To borrow the words of the Eagles` rock `n` roll paean to a Hollywood legend, James Dean was ”too fast to live, too young to die.” But that hasn`t stopped the mythical actor from grabbing headlines even in 1990.
The end of this month will mark the 35th anniversary of Dean`s death. Yet he remains an eternal symbol of misunderstood youth. His emblematic screen characters of the `50s are every bit as relevant and recognizable today.
James Byron Dean was born Feb. 8, 1931, in Marion, Ind. His family moved to California when he was a toddler. When he was 9, his mother died of cancer. He accompanied her body on a train ride back to his home state, remaining with an aunt and uncle in Fairmount, Ind., through his teens.
After high school, Dean rejoined his father in California and attended Santa Monica Junior College and then UCLA. He lived in the Sigma Nu fraternity house until he was expelled for fighting at a beer party. James Whitmore`s Los Angeles workshops gave him his first taste of method acting.
In 1950, Dean made his professional debut in a Pepsi-Cola commercial. He played bit parts in the films ”Fixed Bayonets,” ”Sailor, Beware!” and
”Has Anybody Seen My Gal?” and then joined the New York Actors Studio to study with Lee Strasberg. Small television roles sustained him until 1953, when he won critical acclaim in the Broadway production of ”The Immortalist” and was offered a number of starring film roles.
He chose the role of Cal Trask in Elia Kazan`s ”East of Eden” (1955). Adapted from John Steinbeck`s novel, ”East of Eden” is loosely based on the biblical story of Cain and Abel, this time taking place in 1917 California. The lonely, rebellious Cal competes with his older brother, Aron (Richard Davalos) for the love and approval of their puritanical father (Raymond Massey).
No matter how hard Cal tries, he can`t do right in the eyes of his dad. Adding fuel to the fire, Cal seeks out his estranged mother (Jo Van Fleet), a woman of ill repute. He identifies with her because they are both made to feel like disgraces to the family. Aron`s girlfriend (Julie Harris) is embroiled in the feud when she shows compassion for Cal. Dean, Kazan and screenwriter Paul Osborn were nominated for Academy Awards for their work on ”East of Eden”;
Van Fleet captured the best supporting actress Oscar.
Dean next delivered another Oscar-nominated performance in 1955`s ”Rebel Without a Cause,” again portraying a sensitive kid who is starved for attention. In this powerful study of troubled teens, Dean is Jim Stark, who commands the respect of his peers with a tough image. Natalie Wood and Sal Mineo co-star as his girlfriend and hero-worshipping pal. Wood, Mineo and director Nicholas Ray (for his original story) were also honored with Oscar nominations.
In his final film, ”Giant” (1956), Dean played Jett Rink, a lowly and often ridiculed ranch hand employed by a cattle baron (Rock Hudson) and his sophisticated wife (Elizabeth Taylor). After striking oil, Rink becomes a ruthless tycoon, determined to show up his former boss.
Yet in the end, a much older Rink sadly finds that his new wealth cannot buy the social status he desperately craves. ”Giant” won the Academy Award for best director (George Stevens) and was nominated for nine other Oscars including best picture, best actor (both Dean and Hudson) and best supporting actress (Mercedes McCambridge).
A few days after wrapping up ”Giant,” Dean planned to compete in an auto race near Salinas, Calif. He was known as a speed demon and was warned not to take any foolish chances during the movie`s production. Ironically, he had just filmed a public service message urging teens to ”Take it easy driving. The life you save may be mine!” His friends believed that he filmed the safety spot as a joke.
On the night of Sept. 30, 1955, Dean wanted to practice for the upcoming race with a new sports car he`d owned for less than two weeks-a gleaming silver Porsche 550 Spyder. His mechanic, Rolf Wentherich, went along for the joy ride. According to police records, Dean was stopped for speeding and ticketed that night, telling the highway patrolman, ”I`m driving to loosen the engine up. It won`t run right under 80.”
No one knows exactly how fast Dean was driving when the Porsche collided with a Ford driven by a college student named Donald Turnupseed at the intersection of Highways 466 and 41 near Cholame, Calif. Turnupseed and Wentherich survived the crash. Dean died almost instantly. He was 24.
To this day, loyal fans from the `50s and curiosity-seekers born decades later still flock to a Dean monument near the scene of his fatal accident, as well as to Dean`s grave in Fairmount, Ind. To them, Dean is forever young. His mystique lives on, in posters and souvenirs of every kind, in his signature uniform of jeans, T-shirt and leather jacket-and especially in his movies.
Warner Home Video is honoring his memory with Wednesday`s premiere of the biographical documentary ”Forever James Dean” (not rated, $29.98, closed-captioned) and the release of newly restored and digitally transferred editions of ”East of Eden” (not rated, $19.98, closed-captioned), ”Rebel Without a Cause” (not rated, $19.98, closed-captioned) and ”Giant” (rated G, $29.98, closed-captioned).
All four titles will also be available in the specially packaged ”James Dean 35th Anniversary Collection” ($99.92 VHS, available Wednesday; or $119.92 for a laserdisc set to be released later this year). In the laserdisc set (which will include a ”Bonus Trailers” disc and an exclusive pictorial booklet), ”East of Eden” and ”Rebel Without a Cause” will be presented in a widescreen, letterboxed format.
Although Dean`s career was cut very short, his influence is keenly obvious in many other movies on video. And you can even screen the movie that is said to have greatly influenced Dean himself: ”The Wild One” (1953, RCA/ Columbia Pictures Home Video, $19.95, closed-captioned; also on laserdisc, $29.95), starring Marlon Brando as a menacing biker who strikes fear into the hearts of a small town`s residents.
John Waters` 1990 musical-comedy ”Cry-Baby” is a kooky parody of `50s-style juvenile delinquent sagas. It`s slated for release on videocassette Thursday and on laserdisc Sept. 20 by MCA/Universal Home Video (rated PG-13, closed-captioned; VHS priced for rental, laserdisc at $34.98).
Johnny Depp stars as Cry-Baby Walker, a role inspired by Dean`s famous
”mixed-up kid from a broken home” characters. Traci Lords, Ricki Lake, Polly Bergen, Troy Donahue, Joey Heatherton, David Nelson and Patty Hearst co- star.
Other bad-boy movies on video that evoke the spirit of James Dean include:
”The Blackboard Jungle” (1955, MGM/UA Home Video, $19.98). Vic Morrow and Sidney Poitier play inner-city punks who try to intimidate a new teacher
(Glenn Ford).
”The Wild Angels” (1966, Nelson Entertainment, PG, $9.98). Peter Fonda and Bruce Dern are hell-raising bikers in this low-budget Roger Corman classic.
”The Wanderers” (1979, Warner, R, $59.95). Ken Wahl and Karen Allen face the hardships of growing up on the mean streets of the Bronx, circa 1963. ”Bad Boys” (1983, HBO Video, R, $14.99). Real-life rabble-rouser Sean Penn is perfectly cast as a rotten egg in a juvenile detention center.
”The Outsiders” (1983, Warner, PG, $19.98). S.E. Hinton`s classic novel about alienated lower-class youth springs to life with an all-star cast including Matt Dillon, C. Thomas Howell, Ralph Macchio, Patrick Swayze, Tom Cruise, Rob Lowe, Emilio Estevez and Diane Lane. Directed by Francis Coppola. ”Rumble Fish” (1983, MCA Home Video, R, $59.95). Based on another Hinton story and again directed by Coppola, this one explores the angst of Rusty James (Matt Dillon), who idolizes his wild older brother, Motorcycle Boy (Mickey Rourke). Dennis Hopper, Nicolas Cage, Christopher Penn and Diane Lane co-star.
”The Breakfast Club” (1985, MCA, R, $24.95, closed-captioned). Judd Nelson is the nasty boy who unleashes his venom on a geeky honor student
(Anthony Michael Hall), a self-righteous jock (Emilio Estevez), a popular fashion plate (Molly Ringwald) and a spaced-out wallflower (Ally Sheedy) in John Hughes` insightful condemnation of teen stereotypes.
