Remembering ‘Rebel Without a Cause’ Star James Dean

In many ways he was the real-life rebel without a cause, an Oscar nominee and a classic film star who was filled with angst from life and was taken from us just as he was achieving great success. He was James Dean, and even though his life was far too short, it was definitely memorable.

From moving to New York as a kid to being called out in the Taylor Swift song "Style (Taylor's Version)," here is a look back at the life, career and death of James Dean.

The early life of James Dean

The actor was born to two loving parents in Marion, Indiana on February 8, 1931. That joy was soon taken from Dean, his mother (Mildred Marie) dying when he was nine, leading the actor to live on a farm with his aunt and uncle, his father not feeling capable of taking care of him.

Dean didn't stay on that farm long, though, because after he finished high school, he moved briefly to California where he attended, and dropped out of UCLA, moving at age 20 to New York to pursue acting, which had always been his dream.

His early acting career

Dean's move to New York turned out to be the best thing for him, because he almost immediately found himself cast as the blackmailing Arab boy in the play adaptation of André Gide's The Immoralist. That small role was enough to catch the attention of various studio executives, who brought him to Hollywood.

Once he got there, he continued to have small but memorable parts in various projects, including Fixed Bayonets! (1951), Sailor Beware (1952), Treasury Men in Action (1953), Studio One (1952-1953), Danger (1953-1954) and The United States Steel Hour (1955). That was the last thing the actor worked on before getting cast in his first-ever starring role, East of Eden .

Seen by director Elia Kazan ( A Streetcar Named Desire ) while performing in The Immoralist , he was wanted for the part of Caleb Trask in this drama adapted by screenwriter Paul Osborn from John Steinbeck's novel. There had been rumors over the years that Kazan did not really like Dean, but in the biography Elia Kazan: A Life , he commented, "You can't not like a guy with that much pain in him ... You know how a dog will be mean and snarl at you, then you pat him and he's all over you with affection? That's the way Dean was."

Of Dean's performance, at the time of the film's release The Hollywood Reporter offered, "This is the boy who is apt to captivate the typical movie fans whether or not they like tragic stories. He is that rare thing, a young actor who is a great actor and the troubled eloquence with which he puts over the problems of misunderstood youth may lead to his being accepted by young audiences as a sort of symbol of their generation. He’s the only player I’ve ever seen who’d be completely right for Romeo. It is inevitable that he will be compared to Marlon Brando, though he is no carbon copy of that capable player."

East of Eden was nominated for four Academy Awards, actress Jo Van Fleet taking home the Best Support Actress Oscar.

Rebel Without a Cause

The second and most iconic of James Dean's roles? Jim Stark in Rebel Without a Cause (1955), which he worked on with actress Natalie Wood .

The film, which has since become a cult classic, follows rebel Jim Stark (Dean) after he moves to a new town and falls in love with local girl Judy (Wood), a relationship that triggers conflict.

Rebel Without a Cause was nominated for three Oscars, though Dean himself was not, making this film the one starring role the actor didn't receive that particular accolade for.

Tragedy did strike once filming had wrapped, though: James Dean died in a car accident on September 30, 1955, one month before the film's release — meaning he never saw the final product.

MUST READ: The Extraordinary Life and Tragic Death of Natalie Wood

Giant

Moving from East of Eden to Rebel without a Cause and then Giant , James Dean's star was rising ever higher. The epic Western Giant (1956), directed by George Stevens, sees the actor starring alongside Elizabeth Taylor, Rock Hudson and Carroll Baker.

It's a family drama that tracks through a generation, following the rivalry between Texas rancher Bick Benedict (Hudson) and ranch hand Jett Rink (Dean), the latter of whome strikes oil on his small parcel of land, which is among the factors triggering that rivalry. The rest of the story follows things through the next generation as well.

MUST-READ: Doris Day and Rock Hudson — Remembering Their Movies and On Screen Magic

Years after Giant 's release, TV Guide commented, "This was the last role in Dean's all-too-brief career — he was dead when the film was released — and his presence ran away with the film. He performs his role in the overwrought method manner of the era, and the rest of the cast seems to be split between awe of his talent and disgust over his indulgence."

Giant was nominated for 10 Academy Awards, winning Best Director for George Stevens.

The death of James Dean

As noted, actor James Dean died on September 30, 1955, around 5:45 pm in a car crash. He was 24 years old.

Dean made no secret of the fact that he loved racing cars, and one night in Cholame, California he was driving his Porsche (which he named Little Bastard) recklessly and collided with a Ford Tudor Sedan, police reports suggesting the the other driver didn't see him because of the glare of the sun. Dean's neck snapped upon impact and he died on the scene.

What still fascinates people about his death is that Dean received a three ticket three hours before that in Bakersfield, California, located about 84 miles from the accident.

After getting that ticket, Dean reportedly stopped at a nearby diner for a soda and then got back on the road, meaning that he somehow had to cover 80(ish) miles in about two and a half hours. While not impossible, it's very difficult to do, leading many to believe Dean was going well above the speed limit.

The other question is whether or not Dean was purposely attempting to take his own life. Many believed that was the reason he was driving so recklessly, but a witness put that one to rest. " He did not have a death wish ... His personality as an artist and as a very creative, very bright, very imaginative person was surely preoccupied with death, but certainly not with his own death at that time. Not at all."

Dean's death was never investigated, and the actor was laid to rest.

The actor's continuing legacy

Despite only having been so relatively few projects at the time of his death, Dean's legacy continues to thrive, largely in part because of how well he captivated audiences with his charmingly good looks and riveting performances.

Actor Martin Landau , a friend, even commented on Dean's lasting legacy, saying, " Jimmy's frozen in time . I mean, if I go to Prague, I see a T-shirt with Jimmy's picture on it. I see a full length cardboard cutout in front of a shop of Jimmy with a red jacket with a cigarette from Rebel Without a Cause . He's frozen."

Landau also emphasized, "You have to realize, in a short period of time, he [Dean] did two plays on Broadway, a couple of off Broadway plays, 20 some live television shows, and three motion pictures. And he died at 24. I mean, it's a pressure cooker ."

In its own way, the pressure cooker paid off, earning Dean a permanent spot in Hollywood history.

In fact, he was even referenced in Taylor Swift's song "Style (Taylor's Version)." The line goes, "You've got that James Dean look in your eyes," and it appears on the singer's 1989 (Taylor's Version) album, which was released in 2023.

For all things entertainment, click here !

For all things Taylor Swift, click here !