Baby Jimmy and his father, Winton Dean, ca. 1931

JAMES DEAN: A Life in Pictures —

A Look at the Men Whose Images Birthed a Legend

Legendary actor James Dean was born on February 8, 1931… which would have made today his 85th birthday, had his life not been cut tragically short at the age of 24 in a horrific car crash. Many people remember Dean from the three starring roles he committed to celluloid in 1955, before he died — Cal Trask in East of Eden, Jim Stark in Rebel Without a Cause, and Jett Rink in Giant — and, make no mistake, those roles were what led him to be one of the most influential actors of all time.

However, there’s another facet to Dean’s career that caused him to be one of the most recognizable faces in the world: during his one year of stardom, he collaborated with several photographers, who took thousands of photographs, which have since been reproduced ad infinitum. James Dean is many things to many people — youth, tragically lost; a noble embodiment of inchoate teenage angst; a representation of post-WWII America in general; an exciting new form of masculinity that isn’t afraid of femininity; a queer (or queer-friendly) role model; and a proponent of a revolutionary, rebellious new form of acting. In addition to his film roles, it was these images, by these photographers, that made him so exciting, and made his metaphorical meaning so infinitely malleable. Many were not published until after his death — as fans hungered for more appearances by an actor who would never film another movie, fan magazines around the country bought up and published any and all images ever taken of Dean.

So, on what would have been Jimmy’s 85th birthday, here’s a look back at some of the most famous — and some more obscure — photos that make up the Dean mythos.