Trivia of James Dean

Trivia of James Dean

*Dean's first filmed appearance was in a commercial for Pepsi-Cola in 1950. He is the character who puts money in the piano/jukebox.

*His front teeth were fake.A young Dean had his two front teeth knocked out while swinging on a trapeze in his aunt and uncle’s barn. (Dean later embellished the story, saying he lost them in a motorcycle accident.)

*He loves painting, sculpting, and reading.His favorite book was "The Little Prince" by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry.

*His tastes in music were eclectic. He liked African Tribal music and Afro-Cuban music, as well as classical (Béla Bartók, Igor Stravinsky); jazz/blues (Billie Holiday) and pop (Judy Garland and Frank Sinatra). His favourite song was Holiday's "When Your Lover Has Gone" and his favourite album was Sinatra's "Songs for Young Lovers".

*Dean starred in only three movies (Rebel Without A Cause, East of Eden, Giant).East of Eden (1955) was the only one of the three movies in which he had major roles to be released while he was alive.

*Dean’s acting method approach could often complicate things for his fellow actors. Dean never knew his lines before coming on set and would often ignore things like moving on cue or finding his marks. Dean was also prone to preparing by himself, then blowing a whistle when he was ready to let the other actors know it was time to shoot.Director Elia Kazan did not believe that Dean would have been able to sustain the momentum of his career. He felt that Dean's career, had he lived, would have sputtered out, as he was not well-trained and relied too much on his instincts.

*James Dean got the 550 Spyder just nine days before the unfateful accident took place. He called his car Little Bastard.On September 30th, 1955, Dean was on his way to join the Salinas Road Race along with his two Porsche mechanics. The car was supposed to be towed behind his 1955 Ford Country Squire station wagon. However, since the Little Bastard didn’t have enough break-in miles on the meter, Dean decided to get behind the wheel and drive it. Unfortunately, the actor began testing the capacity of this steed. He drove at a highly unsafe speed, and at the intersection of Highway 41 and 46, he lost control and crashed into a Ford Tudor driven by a student, Donald Turnupseed. James Dean was taken to the hospital where he was pronounced dead on arrival. Turnupseed, on the other hand, was safe.