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 Entertainment | February 2005 
James Dean's Friends Disagree on His Death
 Daisy Nguyen - Associated Press
Was the "Rebel Without A Cause" driven to early death because of his rebellious nature? It depends on whom you ask. Friends and former co-stars of James Dean disagree on whether he had a death wish, but all agree the screen idol influenced them and the moviegoing public.
 Dean, who died 50 years ago in a car accident, would have been 74 on Tuesday, and a celebration of sorts was held to kick off a yearlong celebration leading to his 75th birthday.
"We had talked about growing older," said actor Martin Landau. "He used to worry that he looked like a kid when he became an actor."
But photographer Phil Stern, who captured a famous shot of Dean with a turtleneck covering half his face, thinks Dean had no intention of growing old.
"Dean was very prescient because he structured his career in such a way that he passed away which I believe was inevitable in a way that precluded the possibility of people seeing him as a potbellied, bald man," Stern said.
Martin Sheen, who stars in NBC's "The West Wing," was only a boy when he saw Dean in "East of Eden." Dean's performance inspired Sheen to become an actor.
"All of his movies had a profound effect on my life, in my work and all of my generation," Sheen said. "He transcended cinema acting. It was no longer acting, it was human behavior."
Jane Withers said working with the sometimes aloof Dean in "Giant" was the highlight of her career, but she had to get past his attitude early on.
"He acted like a little kid and when someone acts like a kid, I treat them like one," Withers said. "I didn't put up with any guff, and because of it, we had a very warm relationship."
Earl Holliman, who was also in "Giant," sees Dean's aloofness as a product of his desire to remain focused on work.
"Jimmy was a guy who didn't care what people think of him," Holliman said. "He said that wasn't important. What was important was what was on the screen."
Despite his brief Hollywood career, Dean's image as rebel antihero still resonates with marketers. |
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