MUSEUM VIDEO TOUR
The following selected videos highlight some of the special James Dean artifacts we have on display.
#1 - James Dean created this stop-motion animation using the miniature bullfighting figurines we have on display.
#2 - James Dean raced his Porsche 356 Super Speedster at the Santa Barbara Road Races on May 29, 1955 wearing this racing suit we have on display.
#3 - James Dean used the Minifon P55 wire recorder and microphone we have on display to secretly record his grandparents as they told stories around the dining room table in February of 1955.
BIOGRAPHY
James Byron Dean was born on February 8, 1931 in Marion, Indiana. He was the only child of Winton Arlando Dean and Mildred Marie Wilson Dean. They lived in Fairmount until Jimmy was six years old and his father accepted a position working as a dental technician for the Sawtelle Veteran’s Administration Hospital in Los Angeles, CA.
Jimmy was very close to his mother who loved the arts. She had him take tap dance classes and violin lessons. She built a cardboard puppet theatre for him and they’d put on skits together and recite poetry. They had a whole imaginary world together. We think it is safe to say Mildred was the first to recognize and nurture her son’s creative genius. Tragically, when Jimmy was only nine years old, Mildred passed away of uterine cancer.
Jimmy’s father, trying to do what was best for Jimmy, sent him back to Fairmount to be raised by his aunt and uncle, Marcus and Ortense Winslow. As Quakers, they were quiet and loving people who treated Jimmy like their own son. Jimmy flourished growing up in Fairmount. His speech and drama teacher, Adeline Brookshire Nall, immediately recognized Jimmy’s talent and had him starring in all the school plays. His senior year of high school, he won the National Forensic League’s state contest for Dramatic Declamation. He placed sixth in the national contest held in Longmont, CO. He was a star athlete for Fairmount High School excelling in basketball, track, and baseball. At graduation, he won the top athlete award as well as the art medal.
After graduation, Jimmy decided to move to California to pursue his dream of becoming an actor. He attended Santa Monica City College and then transferred to UCLA to study drama. He landed his first gig ever in a Pepsi-Cola commercial and his first credited role in the television special “Hill Number One” before deciding to move to New York City.
Jimmy was one of the youngest actors ever admitted to the prestigious Actor’s Studio. He acted in numerous television episodes. He landed the part of Wally Wilkins in the Broadway play “See the Jaguar.” His big break came when he landed his second Broadway play “The Immoralist.” Jimmy won the Daniel Blum award for Best Newcomer on Broadway. His performance convinced Elia Kazan to cast him as Cal Trask in “East of Eden.” From that point on, Jimmy was working non-stop. He starred in only three movies “East of Eden,” “Rebel Without a Cause,” and “Giant.” He made all three movies in less than eighteen months. Tragically, he died in a car accident on his way to the Salinas Road Races in Salinas, CA, on September 30, 1955. He is still the only actor to have two posthumous Oscar nominations for Best Actor in “East of Eden” and “Giant.”
To this day, he is regarded as one of the best actors to ever live and an American Icon.
