"James Dean and Julie Harris: The Untold Emotional Story of East of Eden (1965)" | Moments Through Time

Rare footage of James Dean’s screentest for Elia Kazan film ‘East of Eden’

James Dean was born circa February 8, 1931, in Marion, Indiana. Raised in Fairmount after his mother’s death. He studied drama at UCLA in 1950. Moved to New York. Trained under Lee Strasberg at the Actors Studio. His Broadway role in The Immoralist caught Hollywood’s eye. Elia Kazan cast him in East of Eden (1955). Rebel Without a Cause made him legend. Giant sealed his myth. He loved racing his Porsche Spyder. On September 30, 1955, near Cholame, California, he crashed at 5:45 p.m. Gone at 24.