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James Dean is undoubtedly one of the greatest icons of the twentieth century, yet his celluloid legacy amounts to just three leading parts in feature films. It says much about the man that these three appearances were enough to endear him to a generation which could easily identify with the characters he portrayed. Subsequently, his violent and untimely death ensured an almost mythical place in cinema history.

Born on February 8th, 1931 to Winton and Mildred Dean, James's early years were spent in Marion, Indiana, before his father relocated the family to Santa Monica, California. Early in his life, James experienced a tragedy that was to shape his personality in the years that followed. Growing up he had been close to his mother but, in 1940, she passed away from cancer. It was a devastating blow and one that James struggled to come to terms with.

Following his mother's death James went to live with his father's sister and her husband in Fairmount, Indiana. It was here that he formed a strong bond with a Methodist preacher, Reverend James DeWeerd, who would have a strong influence on the young James. He graduated from high school in Fairmount in 1949 and subsequently moved back to live with his father and his new wife in California.

A pre-law course at Santa Monica College was short-lived. Instead, James preferred to switch to UCLA to study drama, much to the annoyance of his father, forcing James to leave home. His stay at UCLA didn't last long either. Despite playing the lead role in MacBeth' James decided in 1951 that New York was the place to really get his career started, and dropped out.

To begin with work was hard to come by. His first screen appearance was in a Pepsi commercial. Some minor roles followed but he was having to work another job just to subsist. Gradually he began landing more roles in TV shows but it was in 1954 that his first really big break came when he landed the part of Cal Trask in East of Eden'. His performance would later earn him an Academy Award nomination, the first person ever to be nominated posthumously. Soon after filming had finished James began shooting his most famous work, Rebel Without A Cause'. His portrayal of rebellious high school student Jim Stark struck a chord with the country's youth and James's position in American youth culture was assured. Jim Stark's desire for a parental figure to guide him was all too reminiscent of the actor's own life. His final film saw him cast in a different light as James played racist

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