|
|
 |
JAMES DEAN BIOGRAPHY |
|
|
| |
James Byron Dean (February 8, 1931 - September
30, 1955) was an American actor, born in Marion, Indiana and
raised in Fairmount, Indiana. Dean began his career on the New
York stage, and did several episodes of such early-1950s
episodic television progams such as Kraft Television Theater,
Danger, and General Electric Theater. His rave reviews in Andre
Gide's The Immoralist led to his being called to Hollywood and
film stardom.
He appeared in several uncredited bit roles in such forgettable
films as Sailor Beware, but finally gained recognition and
success in 1955 in his first starring role, that of Cal Trask in
East of Eden, for which he received an Academy Award nomination
for Best Actor in a Leading Role. He followed this up in rapid
succession with two more starring roles, in Rebel Without a
Cause, also in 1955, and in the 1956 production of Giant, for
which he was also nominated for an Academy Award.
Dean died in a road accident in a Porsche Spyder 356, before
Giant was released. He is buried in Park Cemetery in his home
town of Fairmount. He is one of only five people to be nominated
for Best Actor for his first feature role, and the only person
to be nominated twice after his death.
Dean epitomized the rebellion of 1950s teens, especially in his
role in Rebel Without a Cause. Many teenagers of the time
modeled themselves after him, and his death cast a pall on many
members of his generation. His very brief career, violent death
and highly publicized funeral transformed James Dean into a cult
object of apparently timeless fascination.
James Dean is interred in the Park Cemetery, Fairmount, Indiana. |
| |
|
|
| |
| |
|
|
