James Dean

James Byron Dean was born February 8, 1931, and by the mid-1950s had landed roles that would reshape how Hollywood depicted youth. East of Eden showcased an intense emotional range that earned him a posthumous Academy Award nomination for Best Actor — the first actor ever so honored. Rebel Without a Cause cast him as the disillusioned teenager, the archetype that stuck. Giant, a sprawling drama, brought a second posthumous nomination, a record that still stands. He died in a car accident September 30, 1955, at twenty-four, all three films preserved by the Library of Congress for their cultural…