by Adnan Kundi

Created on: January 05, 2008

A symbol of youth, freewill and forever living charm; James Dean has been an idol for the youngsters around the world.

Born in 1931 in Marion, Indiana, USA, he lived his initial years with his aunt and uncle. He started his career by taking small roles such as a blackmailing Arab boy in Gide's, "The Immoralist"; a sailor in Dean - Lewis musical comedy, "Sailor Beware" (1952); a GI in a Samuel Fuller's, "Fixed Bayonets!" (1951); and a youth in Piper Laurie - Rock Hudson comedy, "Has Anybody Seen My Gal?" (1952). These roles paved his way to some greater roles, which proved to be his height of talent and fame.

His first great role was of Cal Trask, a moody, disaffected son in Elia Kazan's "East of Eden" (1955). In one famous scene, Dean throws his arms around his father's neck, played by Raymond Massey, imploring him to say that he (his father) loves him. This was not rehearsed and it completely threw Massey, although the scene as it was shot remains in the film. Such improvisatory style of Dean irritated Massey; and Kazan admits that he encouraged the conflict between the two actors to generate the on-screen tension.

His second great role was in Nicholas Ray's "Rebel Without a Cause" (1955), in which he played the role of a disturbed high-school teenager on the verge of becoming a fully developed teenage miscreant, which was because of lacking love and stability in his home life. Among all the actors including Natalie Wood and Sal Mineo, Dean dominated every scene in the movie. Such an on screen persona of his brought forward a rebellious attitude among America's youth which became visible in the mass protests of the 1960s.

His last great role was in George Stevens', "Giant" (1956), along with Rock Hudson and Elizabeth Taylor. He played Jet Rink, a penniless orphan who later becomes an oil millionaire. His hesitant style suited the young Jet Rink, but when he had to age in the latter parts of the movie, his lack of technique showed through and his acting is almost amateurish.

These three great roles proved to be Dean's last. On September 30, 1956, he died in a car accident while driving his Porsche Spyder in Cholame, California, USA. A great symbol of youth had come to an end, which is still alive and seen among the youth of the modern times. He himself had once said "If a man can bridge the gap between life and death ... I mean, if he can live on after his death, then maybe he was a great man."

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