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James Byron Dean (February 8, 1931 – September 30, 1955) was an American actor with a career that lasted five years. His roles typified teenage disillusionment and social estrangement of his time. He had several uncredited roles from 1951 to 1953 before starring as a rebellious son attempting to win his father's approval in East of Eden (1955). In Rebel Without a Cause (1955), he portrayed a teenager struggling to make sense of his emotions, who feels frustrated with his family and social life. His last lead role was playing a Texan rancher who discovered oil and became rich, in Giant (1956).
Dean died in a car crash in 1955. He became the only actor to receive two posthumous Academy Award acting nominations, being nominated in the Best Actor category for East of Eden and Giant. In 1999, the American Film Institute ranked him the 18th best male movie star of Golden Age Hollywood in the AFI's 100 Years...100 Stars list. Dean's film roles, fashion, and manners became celebrated in popular culture and influenced the development of rock and roll in the 1950s and 1960s.
Early life and education
Dean was born on February 8, 1931, in Marion, Indiana,[1] the only child of Mildred Marie Wilson and Winton Dean. He claimed that his mother was partly Native American, and that his father belonged to a "line of original settlers that could be traced back to the Mayflower". Six years after his father had left farming to become a dental technician, Dean moved with his family to Santa Monica, California. He was enrolled at Brentwood Public School in the Brentwood neighborhood of Los Angeles, but transferred soon afterward to the McKinley Elementary School. The family spent several years there, and by all accounts, Dean was very close to his mother. According to Michael DeAngelis, she was "the only person capable of understanding him". In 1938, Dean's mother was suddenly struck with acute stomach pain and quickly began to lose weight. She died of uterine cancer when Dean was nine years old. Unable to care for his son, Dean's father sent him to live with his aunt and uncle, Ortense and Marcus Winslow, on their farm in Fairmount, Indiana, where he was raised in their Quaker household. Dean's father served in World War II and later remarried.
In his adolescence, Dean sought the counsel and friendship of a local Methodist pastor, the Rev. James DeWeerd, who seems to have had a formative influence upon Dean, especially upon his future interests in bullfighting, car racing, and theater.[7] According to Billy J. Harbin, Dean had "an intimate relationship with his pastor, which began in his senior year of high school and endured for many years". An alleged sexual relationship was suggested in Paul Alexander's 1994 book Boulevard of Broken Dreams: The Life, Times, and Legend of James Dean. In 2011, it was reported that Dean once confided in Elizabeth Taylor that he was sexually abused by a minister approximately two years after his mother's death. Other reports on Dean's life also suggest that he was sexually abused by DeWeerd either as a child or as a late teenager.
Dean's overall performance in school was exceptional and he was a popular student. He played on the baseball and varsity basketball teams, studied drama, and competed in public speaking through the Indiana High School Forensic Association. After graduating from Fairmount High School in May 1949, he moved back to California with his dog, Max, to live with his father and stepmother. Dean enrolled in Santa Monica College and majored in pre-law. He transferred to University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) for one semester and changed his major to drama, which resulted in estrangement from his father. He pledged the Sigma Nu fraternity but was never initiated. While at UCLA, Dean was picked from a group of 350 actors to portray Malcolm in Macbeth. At that time, he also began acting in James Whitmore's workshop. In January 1951, he dropped out of UCLA to pursue a full-time career as an actor.
Personal life
Screenwriter William Bast was one of Dean's closest friends, a fact acknowledged by Dean's family. According to Bast, he was Dean's roommate at UCLA and later in New York, and knew Dean throughout the last five years of his life. While at UCLA, Dean dated Beverly Wills, an actress with CBS, and Jeanette Lewis, a classmate. Bast and Dean often double-dated with them. Wills began dating Dean alone, later telling Bast, "Bill, there's something we have to tell you. It's Jimmy and me. I mean, we're in love." They broke up after Dean "exploded" when another man asked her to dance while they were at a function. Bast, who was also Dean's first biographer, would not confirm whether he and Dean had a sexual relationship until 2006. In his book Surviving James Dean, Bast was more open about the nature of his relationship with Dean, writing that they had been lovers one night while staying at a hotel in Borrego Springs. In his book, Bast also described the difficult circumstances of their involvement.
In 1996, actress Liz Sheridan detailed her relationship with Dean in New York in 1952, saying it was "just kind of magical. It was the first love for both of us." Sheridan published her memoir, Dizzy & Jimmy: My Life with James Dean; A Love Story, in 2000.
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- SERVES
- 4
- COOK TIME
- 1 pound ground beef
- 1/4 cup chopped onion
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 (10-3/4-ounce) can cream of mushroom soup, undiluted
- 1/2 cup milk
- 1 (16-ounce) package frozen mixed vegetables
- 1 cup (4-ounces) shredded Cheddar cheese
- 1/2 (32-ounce) package frozen seasoned potato nuggets
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Coat a 2-1/2-quart baking dish with cooking spray.
- In a skillet over medium heat, brown ground beef, onion, and salt, stirring until meat crumbles and is no longer pink; drain. Spoon ground beef into prepared baking dish.
- In a small bowl combine soup and milk, mix well. Layer frozen vegetables, soup mixture, and cheese over ground beef. Top with frozen potatoes.
- Bake 35 to 40 minutes, or until potatoes are golden and casserole is heated through.
1948 – Kathy Bates, American actress
On June 28th, we remember fondly the tales of the big blue ox and a mighty lumberjack. It is National Paul Bunyan Day!
Described as a giant and a lumberjack of unusual skill, Paul Bunyan is one of the most famous North American folklore heroes. In the tales, Paul Bunyan was almost always accompanied by his companion, Babe the Blue Ox.
Was He Real?
First appearing in print in 1906, in a story published by Northern Michigan journalist James MacGillivray, Bunyan’s character originated in folktales circulated among lumberjacks in the Northeastern United States and Eastern Canada. One account states that the tales began during the Papineau Rebellion of 1837. In 1914, William Laughhead reworked the stories for a logging company’s advertising campaign. The campaign breathed new life into the growing legendary character of Paul Bunyan. It was the 1922 edition of Laughead’s tales that inspired many others and soon the character’s plaid shirt and far-fetched characteristics spread across all of the United States and Canada.
Many cities in the north-central section of the United States, claim the title as the official home of Paul Bunyan.
Statue of Paul Bunyan in Akeley, MN
The Folklore
While folklore surrounds the lumberjack, Paul Bunyan is one character that has an origin story. One Paul Bunyan legend claims it took five storks to carry him as a newborn. As he grew a little older, when he clapped his hands and laughed, windows shook and shattered. The story continues that he sawed off the legs of his parents’ bed in the middle of the night when he was only seven months old. Folklore also credits Bunyan with forming the Grand Canyon as he and Babe the Blue Ox walked through, dragging his ax behind him. Another myth suggests Bunyan created the Great Lakes so Babe had a watering hole.
