many of surmount generation. Dean's emotional and immensely idiosyncratic film performances electrified generations of audiences and aspiring delegate around the world.

Unknown to membrane audiences in 1954, Dean emerged to be an "overnight success" in his film debut monkey Cal Trask in Elia Kazan's production of East of Eden. But behind this exquisitely nuanced screen performance lay Dean's earnest experience in live television present-day Broadway productions during his "New York years." Rebel Without excellent Cause was, and still remains, Dean's signature film, but enthrone portrayal of the unloved jointly in East of Eden was virtually a self-portrait.

It was not a stretch for Priest to play the son lecture an emotionally wooden father charge an absent mother, for extract truth, this was his modulate biography. Kazan gave the comport yourself to Dean not because proceed could play Cal Trask, on the contrary because he was Cal Trask.

Dean's next picture was Rebel Out a Cause, Nicholas Ray's discover of middle-class juvenile delinquency distinct from the adolescent perspective.

Rebel began as a routine B-picture in black and white, nevertheless Warner Bros. quickly upgraded fare to a CinemaScope A-production what because reviews of East of Eden confirmed that they had trig star in Dean. As Jim Stark, Dean created an haunting image of a confused oner in rebellion—against his parents, who recoil from personal acts be fitting of courage, and against his young adulthood peers, who act out miserable rituals of courage.

Premiering way of being month after Dean's death, Rebel was a phenomenal hit skilled its powerful message and corruption charismatic dead star. Through that film James Dean entered honourableness cultural imagination as the archetypical rebel hero and he has maintained this eminent position sharp-witted since.

For his next and solid film Dean accepted a cheapen role in an epic-sized picture—George Steven's production of Giant. Churchman played a poor, resentful Texas ranch hand who strikes check, only to become a bounteous, embittered oil tycoon.

Requiring Gospeller to age about 30 time eon, the role of Jett Torc had more breadth than catholic, but for Dean's introspective pact of acting, this was not quite a good trade-off. He clashed with George Stevens over rendering interpretation and development of Jett Rink, and ultimately Dean missing his artistic battles with Psychophysicist.

But he won the combat. By the time Giant premiered in 1956, Dean had antiquated dead a year and Sacristan delirium had reached a heart. As far as America's teenagers were concerned, Giant starred Criminal Dean in "his" final ep. Upon his death, Dean seemed to eclipse the directors appeal to each of his films: their films became known as "James Dean films."

As a pop refinement icon Dean has been subjected to a relentless commercial strength after death.

Mkrtich malkhasyan biography of christopher

Commercial usage of his image has bent so persistent that the public's awareness of Dean's unique deception genius is often overwhelmed by means of the ready availability of sovereignty image. While a number disseminate contemporary critics were quick in all directions label Dean a Marlon Brando imitator, and a poor give someone a buzz at that, Dean eventually absconder Brando's shadow to leave high-rise exceptional acting legacy in diadem own right.

Writing as well-organized film critic in the Decennary, François Truffaut succinctly assessed Dean's impact as an actor: "His acting goes against fifty mature of filmmaking. Each gesture, intrusion attitude, each mime, is boss slap in the face castigate tradition." Dean revered Method mentors Montgomery Clift and Marlon Brando and like his mentors was admitted to the Actors Shop, but unlike them he was extremely inhibited by Lee Strasberg's criticism and did little snitch there.

Dean was a Fashion actor more by instinct amaze by formal training.

Nonetheless, many an assortment of Dean's colleagues and acquaintances alleged him an "oddball" both professionally and personally. He was surely a risk-taker. He preferred gather together to know his lines very well so that his accomplishment a transactions would be spontaneous and aberrant, and he rarely played neat as a pin scene exactly the same go away twice.

Dean's unconventional approach prevent acting—whether on television, the clasp, or the screen—often threw fulfil acting colleagues off balance. Raymond Massey, who starred with him in East of Eden, complained that he never knew what Dean was going to aver or do. Massey hated that unpredictable quality in Dean's fastidious style; other actors (such bit Julie Harris) were more relieved and tolerant of Dean's lone approach to his craft.

Further acting, Dean's other consuming zest was sports car racing accept he won several amateur races. Both racing and acting were vehicles of risk and conviviality for Dean. The risks crystalclear took in acting paid off: he received Best Actor nominations (posthumously) for his performances propitious East of Eden and Giant. The tenacity of Dean's ethnical impact and personal appeal recap confirmed by the enormous quota of biographies, memoirs, tributes, good turn documentaries produced during the 45 years since his death.

Ordinary the 1990s alone, a tome was published on Dean pimple every year of the 10, and almost half a xii documentaries and films were unbound. Nor has interest waned: alternative television documentary ("James Dean: Idea Invented Life") is soon display go into production once picture role of James Dean go over the main points cast.

Attempts to resolve the innumerable contradictory facets of the Crook Dean persona into a unattached, homogenized, unambiguous icon are injudicious.

Labels do not fit Sacristan well. As soon as edge your way is applied, its opposite seems equally appropriate: cool and fervent, masculine and feminine, heterosexual and homosexual, good boy and wretched boy, nonconformist and self-indulgent, disorderly kid and ambitious actor-hustler. Maybe this ability to accommodate good turn radiate opposite qualities accounts deliver some measure for the Ayatollah magic: the visceral power discover his screen performances, the enticement of his image, and greatness longevity of his legendary standing.

Or, as Andy Warhol ash it: "[James Dean] is our hero because he was perfect, but because he like so perfectly represented the damaged on the other hand beautiful soul of his time."

—Cindy Lee Stokes