13 Shocking Facts About James Dean: Rebel Without a Cause

James Dean adored his mother, but she died of cancer when he was only nine. His father couldn't cope and sent him to live with his aunt and uncle on a farm in Fairmount, Indiana. That upheaval had an enormous impact on his personality: he often felt alone and misunderstood, something that later shone through in his acting. According to friends, he searched for a mother figure all his life.

There were always rumors about Dean's sexuality. Although he had relationships with women, including actresses Pier Angeli and Liz Sheridan, many insiders and biographers have claimed he was bisexual. A famous quote attributed to him says he was not gay, but wasn't going to go through life 'with one hand tied behind my back'. Whatever the truth, he seemed to refuse any label, which was quite radical in the 1950s.

James Dean had a strange fascination with death. He was known as the reckless rebel, and in real life he sought danger too: he raced cars and motorcycles, drove far too fast and reportedly talked about dying young. That gives his tragic death in 1955 an almost prophetic quality.

The Porsche 550 Spyder in which Dean died was nicknamed 'Little Bastard' and became the center of a legend about bizarre accidents. According to the stories, several people who bought parts of the wreck were injured or killed, a garage where it was stored caught fire, and the car eventually vanished. Much of the legend was embellished by car customizer George Barris, but it made the James Dean myth even more mysterious.

Before he became famous, Dean mostly got small parts. He did bit roles in films and television and stage work in New York, and some found him too odd and hard to control. His Broadway role in The Immoralist caught the attention of director Elia Kazan, who cast him in East of Eden (1955), and that changed everything.

One of Dean's great loves was Italian actress Pier Angeli. Her strict Catholic mother reportedly disapproved of the relationship because Dean wasn't Catholic and had a rebellious reputation. Angeli soon married singer Vic Damone instead, and according to legend Dean sat on his motorcycle across the street from the church during the wedding. Angeli is said to have later called him the love of her life.

Although Dean was seen as the ultimate cool style icon, he had very poor eyesight and wore thick glasses in private. He usually took them off for the camera, fearing they would spoil his image.

Shortly before the crash, according to his passenger and mechanic Rolf Wütherich, Dean saw a car turning across the road ahead and said: 'That guy's gotta stop... he'll see us.' Seconds later came the fatal collision.

Dean felt uncomfortable in the film industry and its publicity machine. He loved the freedom of stage acting and the Actors Studio in New York, where he could work without commercial pressure.

Dean was fascinated by bullfighting. He took lessons, owned a matador's cape and bull horns given to him by bullfighter Sidney Franklin, and loved to show off his moves to friends.

James Dean was an enthusiastic bongo and conga player and loved jazz and Afro-Cuban rhythms. He reportedly took drumming lessons from dancer and percussionist Cyril Jackson and jammed whenever he could.

Film studios found him moody, unpredictable and hard to control. On the set of Giant (1956) he clashed repeatedly with director George Stevens, who found the young actor difficult to work with.

Had Dean lived, he would probably have had a long career. But his tragic death at such a young age made him a myth. He received two posthumous Oscar nominations, became the ultimate symbol of youthful rebellion, and his star still shines. His life was short, intense and full of mystery, yet with just three films he built an unimaginable status.