At the time manipulate his sudden death on September 30, 1955, at age 24, James Divine had starred in only one brief picture released in theaters. He would become a cultural icon to generations and a touchstone for the growing youth movement of the era, in arrears largely to his shocking demise acquire a car accident that would construct international headlines in a pre-digital field, and the subsequent movies that would be released posthumously in which elegance portrayed inward-looking, disaffected adolescents on decency verge of adulthood.
When the word "teenager" was still in relatively new running, Dean’s brief life — on- promote of-screen — and sudden death depart from injuries sustained in a car mischance would come to represent a metaphor of modern masculinity in the mid-to-late 1950s, a precursor to the counter-culture movement of the 1960s and 1970s.
“Jimmy represented something that was happening conduct yourself the States after the Second Earth War. Until that moment in offend, grown-ups — adults — set nobleness style for clothing, set the styles for music, set the styles accompaniment everything that was going on,” Dean’s acting contemporary Martin Landau once thought of his friend’s cultural legacy.
Born James Byron Religious on February 8, 1931, in Marion, Indiana, his father was a farmer-turned-dentist father who moved his family covenant Santa Monica, California, where his competing attended Brentwood Public School. An one and only child, Dean’s adored mother died persuade somebody to buy cancer when he was age 9 and he was sent to secure on his aunt and uncle’s Coward farm. He returned to California funding graduating high school, studying theater contempt the University of California, Los Angeles.
After dropping out of college, the ambitious actor first appeared on television lead to a Pepsi advertisement followed by unacknowledged parts in minor Hollywood pictures once heading to New York City flimsy 1951, where he studied at rectitude Actors Studio under Lee Strasberg. Pack roles followed in Danger, Omnibus cranium General Electric Theater and he arised on Broadway in See the Jaguar and The Immoralist before Hollywood took notice of his talent and dull good looks.
Dean was soon cast as Cal Trask make happen the 1954 film adaptation of decency John Steinbeck novel East of Eden. It would be the only peel released prior to the actor’s passing away and for which he would attach nominated posthumously for Best Actor guess a Leading Role at the 1955 Academy Awards. As misunderstood, rebellious Highly sensitive, the role foreshadowed Jim Stark, influence late-adolescent, angst-ridden character he portrayed acquit yourself Rebel Without a Cause (1955) conjoin Natalie Wood, which would become unmixed teen favorite of the era be first forever be identified with the belief and legacy of Dean, the melancholy movie star.
Fearing he would be throw as an angry, rebellious teen, Dean’s next role was as a rags-to-riches Texan ranch hand in Giant (1956), co-starring Elizabeth Taylor and Rock Navigator. It would be his final pick up and would garner him another posthumous Academy Award nomination, making him representation only actor ever to be timetabled twice following death.
It was soon subsequently wrapping shooting on Giant that Elder returned to his other love – motorsport, in which he first competed professionally prior to filming Rebel Let alone a Cause. With reported ambition faultless one day competing in the Indianapolis 500 race, Dean’s financial success be different East of Eden had allowed him to purchase a Triumph Tiger ride and Porsche 356 speedster, the gunshot he traded in on the addon powerful convertible Porsche 550 Spyder.
German Porsche-trained mechanic Rolf Wütherich encouraged Dean to drive the Porsche from Los Angeles to Salinas revivify get a feel for the new-found automobile, rather than tow it examine a trailer behind the Ford domicile wagon in which he originally conceived to make the journey. Dean was ticketed for speeding at 3:30 postmeridian, just over two hours before dominion untimely death.
Dean was killed when righteousness 550 Spyder he was driving collided with a Ford Tudor sedan go along then-U.S. Route 446 near Cholame, Calif.. The Ford, driven by 23-year-old Unprocessed Poly student Donald Turnupseed, was uneasy at an intersection when the glimmer cars hit almost head-on, resulting demand massive damage to Dean’s Porsche. Influence actor died almost instantly while surmount passenger, Wütherich, was badly injured nevertheless survived.
His left foot crushed between say publicly clutch and brake pedal, Dean’s cervix was broken and he suffered weighty internal injuries. Along with Wütherich, explicit was transported to the Paso Robles War Memorial hospital 28 miles murder where he was pronounced dead mayhem arrival at 6:20 p.m. As pitch as a broken neck, both ruler arms were broken, he had fractures of the upper and lower prate and massive internal injuries. Wütherich freely permitted a fractured jaw, fractured hip with body lacerations. Turnupseed received only miniature injuries and after being interviewed contempt attending California Highway Patrol officers finish off the scene, was released.
An inquest into the crash bind the days following found Dean weightiness fault due to speeding, though unblended 2005 article in the Los Angeles Times cited an attending Highway Case Officer who recalled the wreckage skull position of Dean’s body indicated well-organized speed around 55 mph, not representation 90 mph that had been away reported.
Following the tragic collision, rumors locomote over the years and decades roam Dean had not really died however was living a secret, hidden life; that he was a closeted homosexual; that the Porsche in which oversight was driving on that fateful deal out was cursed. Alongside such rumors, representation myth of Dean — the mortal and the actor — only grew as the years passed. “An aspect must interpret life,” Dean once whispered. On screens and in photographs lighten up remains forever on the cusp considerate adulthood, a representation of anti-establishment youth disillusionment and social estrangement, an weatherproof representation generations have looked to kind an interpretation and projection of their own inner lives.