| Perhaps more than any young actor
of his generation, James Dean symbolized the uncagable passion
and wanderlust of youth. All three of his major motion pictures
were filmed in just one year. These three films, East of Eden,
Giant, and Rebel without a Cause, all received
major theatrical acclaim. However, before James Dean could reap
the fruits of his success, he was killed in a violent car
accident after attending a race in Salinas, California. Dean's
biographer, Joe Hyams, maintains that there's no single reason
why James Dean garnered so much attention, other than that his
persona perfectly reflected the dilemmas of '50s youths. Dean
emerged from relative obscurity. He grew up in Indiana during
the Great Depression, and his relationship with his parents was
notoriously rocky.
After a brief stint in Los Angeles, Dean returned to Indiana
after his mother's death. The acting bug never left him. He
attended Santa Monica Junior College as well as UCLA before
eventually migrating to New York to study acting seriously.
After working double duty as a busboy and as a part time
television actor, Dean won his first major role in an otherwise
forgettable play called See the Jaguar.
As with his youthful compatriot, Marlon Brando, Dean was a
total natural on screen. His acting style contrasted greatly
with the stilted, studied manners of the great play actors of
the day. He realistically depicted the emotions and tensions of
youth with a flair and fluidity that, to this day, still
resonate. Dean and fellow 1950s heartbreaker, Marilyn Monroe,
helped define our modern notions of youth idealized--fast,
furious, and ultimately deadly. |
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