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Kimberley
On 8th February 1931, James Byron Dean was born in Indiana, USA. His first name is that of the attending physician, James Emmick, and the middle name, it is said, from the poet Lord Byron. As this is a �50s issue I�ll skip the years between. These were obviously important in shaping his short but influential career.
In 1950, January 18th, Dean began his freshman year at Santa Monica City College. By October 10th Jimmy landed a role in the UCLA theatre production of Macbeth. Finally by December 13th he got his first professional acting job. Dean got $30 for a Pepsi-Cola commercial in which a group of teenagers dance around a jukebox singing "Pepsi- Cola hits the spot..." Right�ok then.
In January 1951, Jimmy decided
The major event for Dean the next year is that in October he landed his first leading role on Broadway in See the Jaguar. He played a 16-year-old boy who had been locked in an icehouse all his life by a demented mother. Mmm�different.
Over 1953 Dean became involved in various other projects many on the NBC network or for the CBS radio station.
It seems to be in 1954 when Jimmy�s star status rises further and faster. He is seen on Broadway as Bachir in The Immortalist. By February 12th there are rehearsals for Women of Trachis, Ezra Pound's translation of Sophocles. In April Dean signs a contract with Warner Brothers for the role of Cal Trask in East of Eden and by May he�d bought his first sports car, a used MG TA. In September after going back to smaller scale projects work is started on the script for Rebel Without A Cause, by Warner Brothers. No celebrity is perfect and as it is well known some can get pretty wild at times. James was no exception. In November his former girlfriend, Pier Angeli, married singer Vic Damone, Jimmy guns his motorcycle from across the street.
Entering into the final year of Dean�s life, 1955 work is still on tap and there seemed to be no chance of the well drying up yet. In January Warner Brothers announced that James Dean was to play the role of Jim Stark in Rebel Without A Cause. As is well known Dean had a passion for cars and racing and in March he bought a 1500cc Porche Super Speedster. He won races at Pacific Palisades and Pasadena and entered the prestigious two-day meet at Palm Springs. With work continuing on Rebel Without a Cause, by April Warner Brothers again extended his contract. He was slated to play Jett Rink in the movie version of Edna Ferber's epic novel, Giant. Shooting for Giant begins just before filming for Rebel ends. Back into races on May 28th and 29th Jimmy races his car in Santa Barbara, California.
Ironically in early September Dean makes 30-second commercial for the National Highway Safety Committee with actor Gig Young. He signs off with: "Take it easy driving. The life you might save might be mine." On September 30th at 8:00 a.m. Dean arrived at Competition Motors to check out the new Porche with his mechanic, Rolf Wutherich. At 10:00 a.m. his father, Winton, and uncle visited him.Together they had an early lunch at Farmer's Market. At about 1:30 p.m. Dean and Wutherich pick up Sanford Roth and Bill Hickman. The group left for Salinas in two cars. It was reported that Jimmy got a ticket for speeding that afternoon at roughly 5:45 p.m. At an intersection of routes 466 and 41, near Cholame, Dean�s Porche collided with a Ford sedan driven by Donald Turnupseed. Wutherich is thrown free but James died within seconds. The actor was driving at 57 mph in a 60-mph zone when he was involved in the collision. Dean's death at the age of 24 made his film, Rebel Without A Cause, that much more poignant when it was released a month later.