Havg released jt three major films before he was tragilly killed a r accint 1955, Jam Dean was able to leave an lible mark on history. He was nomated for two Amy Awards followg his ath (the first Osr nomatns to be award for Bt Actor posthumoly), and he fed a generatn of youth wh his portrayals of angst and anguish. Addg to the fascatn wh Dean’s legend are stori of his same-sex love affairs. The var acunts claim Dean was eher gay or bisexual. Dean’s close iend, William Bast, revealed he and Dean “experimented,” while Dean’s relatnship wh fluential rad producer Rogers Brackett has been ed as an example of how the young actor may have slept wh gay men to further his reer. In his Marlon Brando bgraphy, wrer Darw Porter asserted that Dean and Brando had a tumultuo romantic relatnship that spanned years. Hollywood players of the time, like screenwrer Gav Lambert and Rebel Whout A Cse Director Nicholas Ray, have scribed Jam Dean as gay. Bgrapher Val Holley put thly: “There's been que an evolutn the thkg sce Dean's ath 1955, movg om ‘Jam Dean was straight’ to ‘Dean had sex wh men but only to advance his reer’ to ‘Dean had sex wh women but only to advance his reer.’” We may never know for certa if Dean intified as gay, straight, bisexual, but, regardls, what he’s e to reprent still ronat wh many LGBT dienc. His most well-known rol are that of outsirs, non-formists and misunrstood youth. His powerful performanc refed masculy, showsg how a tough guy uld be so open wh his emotns. His sense of style and good looks also didn’t hurt his standg wh the gay muny (and helped tablish him as a butch lbian in as well). See some of our favore Jam Dean clips, AFTER THE JUMP …
Contents:
- A LIST OF JAM DEAN’S (ALLEGED) GAY LOVERS
- WAS JAM DEAN GAY? THE ROMANTIC AND SEXUAL PAST OF THE TIMELS IN
- GAY HISTORY: 7 LTLE-KNOWN FACTS ABOUT JAM DEAN
- GAY INOGRAPHY: THE HOLLYWOOD LEGEND OF JAM DEAN
- MATEE IDOL TAB HUNTER OPENS UP ABOUT JAM DEAN'S {FONT:NORMAL 800 1.2REM/1.2 "D BOLD",SANS-SERIF;TEXT-TRANSFORM:NORMAL;LOR:HER;DISPLAY:LE-BLOCK;PADDG-BOTTOM:6PX;POSN:RELATIVE;TEXT-TRANSFORM:UPPERSE;}{BACKGROUND:#89308A;BOTTOM:0;NTENT:'';DISPLAY:BLOCK;HEIGHT:2PX;LEFT:0;POSN:ABSOLUTE;RIGHT:0;-WEBK-TRANSN:ALL 0.2S EASE;TRANSN:ALL 0.2S EASE;WIDTH:100%;}{LEFT:51%;RIGHT:51%;WIDTH:0;}{FONT:NORMAL 800 1.2REM/1.2 "D BOLD",SANS-SERIF;TEXT-TRANSFORM:NORMAL;LOR:HER;DISPLAY:LE-BLOCK;PADDG-BOTTOM:6PX;POSN:RELATIVE;TEXT-TRANSFORM:UPPERSE;}{BACKGROUND:#89308A;BOTTOM:0;NTENT:'';DISPLAY:BLOCK;HEIGHT:2PX;LEFT:0;POSN:ABSOLUTE;RIGHT:0;-WEBK-TRANSN:ALL 0.2S EASE;TRANSN:ALL 0.2S EASE;WIDTH:100%;}{LEFT:51%;RIGHT:51%;WIDTH:0;}LIFEBY CAREY O'DONNELLMARCH 19, 2015/12:43 PMBY CAREY O'DONNELLMARCH 19, 2015 / 12:43 PM{"@NTEXT":","@TYPE":"NEWSARTICLE","HEADLE":"MATEE IDOL TAB HUNTER OPENS UP ABOUT JAM DEAN'S SEXUALY","DATEPUBLISHED":"2015-03-19T16:43:36.000+0000","DATEMODIFIED":"2015-03-19T16:43:36.000+0000","IMAGE":{"@NTEXT":","@TYPE":"IMAGEOBJECT","WIDTH":1920,"HEIGHT":1080},"URL":","THOR":{"@TYPE":"ORGANIZATN","NAME":"LOGO TV"},"MAENTYOFPAGE":{"@TYPE":"WEBPAGE","@ID":"},"PUBLISHER":{"@TYPE":"ORGANIZATN","@ID":","NAME":"LOGO TV","URL":","LOGO":{"@TYPE":"IMAGEOBJECT"}},"CREATOR":"CAREY O'DONNELL","ARTICLESECTN":"LIFE"}{BOX-SIZG:BORR-BOX;PADDG:24PX 0;} A{LOR:#354A4E;-WEBK-TEXT-RATN:UNRLE;TEXT-RATN:UNRLE;} A:HOVER, A:FOC{-WEBK-TEXT-RATN:NONE;TEXT-RATN:NONE;} B, STRONG{FONT-WEIGHT:700;}INIC ACTOR JAM DEAN WAS THE SUBJECT OF GAY MORS EVEN BEFORE HIS UNTIMELY ATH 1955. VAR SOURC HAVE CLAIMED THE BROODG YOUNG STAR OF GIANT AND REBEL WHOUT A CSE WAS A HTLER, OR THAT HE SLEPT WH VAR HOLLYWOOD PRODUCERS TO FURTHER HIS {BOX-SIZG:BORR-BOX;PADDG:24PX 0;} A{LOR:#354A4E;-WEBK-TEXT-RATN:UNRLE;TEXT-RATN:UNRLE;} A:HOVER, A:FOC{-WEBK-TEXT-RATN:NONE;TEXT-RATN:NONE;} B, STRONG{FONT-WEIGHT:700;}RELATED: JOHN TRAVOLTA BLACKMAILED INTO STAYG CLOSETED BY SCIENTOLOGY, NEW DOC {BOX-SIZG:BORR-BOX;PADDG:24PX 0;} A{LOR:#354A4E;-WEBK-TEXT-RATN:UNRLE;TEXT-RATN:UNRLE;} A:HOVER, A:FOC{-WEBK-TEXT-RATN:NONE;TEXT-RATN:NONE;} B, STRONG{FONT-WEIGHT:700;}REBEL DIRECTOR NICHOLAS RAY SUATED DEAN WAS A HOMOSEXUAL—AND POSSIBLY VOLVED WH -STAR SAL MEO, WHO WAS GAY—WHILE BGRAPHER JOHN HOWLETT MATAED JD WAS "MOST CERTALY BISEXUAL."{BOX-SIZG:BORR-BOX;PADDG:24PX 0;} A{LOR:#354A4E;-WEBK-TEXT-RATN:UNRLE;TEXT-RATN:UNRLE;} A:HOVER, A:FOC{-WEBK-TEXT-RATN:NONE;TEXT-RATN:NONE;} B, STRONG{FONT-WEIGHT:700;}E! ONLE UGHT UP WH '50S SCREEN IDOL TAB HUNTER AT SXSW, WHERE HE WAS PROMOTG THE NEW DOC TAB HUNTER CONFINTIAL, AND ASKED HIM WHAT HE KNEW ABOUT DEAN'S {BOX-SIZG:BORR-BOX;PADDG:24PX 0;} A{LOR:#354A4E;-WEBK-TEXT-RATN:UNRLE;TEXT-RATN:UNRLE;} A:HOVER, A:FOC{-WEBK-TEXT-RATN:NONE;TEXT-RATN:NONE;} B, STRONG{FONT-WEIGHT:700;}HUNTER, HIMSELF CLOSETED FOR MOST OF HIS REER, WAS IENDS WH THE LATE STAR—THEY SHARED AN AGENT AND HUNTER EVEN WENT ON ARRANGED DAT WH DEAN'S REBEL STAR NATALIE {BOX-SIZG:BORR-BOX;PADDG:24PX 0;} A{LOR:#354A4E;-WEBK-TEXT-RATN:UNRLE;TEXT-RATN:UNRLE;} A:HOVER, A:FOC{-WEBK-TEXT-RATN:NONE;TEXT-RATN:NONE;} B, STRONG{FONT-WEIGHT:700;}HUNTER, NOW 81, ACKNOWLEDGED THE NSTANT MORS THAT SWIRLED AROUND HIS IEND. "PEOPLE ALWAYS SAID THAT [DEAN WAS BISEXUAL]," HUNTER TOLD E!'S MARK MALK. "PEOPLE WANT TO HANG LABELS ON PEOPLE: 'OH, HE'S LIKE THIS OR HE'S LIKE THAT.'"{BOX-SIZG:BORR-BOX;PADDG:24PX 0;} A{LOR:#354A4E;-WEBK-TEXT-RATN:UNRLE;TEXT-RATN:UNRLE;} A:HOVER, A:FOC{-WEBK-TEXT-RATN:NONE;TEXT-RATN:NONE;} B, STRONG{FONT-WEIGHT:700;}BUT, HUNTER SAID, "I DON'T BUY TO THAT—AS FAR AS I KNOW JIMMY [WASN'T BI]."{BOX-SIZG:BORR-BOX;PADDG:24PX 0;} A{LOR:#354A4E;-WEBK-TEXT-RATN:UNRLE;TEXT-RATN:UNRLE;} A:HOVER, A:FOC{-WEBK-TEXT-RATN:NONE;TEXT-RATN:NONE;} B, STRONG{FONT-WEIGHT:700;}MAYBE HE NEVER HEARD THE STORY ABOUT LIZ TAYLOR AND ROCK HUDSON WAGERG WHO ULD SCE DEAN FIRST ON THE SET OF GIANT? ACRDG TO LEGEND, ROCK WON THE {BOX-SIZG:BORR-BOX;PADDG:24PX 0;} A{LOR:#354A4E;-WEBK-TEXT-RATN:UNRLE;TEXT-RATN:UNRLE;} A:HOVER, A:FOC{-WEBK-TEXT-RATN:NONE;TEXT-RATN:NONE;} B, STRONG{FONT-WEIGHT:700;}BELOW, WATCH THE TRAILER FOR TAB HUNTER {BOX-SIZG:BORR-BOX;PADDG:24PX 0;} A{LOR:#354A4E;-WEBK-TEXT-RATN:UNRLE;TEXT-RATN:UNRLE;} A:HOVER, A:FOC{-WEBK-TEXT-RATN:NONE;TEXT-RATN:NONE;} B, STRONG{FONT-WEIGHT:700;}{BOX-SIZG:BORR-BOX;PADDG:24PX 0;} A{LOR:#354A4E;-WEBK-TEXT-RATN:UNRLE;TEXT-RATN:UNRLE;} A:HOVER, A:FOC{-WEBK-TEXT-RATN:NONE;TEXT-RATN:NONE;} B, STRONG{FONT-WEIGHT:700;}{BOX-SIZG:BORR-BOX;CLEAR:BOTH;}{BOX-SIZG:BORR-BOX;MARG:0 TO;WIDTH:90%;M-WIDTH:288PX;MAX-WIDTH:1440PX;M-HEIGHT:194PX;}LATT NEWS
A LIST OF JAM DEAN’S (ALLEGED) GAY LOVERS
Was he or wasn't he? I thk we'd all like to BELIEVE that Jam Dean was gay – or at least bisexual – and that if we were around at the time we'd have a shot wh him. Acrdg to HomoHistory: There are nflictg reports about Dean’s sexualy; there are a few who try to ny that * james dean gay *
You are here: Home / LBGTQ / History / A List of Jam Dean’s (Alleged) Gay Lovers.
I thk we’d all like to BELIEVE that Jam Dean was gay – or at least bisexual – and that if we were around at the time we’d have a shot wh him. Acrdg to HomoHistory:. There are nflictg reports about Dean’s sexualy; there are a few who try to ny that he had any sexual affairs wh men, there are those who say that he was bisexual and some who say that he was exclively gay (those clu Rebel whout a Cse director Nicholas Ray and screenwrer Gav Lambert.
Jam Dean avoid the draft by registerg as a homosexual.
WAS JAM DEAN GAY? THE ROMANTIC AND SEXUAL PAST OF THE TIMELS IN
They say women fd bad boys irristible, but seems that even men enjoyed Jam Dean’s bad boy appeal. Fd out if Jam Dean was gay. * james dean gay *
Later, when qutned if he was homosexual he is reported to have said, “No, I am not a homosexual. At a time when was impossible for male leads to be openly gay, wasn’t at all unual for gay actors like Rock Hudson to enter to sham marriag. Both the gay and straight muni want to claim Dean as one of their own, but I thk ’s safe to say that he was gay.
Most of the acunts om those who were his iends and associat show that he had “very close” relatnships wh several gay and bi-sexual men.
GAY HISTORY: 7 LTLE-KNOWN FACTS ABOUT JAM DEAN
That an actor is gay or bi-sexually isn’t at all hard to believe, but when nflicts wh the on screen image, the public choos to reject the tth.
Both the director and screenwrer of Rebel whout a Cse believed Jam Dean was exclively gay. Even his close iend, Elizabeth Taylor, once said matter-of-factly that all her bt iends had been gay, cludg Montgomery Cliff, Rock Hudson and the one and only Jimmy Dean. “It was a classic ‘kept boy’ scenar, ” acrdg to HomoHistory.
GAY INOGRAPHY: THE HOLLYWOOD LEGEND OF JAM DEAN
Dean apparently “stayed after the class to meet Brando, which lead to a sexual affair that lasted for several months, ” acrdg to HomoHistory. “Jam Dean was one of Brando’s most lastg yet troubled gay relatnships, ” adds Darw Porter a recent Marlon Brando bgraphy. ” Talk about gay drama, old Hollywood style.
The nam of actors Clifton Webb and Jack Simmons (above) often get thrown to the mix when discsg Jam Dean’s gay lovers, but ltle rmatn exists about the mored love affairs.
If we had to create a mored gay flg for Jam Dean, would have to be wh Pl Newman. His last movie, Giant, h theaters sixty-five years ago this culture has endlsly reimaged Jam Dean om the moment he died—he is straight, bisexual, and gay; sensive and aggrsive; misunrstood and manipulative; victim and predator; the bt of and the worst.
MATEE IDOL TAB HUNTER OPENS UP ABOUT JAM DEAN'S {FONT:NORMAL 800 1.2REM/1.2 "D BOLD",SANS-SERIF;TEXT-TRANSFORM:NORMAL;LOR:HER;DISPLAY:LE-BLOCK;PADDG-BOTTOM:6PX;POSN:RELATIVE;TEXT-TRANSFORM:UPPERSE;}{BACKGROUND:#89308A;BOTTOM:0;NTENT:'';DISPLAY:BLOCK;HEIGHT:2PX;LEFT:0;POSN:ABSOLUTE;RIGHT:0;-WEBK-TRANSN:ALL 0.2S EASE;TRANSN:ALL 0.2S EASE;WIDTH:100%;}{LEFT:51%;RIGHT:51%;WIDTH:0;}{FONT:NORMAL 800 1.2REM/1.2 "D BOLD",SANS-SERIF;TEXT-TRANSFORM:NORMAL;LOR:HER;DISPLAY:LE-BLOCK;PADDG-BOTTOM:6PX;POSN:RELATIVE;TEXT-TRANSFORM:UPPERSE;}{BACKGROUND:#89308A;BOTTOM:0;NTENT:'';DISPLAY:BLOCK;HEIGHT:2PX;LEFT:0;POSN:ABSOLUTE;RIGHT:0;-WEBK-TRANSN:ALL 0.2S EASE;TRANSN:ALL 0.2S EASE;WIDTH:100%;}{LEFT:51%;RIGHT:51%;WIDTH:0;}LIFEBY CAREY O'DONNELLMARCH 19, 2015/12:43 PMBY CAREY O'DONNELLMARCH 19, 2015 / 12:43 PM{"@NTEXT":","@TYPE":"NEWSARTICLE","HEADLE":"MATEE IDOL TAB HUNTER OPENS UP ABOUT JAM DEAN'S SEXUALY","DATEPUBLISHED":"2015-03-19T16:43:36.000+0000","DATEMODIFIED":"2015-03-19T16:43:36.000+0000","IMAGE":{"@NTEXT":","@TYPE":"IMAGEOBJECT","WIDTH":1920,"HEIGHT":1080},"URL":","THOR":{"@TYPE":"ORGANIZATN","NAME":"LOGO TV"},"MAENTYOFPAGE":{"@TYPE":"WEBPAGE","@ID":"},"PUBLISHER":{"@TYPE":"ORGANIZATN","@ID":","NAME":"LOGO TV","URL":","LOGO":{"@TYPE":"IMAGEOBJECT"}},"CREATOR":"CAREY O'DONNELL","ARTICLESECTN":"LIFE"}{BOX-SIZG:BORR-BOX;PADDG:24PX 0;} A{LOR:#354A4E;-WEBK-TEXT-RATN:UNRLE;TEXT-RATN:UNRLE;} A:HOVER, A:FOC{-WEBK-TEXT-RATN:NONE;TEXT-RATN:NONE;} B, STRONG{FONT-WEIGHT:700;}INIC ACTOR JAM DEAN WAS THE SUBJECT OF GAY MORS EVEN BEFORE HIS UNTIMELY ATH 1955. VAR SOURC HAVE CLAIMED THE BROODG YOUNG STAR OF GIANT AND REBEL WHOUT A CSE WAS A HTLER, OR THAT HE SLEPT WH VAR HOLLYWOOD PRODUCERS TO FURTHER HIS {BOX-SIZG:BORR-BOX;PADDG:24PX 0;} A{LOR:#354A4E;-WEBK-TEXT-RATN:UNRLE;TEXT-RATN:UNRLE;} A:HOVER, A:FOC{-WEBK-TEXT-RATN:NONE;TEXT-RATN:NONE;} B, STRONG{FONT-WEIGHT:700;}RELATED: JOHN TRAVOLTA BLACKMAILED INTO STAYG CLOSETED BY SCIENTOLOGY, NEW DOC {BOX-SIZG:BORR-BOX;PADDG:24PX 0;} A{LOR:#354A4E;-WEBK-TEXT-RATN:UNRLE;TEXT-RATN:UNRLE;} A:HOVER, A:FOC{-WEBK-TEXT-RATN:NONE;TEXT-RATN:NONE;} B, STRONG{FONT-WEIGHT:700;}REBEL DIRECTOR NICHOLAS RAY SUATED DEAN WAS A HOMOSEXUAL—AND POSSIBLY VOLVED WH -STAR SAL MEO, WHO WAS GAY—WHILE BGRAPHER JOHN HOWLETT MATAED JD WAS "MOST CERTALY BISEXUAL."{BOX-SIZG:BORR-BOX;PADDG:24PX 0;} A{LOR:#354A4E;-WEBK-TEXT-RATN:UNRLE;TEXT-RATN:UNRLE;} A:HOVER, A:FOC{-WEBK-TEXT-RATN:NONE;TEXT-RATN:NONE;} B, STRONG{FONT-WEIGHT:700;}E! ONLE UGHT UP WH '50S SCREEN IDOL TAB HUNTER AT SXSW, WHERE HE WAS PROMOTG THE NEW DOC TAB HUNTER CONFINTIAL, AND ASKED HIM WHAT HE KNEW ABOUT DEAN'S {BOX-SIZG:BORR-BOX;PADDG:24PX 0;} A{LOR:#354A4E;-WEBK-TEXT-RATN:UNRLE;TEXT-RATN:UNRLE;} A:HOVER, A:FOC{-WEBK-TEXT-RATN:NONE;TEXT-RATN:NONE;} B, STRONG{FONT-WEIGHT:700;}HUNTER, HIMSELF CLOSETED FOR MOST OF HIS REER, WAS IENDS WH THE LATE STAR—THEY SHARED AN AGENT AND HUNTER EVEN WENT ON ARRANGED DAT WH DEAN'S REBEL STAR NATALIE {BOX-SIZG:BORR-BOX;PADDG:24PX 0;} A{LOR:#354A4E;-WEBK-TEXT-RATN:UNRLE;TEXT-RATN:UNRLE;} A:HOVER, A:FOC{-WEBK-TEXT-RATN:NONE;TEXT-RATN:NONE;} B, STRONG{FONT-WEIGHT:700;}HUNTER, NOW 81, ACKNOWLEDGED THE NSTANT MORS THAT SWIRLED AROUND HIS IEND. "PEOPLE ALWAYS SAID THAT [DEAN WAS BISEXUAL]," HUNTER TOLD E!'S MARK MALK. "PEOPLE WANT TO HANG LABELS ON PEOPLE: 'OH, HE'S LIKE THIS OR HE'S LIKE THAT.'"{BOX-SIZG:BORR-BOX;PADDG:24PX 0;} A{LOR:#354A4E;-WEBK-TEXT-RATN:UNRLE;TEXT-RATN:UNRLE;} A:HOVER, A:FOC{-WEBK-TEXT-RATN:NONE;TEXT-RATN:NONE;} B, STRONG{FONT-WEIGHT:700;}BUT, HUNTER SAID, "I DON'T BUY TO THAT—AS FAR AS I KNOW JIMMY [WASN'T BI]."{BOX-SIZG:BORR-BOX;PADDG:24PX 0;} A{LOR:#354A4E;-WEBK-TEXT-RATN:UNRLE;TEXT-RATN:UNRLE;} A:HOVER, A:FOC{-WEBK-TEXT-RATN:NONE;TEXT-RATN:NONE;} B, STRONG{FONT-WEIGHT:700;}MAYBE HE NEVER HEARD THE STORY ABOUT LIZ TAYLOR AND ROCK HUDSON WAGERG WHO ULD SCE DEAN FIRST ON THE SET OF GIANT? ACRDG TO LEGEND, ROCK WON THE {BOX-SIZG:BORR-BOX;PADDG:24PX 0;} A{LOR:#354A4E;-WEBK-TEXT-RATN:UNRLE;TEXT-RATN:UNRLE;} A:HOVER, A:FOC{-WEBK-TEXT-RATN:NONE;TEXT-RATN:NONE;} B, STRONG{FONT-WEIGHT:700;}BELOW, WATCH THE TRAILER FOR TAB HUNTER {BOX-SIZG:BORR-BOX;PADDG:24PX 0;} A{LOR:#354A4E;-WEBK-TEXT-RATN:UNRLE;TEXT-RATN:UNRLE;} A:HOVER, A:FOC{-WEBK-TEXT-RATN:NONE;TEXT-RATN:NONE;} B, STRONG{FONT-WEIGHT:700;}{BOX-SIZG:BORR-BOX;PADDG:24PX 0;} A{LOR:#354A4E;-WEBK-TEXT-RATN:UNRLE;TEXT-RATN:UNRLE;} A:HOVER, A:FOC{-WEBK-TEXT-RATN:NONE;TEXT-RATN:NONE;} B, STRONG{FONT-WEIGHT:700;}{BOX-SIZG:BORR-BOX;CLEAR:BOTH;}{BOX-SIZG:BORR-BOX;MARG:0 TO;WIDTH:90%;M-WIDTH:288PX;MAX-WIDTH:1440PX;M-HEIGHT:194PX;}LATT NEWS
Ple Kael, then a risg film cric, plaed 1955 that watchg him was like stumblg onto the vulgar eroticism of homosexual cisg grounds—“grossly explic, ” too dulgent of boys and their “toerotic” fixatns. Too often, his negative experienc epted , aggrsive, or dangero behavr, what Bast spected was Dean’s way of takg revenge on a society that wronged Hollywood mors started as soon as Dean ma the papers, whispers that he was bisexual or gay. His stud, Warner Bros., promoted him alongsi Rock Hudson and Tab Hunter, two closeted gay men, as their most eligible bachelor.
Much k would be spilled over the years tryg to p down his sexualy—straight, bisexual, gay, asexual all found their advot—but he risted labels, not least bee the labels were tied up bigger qutns of masculy and manhood.