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A photo of James Byron Dean

James Byron Dean 1931 - 1955

James Byron Dean was born on February 8, 1931 at Marion, Grant, Indiana, USA to Mildred Dean and Winton Arlando Dean, and died at age 24 years old on September 30, 1955 at Cholame, San Luis Obispo, California, USA. Family, friend, or fan, this family history biography is for you to remember James Byron Dean.

James Byron Dean
Name
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Last residence
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February 8, 1931
Marion, Grant, Indiana, USA
Birth
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September 30, 1955
Cholame, San Luis Obispo, California, USA
Death
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Male
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Updated: February 25, 2025
Biography ID: 1213625 What's this
James Byron Dean James Dean (1931 - 1955)
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James Byron Dean's History: 1931 - 1955

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  • Introduction

    James Dean used to hang out at the home of my friend Shirley Osborn Ayers. The portrait is by Arthur K. Miller. He was the first actor to receive an Academy Award nomination posthumously, for his role in East of Eden (1955). However, he did not win. He was the grandson of Charles Dean and Emma Dean. He was the nephew of Ortense Winslow (sister of his father) and Marcus Winslow. He was the cousin of Marcus Winslow Jr.. He is the only actor in history to receive more than one Oscar nomination posthumously. He was pictured on a 32¢ US commemorative postage stamp in the Legends of Hollywood series, originally issued on Monday, June 24, 1996. He pledged Sigma Nu fraternity but dropped out of college before being initiated. As promotion for Rebel Without a Cause (1955), Dean filmed an interview with actor Gig Young for the "Behind the Camera" segment of the ABC series "Warner Bros. Presents" in July 1955. Dean told Young, "I used to fly around quite a bit, you know, I took a lot of unnecessary chances on the highway.... Now when I drive on the highway, I'm extra cautious." When asked if he had advice for young drivers, Dean concluded the interview, "Take it easy driving. The life you might save might be mine." Dean died soon afterward and the interview was never aired. Donald Turnupseed, the driver of the other car involved in Dean's accident, died of cancer in 1995. Turnupseed could not swerve out of the way of Dean's Porsche Spyder, but he successfully swerved journalists who frequently pestered him for interviews about the accident. He is one of several famous and tragic figures from history to be featured on the sleeve artwork of the album "Clutching at Straws" by rock band Marillion (released in 1987). East of Eden (1955) was the only one of the three movies in which he had major roles to be released while he was alive. He is one of only five male actors to be posthumously nominated for an Academy Award as best actor in a leading role. The others were Spencer Tracy, Peter Finch, Massimo Troisi and Heath Ledger. Contrary to popular belief, Dean's middle name was not taken from Lord Byron, but from a relative, "Byron" Dean. During the filming of Giant (1956), he and Rock Hudson did not get along. This tension heightened their onscreen clashes. However, according to Hudson's ex-wife Phyllis Gates, he cried after hearing the news of Dean's untimely death. Gates wrote, "Rock couldn't be reached. He was overcome by guilt and shame, almost as though he himself had killed James Dean.". At the time of his untimely death, James Dean did not leave behind a will, so most of his possessions went to his father, Winton Dean, whose relationship with him was distant at best. In her book "Dizzy and Jimmy", Liz Sheridan claims she and Dean were engaged. Dean's acting breakthrough came on Broadway in the drama "See the Jaguar", despite its run of only four days. He was voted the 22nd Greatest Movie Star of all time by Entertainment Weekly. He attended and graduated from Santa Monica College, a California junior college that boasts its elite drama program. Went on to UCLA but left after appearing in one stage production, as Malcolm in "Macbeth", as he was anxious to get his acting career started. According to "The Mutant King", David Dalton's 1974 biography of James Dean, the rumor that Dean was a masochist who liked to have cigarettes stubbed out on his naked body can be traced to a pencil sketch of his called "The Human Ashtray". The sketch featured a human body, in the guise of an ashtray, with many cigarette stubs in it. Dalton speculates that the sketch has nothing to do with Dean's sexual proclivities but much to do with the fact that he was a heavy smoker. Marlon Brando, in his 1994 autobiography "Songs My Mother Taught Me", says that Dean, who idolized him, based his acting on him and his lifestyle on what he thought Brando's lifestyle was.
  • 02/8
    1931

    Birthday

    February 8, 1931
    Birthdate
    Marion, Grant, Indiana, USA
    Birthplace
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  • Professional Career

    He had major roles in only three movies. In the Elia Kazan production of John Steinbeck's East of Eden (1955) he played Cal Trask, the bad brother who could not force affection from his stiff-necked father. His true starring role, the one which fixed his image forever in American culture, was that of the brooding red-jacketed teenager Jim Stark in Nicholas Ray's Rebel Without a Cause (1955). George Stevens' filming of Edna Ferber's Giant (1956), in which he played the non-conforming cowhand Jett Rink who strikes it rich when he discovers oil, was just coming to a close when Dean, driving his Porsche Spyder race car, collided with another car while on the road near Cholame, California on September 30, 1955. He had received a speeding ticket just two hours before. At age 24, James Dean was killed almost immediately from the impact from a broken neck. His very brief career, violent death and highly publicized funeral transformed him into a cult object of apparently timeless fascination.
  • 09/30
    1955

    Death

    September 30, 1955
    Death date
    Unknown
    Cause of death
    Cholame, San Luis Obispo, California, USA
    Death location
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  • Obituary

    James Dean Born February 8, 1931 in Marion, Indiana, USA Died September 30, 1955 in Cholame, California, USA (road accident) Birth Name James Byron Dean Nicknames Jimmy Dean "One-Speed Dean" JD Height 5' 7" (1.7 m) Mini Bio (1) James Byron Dean was born February 8, 1931 in Marion, Indiana, to Mildred Marie (Wilson) and Winton A. Dean, a farmer turned dental technician. His mother died when Dean was nine, and he was subsequently raised on a farm by his aunt and uncle in Fairmount, Indiana. After grade school, he moved to New York to pursue his dream of acting. He received rave reviews for his work as the blackmailing Arab boy in the New York production of Gide's "The Immoralist", good enough to earn him a trip to Hollywood. His early film efforts were strictly small roles: a sailor in the Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis overly frantic musical comedy Sailor Beware (1952); a GI in Samuel Fuller's moody study of a platoon in the Korean War, Fixed Bayonets! (1951) and a youth in the Piper Laurie-Rock Hudson comedy Has Anybody Seen My Gal (1952). Frequently played angry youths Squinty, sleepy blue eyes Light brown hair greased back Impulsive emotional acting style Known for playing well-meaning but deeply troubled characters The red jacket, white T-shirt and blue jeans from Rebel Without a Cause (1955) Trivia (115) He was chosen by Empire magazine as one of the 100 Sexiest Stars in film history (#42) (1995). In October 1997, he was ranked #33 in Empire (UK) magazine's "The Top 100 Movie Stars of All Time" list. The famous Failure Analysis Associates, from Menlo Park, California, reconstructed and recreated all details of the accident at the same approximate time on September 30 and have concluded that James Dean was travelling 55 to 56 mph when the fateful accident occurred, thereby proving he had not been speeding, as rumor had it. Most of his so-called affairs with various starlets were made up by the Warner Brothers public relations. He did have love affairs with Pier Angeli and Liz Sheridan. He also worked as a "stunt tester" on the game show Beat the Clock (1950), testing the safety of the stunts that some of the studio audience members would later perform. However, he proved so agile at completing the stunts that his results could not be used to set time limits for contestants to complete them. So he was reluctantly released. Following his untimely death, he was interred at Park Cemetery in Fairmount, Indiana, which is nearly 2,300 miles from where he perished in his fatal car crash on the intersection leading to Cholame, California. Reportedly, Dean was very much in love with Pier Angeli and they planned to marry, but her mother blocked the union because Dean was not Catholic and she helped arrange Pier's marriage to Vic Damone. Before she committed suicide, Pier wrote that Dean was the only man she had ever really loved. He briefly studied dance with Katherine Dunham. He won the Bloom Award as "Best Newcomer" for early Broadway work in "The Immoralist". He was issued a speeding ticket only two hours and fifteen minutes before his fatal accident. He is the subject of the songs "James Dean" by Eagles and "Mr. James Dean" by Hilary Duff. He is mentioned in the lyrics of many other songs, including "Rock On" by David Essex, "Electrolite" by R.E.M., "Jack and Diane" by John Mellencamp, "Vogue" by Madonna, "We Didn't Start the Fire" by Billy Joel, "Forever" by Skid Row, "American Pie" by Don McLean, "Speechless" by Lady Gaga, "Walk on the Wild Side" by Lou Reed, "Rather Die Young" by Beyoncé, "Choke On This" by Senses Fail, "Blue Jeans" by Lana Del Rey, "Style" by Taylor Swift and "Ghost Town" by Adam Lambert.
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8 Memories, Stories & Photos about James

James Dean stayed at her house and was crazy about Shirley.
Photo of Amanda S. Stevenson Amanda S. Stevenson
17.8k+ favorites
02/27/2022
James Dean stayed at her house and was crazy about Shirley.
The feeling was mutual.
Date & Place: Not specified or unknown.
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Portrait by Arthur K. Miller.
Photo of Amanda S. Stevenson Amanda S. Stevenson
17.8k+ favorites
08/10/2021
Portrait by Arthur K. Miller.
James Dean was known for brooding in his film roles. That is captured in this portrait.
My friend Shirley Ayers used to have Jimmy Dean as her houseguest.
Date & Place: Not specified or unknown.
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James Dean
Photo of Amanda S. Stevenson Amanda S. Stevenson
17.8k+ favorites
10/19/2019
James Dean
A photo of James Dean
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James Byron Dean
Photo of Amanda S. Stevenson Amanda S. Stevenson
17.8k+ favorites
08/09/2019
James Byron Dean
A portrait of James Byron Dean by Arthur K. Miller
Date & Place: Not specified or unknown.
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James Byron Dean
Photo of Amanda S. Stevenson Amanda S. Stevenson
17.8k+ favorites
08/09/2019
James Byron Dean
A photo of James Byron Dean
Date & Place: Not specified or unknown.
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James Byron Dean
Photo of Amanda S. Stevenson Amanda S. Stevenson
17.8k+ favorites
08/09/2019
James Byron Dean
A photo of James Byron Dean
Date & Place: Not specified or unknown.
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James Byron Dean
Photo of Amanda S. Stevenson Amanda S. Stevenson
17.8k+ favorites
08/09/2019
James Byron Dean
A photo of James Byron Dean
Date & Place: Not specified or unknown.
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James Byron Dean
Photo of Amanda S. Stevenson Amanda S. Stevenson
17.8k+ favorites
08/09/2019
James Byron Dean
A photo of James Byron Dean
Date & Place: Not specified or unknown.
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James Dean's Family Tree & Friends

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Other Biographies

Other James Dean Biographies

Dean, James Dean, James (May 20, 1943 - Jul 23, 2012) Dean, James (Jul 16, 1926 - Jan 29, 2012) Dean, James (Jan 3, 1936 - Jul 30, 2009) Dean, James (Jan 17, 1935 - Nov 20, 2006) Dean, James (Feb 6, 1926 - Mar 8, 1968) Dean, James (Oct 15, 1915 - Feb 27, 1987) Dean, James (May 26, 1963 - May 26, 1963) Dean, James (Jul 26, 1931 - Apr 27, 1958) Dean, James (Feb 2, 1922 - Jun 13, 1969)
Dean, James (Nov 5, 1964 - Nov 27, 1965) Dean, James (Feb 13, 1962 - Feb 15, 1962) Dean, James (Sep 11, 1916 - Sep 21, 1984) Dean, James (Feb 22, 1925 - Nov 19, 1968) Dean, James (Jul 1, 1925 - Jul 11, 1944) Dean, James (Dec 18, 1926 - Feb 28, 2000) Dean, James (Sep 4, 1914 - Apr 24, 1962) Dean, James (Mar 23, 1921 - Aug 17, 1990) Dean, James (May 12, 1902 - May 12, 1960) Dean, James (Aug 26, 1919 - Feb 27, 1992)

Other Dean Family Biographies

Dean, Oakey (Born 1891) Kane, Clyde (Oct 12, 1942 - Jan 1976) Dean, Delaney (Born Jul 11, 1879) Dean, George (Born Mar 28, 1870) Dean, Charlie (Born Jun 6, 1875) Dean, William (Born Feb 5, 1830) Dean, Thelma (Born May 2, 1919) Dean, Willard (Born Mar 8, 1930) Dean, Carmen (Born Feb 1898) Dean, Ralph (Jan 19, 1899 - Feb 14, 1999)
Dean, Charles (Born Oct 1891) Dean, Troy Otha (Born c. 1903) Franks, Carmen (May 12, 1923 - Sep 17, 2003) Dean, Dorothy (Nov 20, 1915 - Jul 5, 1974) Dean, James (Born Oct 10, 1905) Register-Dean, Elizabeth (Oct 17, 1869 - Apr 15, 1958) Daniels, Roxie  (Aug 6, 1889 - May 25, 1968) Dean, Robert (Born Jul 27, 1910) Dean, John (Born Mar 17, 1876) Dean, Mary (Born Jun 18, 1895)
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