American actor, an instant star in 1955 who was nominated for the Best Actor Oscar for his role in “East of Eden,” which was followed by “Giant,” 1956. He became a timeless cult favorite for “Rebel Without a Cause,” 1955,a title which he apparently accepted as his personal banner. Rebellious and self-destructive, Dean pushed the edge of the envelope. He was killed in a wild auto accident caused by speeding in his Porsche Spyder on 30 September 1955 on the highway near Cholame, CA.
The only child of Mildred and Winton Dean, Dean was age six when the family moved to Los Angeles and nine when his mom died of cancer. A few days later, his dad sent him to live with relatives in Indiana, the beginning of an estrangement between father and son that lasted their lifetimes.
The Paul Alexander biography, “Blvd. of Broken Dreams,” 1994, takes him out of the closet. Under a straight facade, he lived a highly active gay lifestyle indulging in anything and everything, including S&M, bondage and the freak scene. Though he was engaged to actress Pier Angeli, it appeared to have been a chaste love under her Italian mother’s watchful eye. Dean was shy, hostile, unwashed and unkempt and subject to vivid mood swings. After his Broadway debut in “See the Jaguar,” 1952, he worked steadily on live TV. A method actor, he disconcerted other actors with his tendency to ad-lib in the middle of an intense scene.
Since his death in 1955, his tombstone has been stolen three times; the second time in 1983, it was missing until 1987 and most recently 14 July 1998, it was recovered within two days. Locals have tried to vandal-proof the headstone by anchoring it with steel bars.
Link to Wikipedia biography