Dean was born to a married couple but when his mother died of cancer in 1940 his father sent him to Indiana to live with his grandparents, where he stayed until 1949. He then returned to live with his father in Los Angeles and started university.

In the early 1950s he began to get acting jobs and soon became one of the best-known actors in the country, epitomizing the rebel without a cause, the angry youth of the post-war period, the first teenagers. He died in an automobile accident.

References

Microsoft Encarta 98 Encyclopedia, 1993-97
Alexander, Paul. Boulevard of Broken Dreams: The Life, Times and Legend of James Dean. (New York: Viking, 1994)
Herndon, Venable. James Dean: A Short Life. (Garden City: Doubleday, 1974)
"James (Byron) Dean, 1931-1955." [Includes portraits]. Available at: http://www.dreamscape.com/carlt/pages/dean.htm

Indexes

European
USA
20th Century
Theater, Broadcasting, Cinema
Sexuality: Gay Men, Lesbians, Bisexuals, Transsexuals
School-age Years, Adolescence
Unmarried Mother, Single Parent (Mother or Father) Unable to Cope
Grandparents
Parent(s) Died, Disappeared or Became Incapacitated