James Dean

James Dean

Background
James Dean was born February 8, 1931 in Marion, Indiana.
After graduating from high school he moved to California in 1950 where he attended Santa Monica Junior College and UCLA.
Beginning His Career
Got a role in UCLA’s production of Macbeth and was known as ‘the world’s worst Malcom.’
His first professional acting job was a Pepsi-Cola commercial where a group of teenagers danced around a jukebox singing "Pepsi-Cola hits the spot…"; he made $30
Works as an extra and has tiny parts in a few movies: Sailor Beware, Trouble Along the Way, Has Anybody Seen My Gal?
He moves to New York to work on theatre encouraged by his drama coach, James Whitmore.
In 1952 he lands his first leading role on Broadway in See the Jaguar. He played a 16-year old boy who had been locked in an icehouse all his life by his demented mother.
Appears in many different television shows throughout 1953 like NBC’s Kate Smith Hour, Treasury Men in Action, and Armstrong Circle Theatre just to name a few
The Big Screen
In 1954 James Dean flew to Hollywood for the first time to audition for the movie East of Eden. He had even stored his clothes in a brown paper bag. He won the part of Cal Trask in the movie.
In January of 1955, Dean accepts the role of Jim Stark in the new movie Rebel Without A Cause
In his spare time, Dean liked to race cars. He bought a Porche and entered a race in Palm Springs.
During the filming of Rebel Without a Cause, Dean also begins shooting another movie Giant.
End of Dean’s Career
On September 30, 1955, Dean was on his way to a race when he was killed in a car accident. Ironically, earlier that month he had made a commercial for highway safety saying, "Take it easy driving. The life you might save may be mine."
In 1956, after Dean’s death, his two movies Rebel and Giant opened
James Dean only made three movies in his lifetime but is recognized as one of the greatest actors of all time.
In 1952 he wrote a letter to his family saying:

"I have made great strides in my craft.

After months of auditioning, I am very

proud to announce that I am a member of

The Actor’s Studio. The greatest school of

the theatre. It houses great people like

Marlon Brando, Julie Harris, Arthur

Kennedy, Mildred Dunnock…Very few get

into it, and it is absolutely free. It is the best

thing that can happen to an actor. I am one

of the youngest to belong. If I can keep this

up and nothing interferes with my

progress, one of these days I might be

able to contribute something to the world."