James Dean's Real Name: James Byron Dean

Quick answer: James Dean's documented full name is James Byron Dean. Encyclopaedia Britannica records that he was born on February 8, 1931, in Marion, Indiana, and that he died on September 30, 1955, near Paso Robles, California, in a car accident at age 24. He was an American film actor whose work in East of Eden, Rebel Without a Cause, and Giant made him a symbol of 1950s youth (Britannica; Encyclopedia.com).

Real name and early life

The Library of Congress heading is "Dean, James, 1931-1955." Britannica lists the name in full as James Byron Dean, a form also used in an Encyclopedia.com biographical profile that names his parents as Winton and Mildred (Wilson) Dean. Britannica says the family moved from Indiana to California when he was five. After his mother's death four years later, he returned to Indiana and was reared on a farm by an aunt and uncle. He moved back to California after high school and studied theater for two years at UCLA. His first professional work was a soft-drink commercial, followed by a speaking role as John the Baptist in the television Easter special Hill Number One (1951).

Career highlights

Dean played bit parts in Fixed Bayonets (1951), Sailor Beware (1952), and Has Anybody Seen My Gal? (1952) before moving to New York on the advice of actor James Whitmore. After short-term jobs, including work as a "stunt tester" on the CBS game show Beat the Clock, he appeared on Broadway in See the Jaguar (1952) and The Immoralist (1954). The latter brought him to the attention of director Elia Kazan, who cast the 23-year-old actor as troubled teenager Cal Trask in East of Eden (1955), adapted from John Steinbeck's novel. The performance earned Dean a posthumous Academy Award nomination, which Britannica calls the first acting nomination granted after a nominee's death. When East of Eden premiered, Britannica says, Dean was seen as a movie star of the first magnitude. His second starring role, as sensitive high-school misfit Jim Stark in Nicholas Ray's Rebel Without a Cause (1955), made him an emblem of his generation. He also starred in Giant (1956), released after his death.

Death

Britannica records that Dean died on September 30, 1955, near Paso Robles, California, in a car accident, at age 24.

Name notes for searchers

James Byron Dean is the documented full name; he was known professionally as James Dean. Searchers looking for the star of Rebel Without a Cause or East of Eden are usually aiming at the same person.