James Dean may very well have one of the most tragic Hollywood stories out there.
He died far too young at the ripe age of 24 in a car accident, but there was much turmoil in his life before then. He had some serious dark spots in his family history, and some other secrets that most fans never imagined.
Yet, the young man still managed to live a success-filled life, albeit a short one. There is no doubt that this star would have soared far higher had he gotten the chance, but even he didn't see his future reaching that far.
Behind his bad boy, rebellious persona were many secrets that most people don't know about. It's sometimes hard to see that he was so much more than the icon and legend that he has become since that fateful September day in 1955. There is more than his accident, and there is more than his tumultuous relationship and broken engagement with Anna Maria Pierangeli, who claimed that Dean was the love of her life.
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Thumbnail sources: Wikimedia Commons, Flickr
1. His Mother Died When He Was Just A Boy
He and his mother, Mildred Wilson, were extremely close. It is said that she was the only one who ever truly understood him as a child, and her death to uterine cancer when he was 9 years old left a huge hole in his heart.
2. His First Television Apperance Was On A Commercial
In 1950, like many up-and-coming actors, Dean appeared in a TV commercial. In his first appearance in the public eye, he was selling soda pop to the masses.
3. He Wasn't Always The Cleanest
He was known to show up to formal events in filthy clothing held together by safety pins, or even with no shoes on. He didn't care much about his appearance, and in that sense, the rebel part of his sex-symbol status was definitely in full swing at pretty much all times.
4. He Didn't Like Sticking To The Script
Before improvising on set became more and more acceptable and even encouraged, Dean liked to ad-lib, often confusing his on-screen partners. Ronald Reagan, the future president, was one of the folks that didn't like his on-the-fly acting method, and he was certainly not alone.
5. His Father Hated The Career Choice
When Dean decided to drop his pre-law degree course in lieu of a concentration in drama, that ended the already tumultuous relationship he had with his father, who didn't support such a risky and unconventional livelihood.
6. He Had A Bit Of A Jealous Streak
He and actress Beverly Wills broke up after he really went off on another guy who asked her for a dance. According to Wills, he reportedly grabbed the guy by the shirt collar and threatened to blacken both of his eyes.
7. Despite Early Troubles, He Did Well In School
Dean had a childhood fraught with sadness and displacement, but he still managed to do very well in high school. He played baseball and varsity basketball, while also competing in public speaking and participating in drama. His classmates and teachers alike took kindly to the young man with a troubled past.
8. He Practiced Magic
On top of being a tremendous actor and taking to racing cars, Dean also liked to perfect magic tricks in his spare time. This is an unlikely hobby that you would think doesn't quite fit into his bad boy persona, but he somehow made it work. One of his tricks was putting a lit match and an unlit cigarette into his mouth at the same time, and taking out a lit cigarette. If there ever was a magic trick to make people swoon, that was it.
9. He Slept In His Car More Than Once
Before Dean hit his short-lived stardom, he sometimes had to resort to sleeping in his car when he wasn't able to afford his rent.
10. Dean And His Friends, In Different Ways, Predicted His Untimely Death
Dean himself said that he didn't think he would live past the age of 30, with interests like race cars and bullfighting. On the night of his death, his Rebel Without A Cause co-stars, Sal Mineo, Natalie Wood, Nick Adams, and Richard Davalos, were all out to dinner together. Their conversation turned to Dean and his new sports car, and they all agreed that he would get in some sort of accident within the year. Alec Guinness also told Dean to his face that he thought the car may be the death of him.
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