8th February: James Dean

James Dean was born on this date in 1931. He would have been 84 today. 10 things you might not know about him:

1. He was raised as a Quaker. Dean’s father, Winton, was a Quaker whose lineage is believed to go back to the Mayflower.
2. Dean didn't really get on with his father. When Dean's mother died when he was nine, his father sent him to live with an aunt. Winton Dean was angry when his son changed his college major from law to drama after one term.
3. He's known for three films, Eden, Rebel Without A Cause and Giant, but he had walk-on roles in three more: as a soldier in Fixed Bayonets!, as a boxing trainer in Sailor Beware, and as a youth in Has Anybody Seen My Gal? He also made appearances in a number of 1950s TV series. His first appearance was in a TV commercial for Pepsi Cola, for which he was paid $10.
4. There have been several claims over the years that Dean was gay. More men than women have claimed to have slept with him. However, his name was linked with several actresses, too, and Dean is quoted as saying "No, I am not a homosexual. But I'm also not going to go through life with one hand tied behind my back." There has been speculation that Dean avoided being drafted by claiming to be gay, but it's more likely he didn't serve because he was a Quaker, or because he was extremely near-sighted and could barely see without his glasses.
5. His two front teeth were false, after they got knocked out while he was practising trapeze at home.
6. The last person ever to ask Dean for his "autograph" was a police officer who booked him for speeding not long before the fatal crash. Ironically, a few weeks earlier, Dean had made a short public announcement film about road safety, where he'd advised viewers to “Take it easy driving. The life you save might be mine.”
7. The fatal crash happened when Dean's car hit another car which had pulled out into the middle of the road while exiting a junction. Dean couldn't stop in time to avoid it. The driver of that car, Donald Turnupseed, escaped with minor injuries. The inquest concluded that Dean must have been speeding, despite evidence from the cop who attended the scene. He said that the position of the wreckage and bodies indicated that Dean had probably only been doing 55mph at the time.
8. Dean had been banned from motor racing by Warner Brothers while he was shooting Giant, but once shooting had finished, Dean was keen to start again. He died while the film was in post production. Hence, in one of the film's final scenes, Dean's lines were voiced over by another actor. At the time of shooting, Dean had mumbled the lines, because his character was supposed to be drunk and Dean wanted to make his portrayal as realistic as possible. However, he'd overdone it, and the director decided the words needed to be clearer. But by then, Dean was dead. So the voice heard in that scene is that of Nick Adams.
9. Dean was the first actor to receive a posthumous Oscar nomination for Best Actor.
10. Dean's estate still earns about $5,000,000 per year, according to Forbes Magazine.