I would imagine that most people are too young to have been alive when James Dean was. I'm older than most of you and I was just a mere thought in my parents' minds by the time James crashed and unfortunately died during the pinnacle of his career.
They year was 1955
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no, that's not James Franco.... although that could be an idea!
James Dean is most popularly remembered as being a face of teenage rebellion and kind of a "pretty boy" long before Brad Pitt and Leonardo DiCaprio were born. His most popular and cited work is "Rebel Without a Cause" where he played Jim Stark (nothing to do with Winterfell.)
He was iconic because prior to his existence, there weren't really many people that had rose to fame in such a short span of time. He appeared first in a commercial for soda-pop (Pepsi) and was picked up and progressed very quickly mostly because of his good looks (it is worth noting that Leonardo DiCaprio's first screen work was also in commercials.)
While he struggled to get roles at first (because the 50s were a very conservative time) he was cast in a leading role in East of Eden in 1953
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If you were to watch this film today without understanding the backstory you would likely see it and be a bit "meh" about the whole thing. However, a great deal of the dialogue and even actions that make it into the final cut of this film were completely unscripted and it was only because Dean was in character, that he was able to portray a rebellious teenager to absolute perfection. This is what lead to his next role and the most famous part of his very short career.
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Come on! That looks exactly like James Franco!
His role as Jim Stark in Rebel Without a Cause would define James Dean as a really big deal in Hollywood. His portrayal of a rebellious teenager was so absurdly spot on that he quickly became one of the most sought-after actors.
While Rebel was being filmed James was (somewhat) secretly participating in a number of track races and developed a penchant for speed, so to speak. As good as he was on screen, he was actually equally as good on the race track.
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It was well-known with the producers that Dean was prone to dangerous things such as racing and while he was on set for his last movie "Giant" it was in his contract that he was barred from racing while it was being filmed. Of course he sidestepped this by not being involved in any official races, but kept upgrading to more and more powerful personal street vehicles. The last one he upgraded to was a 1955 Porsche 550 Spyder.
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It is rumored that one of the last conversations he had was with Alec Guiness (Obi-Wan Kenobi in the original Star Wars trilogy) and when Alec was shown James' car he said "If you get in that car, you will be found dead in it by this time next week."
It was exactly 7 days later that James Dean was in fact, killed in that very car. He was technically alive (in that he had a pulse) on the way to the hospital, but had such severe injuries (jaw nearly removed from his face, broken spine, multiple other broken and crushed bones) that he was declared dead by the time they arrived there.
He was a mere 24 years old.
He was awarded a posthumous Academy award for his involvement in "Giant." But this was his second posthumous award. The first one was given for "East of Eden" and it was also the first posthumous Academy Award ever given to anyone.
Even if you have never seen his films there is a very good chance that you are familiar with his name. I wonder if he would have become the icon that he is today had he not died at such a young age. What do you think?
The surprising thing here was that he was only 24 .
He definitely would have won more awards had he not died of natural causes... apparently dying in a fiery crash is natural causes if you're famous
aint that the truth. i wonder if he would have faded away as an actor... or perhaps his abilities would have turned out to be quite limited and we just didn't get to find out about it.
I of course have never seen his movies, but I do think he would have had continued success. It seems like a lot of famous talented stars think they are invincible. They are not. Lol
Had he lived, would he have become the icon he did? Super morbid to think about it... but maybe not. Lauded? Well-awarded? Most likely yes.
Iconic? From my bleacher seats I posit that this status is most often reserved for the dead-too-soon and the infamous. (Most often. Obviously you've got Beyonce-status folks who achieve this during the course of a long, lucrative career 😅)
Wow, that is pretty crazy about the car wreck and the guy foreshadowing it. I guess he must have been using the force to see that coming. :) I have never seen a James Dean movie. Occasionally when I am flipping through the channels I will stop at Turner Classic Movies, but it never happens to be when one of his is on. It is pretty sad that he was so young. It's hard to say if he would have been able to shake off the type casting that he was receiving at the time.
I hadn't even considered factoring in the force in this equation.... that is certainly possible.
The type casting was already setting in and he was already altering his appearance and in "Giant" he donned fake grey hair and shaved parts of his head to simulate a receding hairline.
I wish i needed to fake a receding hairline.
Haha, you and me both! I wish I had to fake the grey!
https://imgur.com/KDJtNNW sorprendente que a pesar de su corta edad, pudo aprovechar su sabiduria y talento, para crecer como persona.
That is really sad, just a 24 year old rising star died. He definitely got the looks and charm.
What a shame! That’s a sad story!
I hope he has been reincarnated into a handsome film star in Thailand!
That's crazy. I wonder how many "stars" have died in car crashes like this over the past 10, 20, 100 years?
Seems like most young stars just depends on them if they want to stay relevant or acting or not, so I would suspect he would have been acting today if he would have still wanted to.
i seem to think that James was a self-destructive person. It's tough to say because he was gone as soon as he appeared but I believe if it weren't for this car crash, some other tragedy would have gotten him... he just seemed to be headed that direction one way or another. Who knows....
But there is also the possibility that if he hadn't died at such an age he would have not really been remembered at all.