Sunday, September 17

James Dean and his much debated sexuality

For years there has been speculation about James Dean's sexuality, him being a big gay icon isn't enough for me, many celebrities are gay icons but aren't necessarily gay. But much heresay and accounts have been made suggesting he was most likely bisexual. Even the TNT movie James Dean with James Franco in the lead role touched on the topic. Some biographies dealt with one or two affairs.

While TV script writer and writer William Bast wrote James Dean's first biography in 1956, republished again in 2006 'Surviving James Dean' revealing more on their realtionship. He says that the publishers really censored it. He was his close friend and one time roommate and the book covers five years they spent together.

Mike Connolly, a Hollywood gossiper had claimed to be linked to Dean and the following: Anthony Perkins, Guy Madison and Robert Francis. Anthony Perkins (best known for Pyscho) was bisexual, he had a number of affairs with men, including film star Tab Hunter, dancer Rudolf Nureyev (openly gay) and dancer-choreographer Grover Dale, with whom Perkins had a six-year relationship prior to his marriage to Berry Berenson. He claimed to have been exclusively homosexual until his late thirties, when he met the actress Victoria Principal. Perkins died in 1992 of complications from AIDS, at age 60.

Guy Madison whose real name was Robert Mosely, the alias given to him by talent agent Henry Willson who himself was gay and had alot of gay parties and went through hell to cover up Rock Hudson's misdeeds.

Robert Charles Francis
He died in a plane crash on July 31, 1955 at the age of 25. Eerily, Dean said he would be next and he died on September 30 at age 24. That is according to the book "The Death of James Dean" written by Warren Newton Beath.

There has been accounts from actor Nick Adams claiming he had a realtionship with Dean. In fact, many say Nick Adams always lavished about his show business experiences and always tried to capitalize on his associations with James Dean and Elvis Presley. In his brief online biography of Adams, journalist Bill Kelly wrote, "(Adams) became James Dean's closest pal, although Nick was straight and Dean was bisexual." It is my guess that perhaps Nick just wanted to captalize on Dean's popularity.

What is also eerie is that there is specualtion about Nick's death, it has been cited in articles and books on Hollywood's unsolved mysteries along with allegations that Nick Adams was murdered, including claims that one of the two drugs he supposedly died from --- the liquid sedative paraldehyde was never found in his home. The Los Angeles Times reported that bottles with prescription labels were found in the medicine cabinet near the upstairs bedroom where Adams' body was discovered. Actor Robert Conrad, his best friend, has consistently maintained Adams' death was accidental. Some people have pointed out the fact that Adams died shortly before Elvis Presley filmed his Memphis Comeback concert, who Adams also claimed to had an affair with.

I believe James Dean was himself a rebel, a very conflicted man and talented at that. He was taken from us way too soon.