If a choice is in order - I'd rather have people hiss than yawn. Any public figure sets himself up as a target and that is the chance he takes. Most of us have more than one choice and I chose to be what I am, rather than remain a farm boy back in Indiana....Despite endless odds and issues along the way, I've never regretted it. --James Dean
The consensus of opinion - and I share this view - is that this boy was a rather unique personality and may develop into something of a legend. Considering that he was a character actor, the feeling is that his appearance in films will not be affected at all - if anything, there may be greater anxiety on the part of the public to see him...He reached stardom overnight. In sixteen months of acting, he left a more lasting impression on the public than many stars do in thirty years. -- Producer Henry Ginsberg speaking of James Dean
On February 8, 1931 James Byron Dean was born to Mildred and Winton Dean in Fairmount, Indiana. Winton Dean was a dental technician employed by the Government which allowed for the family to be moderately provided for during the harsh years of the depression. Mildred Dean was sometimes referred to by her husband as a "little bohemian". She doted on her son and encouraged him to experience the artistic side of life whether it be through puppet shows, violin lessons, tap dancing or in developing his theatrical talents. Jimmy Dean's life changed irrevocably at the age of nine when his supportive mother died from cancer and he was sent to live with his aunt and uncle but for the remainder of his life he continued to pursue artistic endeavors.
During his adolescent years, James Dean's life echoed that of many young men of the 1940's. He played on his high school basketball and baseball teams, raced on the track team and worked on his uncle's farm. But Dean also competed in National Forensic League tournaments and participated in the school's dramatic productions receiving much acclaim in the town for his acting abilities. After graduation, Dean left Fairmount to live with his father in Santa Monica, California who struggled to convince him to major in physical education at the City College. But Dean's goal was to study drama at UCLA and after a nine year separation his relationship with his father was strained. Less than a year after arriving in California he left his father's house and headed for Hollywood.
James Dean's first big break in show business came when he was paid to do a one-minute television commercial for Coca-Cola. His boy-next door look caught the attention of a few directors and he was cast in a couple of small film roles but by 1951 he left California to go to study method acting with Lee Strasberg at the Actors Studio in New York. While studying in New York, Dean was cast in numerous television appearances and a few plays but it was not until November of 1953 when he was offered a major role in a new Broadway play called The Immoralist that his career took off. The play opened to rave reviews in which Jimmy was singled out for his successful performance. That night Jimmy gave his two weeks notice to the director....Elia Kazan had just signed him for the first of his three major motion picture roles - East of Eden.
Over the next sixteen months, James Dean would make three films; East of Eden, Rebel Without A Cause, and Giant. On September 30, 1955 after being released from the filming of Giant, James Dean took off in his brand new Porsche Spyder for a race in Salinas, California. On the way there his car slammed into another and he died almost instantly.
James Whitcomb Riley was the poet of the Hoosier (Indiana). James Dean loved to read from his works. A particular favorite was...
...We must get home; and, unremembering there
All gain of all ambition otherwhere,
Rest - from the feverish victory, and the crown
Of conquest whose waste glory weighs us down. -
Fame's fairest gifts we toss back with disdain -
We must get home - we must get home again !
There really isn't an opportunity for greatness in this world. We are impaled on a crock of conditioning. A fish that is in water has no choice that he is. Genius would have it that he swim in sand.... We are fish and we drown. --James Dean
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