Although typical images of James Dean prompt
thoughts of a rebellious young punk with a prickly attitude, Gilmore’s biography
of the star proves that there was more behind that macho façade. A close friend
of Dean during his acting years, Gilmore (“Laid Bare, Forecasts, May 19)
constructs a somewhat surprising portrait of the insurgent actor, recounting his
life up to his death by car crash in 1955.
He
weaves comments from Liz Taylor,
Eartha Kitt and others with his own experiences to illustrate fully the impact
Dean had on others’ lives. Dean spent his abbreviated life in and out of
relationships with members of the Hollywood crowd, ever restless and never
committing himself to anyone. Gilmore’s relationship with the star involved
experimenting with bisexuality (“We were bad boys playing bad boys while opening
up the bisexual sides of our separate personalities.”). Portrayed by Gilmore as
an emotionally confused dreamer and an egomaniac, among other attributes, Dean
apparently
believed that he was predestined to become a legend, and this belief
became his driving force. He was enamored of motorcycles and all things
dangerous, but also of poetry, and he could randomly recite passages from “Moby
Dick” and “Hamlet.” This sensitive side was difficult for others to tap
into,
however, and it seems as if all who knew him, Gilmore included, never knew him
entirely. This memoir sheds a different light on the celebrity, drawing readers
into Dean'’ private world in a way that makes him seem more like a hero with a
cause.
