James Dean: Little Boy Lost - An Intimate Biography

by Joe Hyams

From early childhood, James Dean was eager to get to the next experience. His mother invented the "wishing game" for him - each night before going to sleep, Jimmy would write a single wish on a piece of paper which he then hid under his pillow. During the night his mother would carefully extract the paper without waking him, and would spend the next day making that wish come true. Then as a teenager he learned to love reckless speed, never learning fear because, according to a teenage friend, he never came off his bicycle, no matter what stunt he pulled. And he discovered sex, both with girls and with the Wesleyan Baptist pastor, a local war hero, who let Jimmy sink his fist into the deep crater in his flesh left by shellfire, and taught him that he was a deprived child. Jimmy in return confided that he knew that he was evil, which was why he was sent away by his father, and why noone would love him. His sense of isolation and rejection was already formed. Having left home, he developed a pose as a surrealist, became obsessed with bullfighting, to the extent of sleeping under a blood-stiffened matador's cape that reeked of slaughter, and exploited his sexual charm, going to gay parties and sleeping with men who could advance his film career, whilst simultaneously having affairs with a succession of girls he picked up in cafes, acting classes and at the homes of friends. This is a biography of James Dean, written with the help of access to his own writings.

Genres: Biography, Nonfiction, Biography Memoir, Audiobook, Film

294 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1992

Reviews

[Colleen · Rating 5 out of 5]

The first James Dean biography I ever read. While I'm not a particular fan of the late Joe Hyams, his bio of Dean is very balanced and fair, recollections of the young man he knew and others knew, fond memories of the intense young actor and some others not so fond.

In other words, he presents Jimmy as very human, with problems and moodiness but also with great talent and instinct for performing and appealing to others. Reading about Dean's early life for me was very emotional. The loss of his beloved mother to cancer when he was so young, his father abandoning him to live with relatives in Fairmount, Indiana, and how father and son's relationship never really recovered. I found it very upsetting to hear how Winton Dean reacted to the news of his son's death, all the lost time that he could never get back, and Jimmy was gone forever.

Hyams also shows the reader Dean's relationships (working, romantic, sexual, platonic friendships) with both men and women, unlike some who try to make it seem like Dean was strictly straight or gay. I think Dean's pal John Gilmore described him well - "multi-sexual". I think that may have been part of his appeal and how so many identified with him and what he represented. Hyams also gives his insight into Jimmy's romance with Pier Angeli and how, just like with his mother, Dean kept a lock of her hair. There is no doubt in my mind that Jimmy was deeply in love with Pier and remained so until the day he died. His relationships with Barbara Glenn, Dizzy Sheridan, Arlene Sachs, Lilli Kardell, Ursula Andress, Janette Miller, Elizabeth Taylor, Mercedes McCambridge, Beverly Long, Vampira, Eartha Kitt, Natalie Wood, Christine White and Julie Harris are also nicely recounted. No matter what kind of relationship he had with them, it's clear that Dean did enjoy and need the company of females, who in turn could be mother, sister and in some cases lover to him. The men who figured in his life - Rogers Brackett, Gilmore, Dennis Hopper, Nick Adams, Leonard Rosemann, Sal Mineo, Nick Ray, Bill Bast, Martin Landau, Rod Steiger, Roy Schatt, Lew Bracker, Arthur Loew Jr, Stewart Stern - were insightful and interesting to learn about as well. Of course, it would be impossible to show an entire persona of someone in a book, or the facets of their connections to others, but I think Hyams captured a lot of Dean's personality (at least as he knew it, as he points out, Dean seemed to be many different things to different people). You felt like you were there, witnessing Jimmy's life and it does seem that he had some kind of premonition that he would die young in a speeding car. Such as when Dean describes a dream he had about his mother not long before his death - well, I don't think I need to elaborate on that. He also seemed to give his Siamese cat, Marcus (a gift from Elizabeth Taylor) to his friend Janette as if he wouldn't be returning from the race at Salinas. A few of his friends felt that he was saying goodbye forever. Hyams also recounts, almost minute by minute, what those who knew Jimmy were doing the night he died and their reactions to learning of his tragic accident, along with the sometimes ironic and tragic paths and endings for many closely associated or intertwined with Dean.

The book also follows Dean's career from his early days as a struggling actor in New York to his successful (but brief) stint in Hollywood. It's amazing that Dean was pretty much unknown to the public at the time of his passing yet with the release of "Rebel Without A Cause" and "Giant" (for which he received an Oscar nomination), he became a household name, forever after symbolizing troubled youth and an icon ever since. What is it about Dean (much like other icons like Elvis, Marilyn or John Wayne) that makes him resonate so much all these years later? Makes one wonder if he had lived how different it may have all turned out. Leaving behind only three films and a small handful of television appearances, Dean retains an aura of mystery yet something that speaks to the youth inside of us.

I am in agreement with a previous reviewer that this book should be reissued. I have the original paperback version and it would be great to see it out as a new edition, perhaps with a new introduction (obviously not by Hyams, but perhaps someone associated with him or Dean).

"Little Boy Lost" is appropriately titled. It makes you long to reach out to him, comfort him and get to know him. Those who had the chance to know him were fortunate, even though his soul and star blazed only for a brief time on this earth. His legacy lives on.

[Aaron · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was very well written. I was very pleased with it because I have read other books about Jimmy but they always felt very one sided. For instance, one book I read leaned very heavily on his gay relationships almost pushing the point that Dean was more gay then bisexual. However, Mr. Hyams does a good job of explaining Jimmy's relationships and he says that "Yes Jimmy did have relationships with men but their were relationships with women too. A couple and one in particular that might could have won him over for marriage if the women had been willing." Another thing I really liked about Mr. Hyams book is that he is very unbiased and being a Journalist he is able to take all the interviews, recordings and testimonials of Jimmy's friends, family and co-workers and make a very clear and understandable portrait of who James Dean was.

He was a different type of person than I thought he was but it doesn't make me like him any less than before I read this book. I felt like it was more that I understood where Jimmy was coming from with all the experiences he had been through and all the people he met. I was just more saddened because it seems like he was a man who wanted people to know him but didn't want to let anyone get close to him because they might either reject him or hurt him (He feared.) I do feel, after reading Mr. Hyams book, that James Dean really was a little boy lost in a world that didn't know how to approach such a young man as him or how to respond to him. Every time someone tried to get close he would pull away or if he did let the close he would eventually do something to hurt them just to give them a warning of "Don't get to close to me, you might not like what you see." The other thing that bothered me, however, was the way Hollywood used the darker parts of Jimmy and used them to their advantage and the just left him be. It seems like every time this extortion went on it would just leave Jimmy in a bad place.

I still love James Dean even in spite of all the madness, the hurt and pain surrounding him. I wish he could have found the salve for his wounds and broken heartedness. I am sad that he died the way he did and that his life was as chaotic as it was. I wish he could have had a better life. One that was fulfilling, happy and peaceful. Mr. Hyams is gone but I am so grateful that he wrote this biography about Jimmy Dean, his friend and an actor. This would definitely be my recommendation to anyone who is a Dean fan who wants a non-biased whole life biography of James Dean. Please chose James Dean: Little Boy Lost - An Intimate Biography!

[Lisa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Well written- keeps your interest right from the beginning. I admit some of it is hard to hear, but the narrator spoke well, and the author had tons of intimate details that I'm sure no one knows. What a sad tormented soul. Toward the end, it felt as though Jimmy knew he was going to die. Very unsettling.

[Carla · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great biography of James Dean and all the details and facts about his very short life.
I really enjoyed read this book, could not put it down.

[Kaela · Rating 2 out of 5]

I have mixed feelings toward this book, I felt that it was average and didn't exceed to visually describe many things part of James deans life. It was somewhat of a drag to keep reading because I felt I wasn't getting the full picture I deserved. This had nothing to do with James dean himself but the authors way of writing.

[Kenneth Flusche · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing insite of a man who died too young

[Erin DeGroot · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a very thorough, thoughtful and engaging biography that had so many minuscule and intimate details so elegantly and crisply threaded together that it felt like I was reading a novel. I think it helps that it was written in 1991, when many of Jimmy’s acquaintances (including the author himself) who had first-hand stories could still remember and tell them.

The only thing that aged poorly was the author’s continual reference to the gay people in Jimmy’s life as “the homosexuals”, although he did not tiptoe around Jimmy’s bi-ness like many biographies probably would. If a romantic or sexual encounter occurred, regardless of the gender, the author appeared to address them equally as far as I could tell. Unfortunately, James wasn’t allowed to have healthy, safe relationships with boys his age, so half of his relationships seemed to be with older men and the power and age imbalance was inherently problematic. (I’m hoping this is “just the facts” and not folks being demonized.) Overall, the topic of Jimmy’s sexuality was handled well for the early 90’s, but it was “a different time” both when these events happened and when the book was written, so it’s definitely missing the sensitivity of modern, liberal authors.

Overall, I feel like I got to see a very real portrait of James Dean that went way beyond the schlocky shrines filling 1950’s themed restaurants. He was painted not as some glorious icon, or even someone who deserved to be one, but as someone who was literally childlike in his joy but deeply troubled and plagued with trauma and undiagnosed severe adult ADHD (I’m guessing on that, but my adhd radar is rarely wrong.) I’m no Hollywood star-chaser by any means, but I like knowing that James Dean, this untouchable idol of coolness, was actually a queer grease monkey who played bongo drums, loved classical music and obsessed over bull fights, wore broken glasses held together with tape and had dreadful fashion sense. I just wish he could have been born in my generation so he could have had real help, safer cars and lived to see his talent fully realized.

[Timothy Juhl · Rating 3 out of 5]

There are three icons from the 20th century whose images still sell, whose influence on popular culture is still felt long after their deaths. Elvis Presley died in 1977 at the age of 42. Marilyn Monroe died in 1962 at the age of 36. James Dean died in 1955 at the age of 24. All of them young and troubled, all of them rebellious and untamable.

James Dean was original Hollywood rebel, nothing but raw talent, raw sexuality, and raw emotions, and as a result his candle was burning at both ends. Nothing that burns that furiously will ever last. He was here so briefly and what the world got to see and know of him only left us with more questions when he was gone.

I decided to read this ahead of a new biography coming out (or is it out already?) that presumably dives deep into one of Dean's relationships with a male several years older, a relationship Dean had while he was still a struggling actor. The relationship is hinted at in this book.

What I found as I listened to this biography/memoir written in 1992 is that all of the main characters and relationships that James Dean had in his short life are all quite dead now. Liz Sheridan (Mrs. Seinfeld) was one of the last to die who knew Dean well.

As for talent, Dean made three films in the space of little more than a year, and he was nominated for Best Actor for two of those roles. Of his role in "East of Eden," most critics agree Dean was the embodiment of Cal Trask. It was Dean's first film, and it literally rocketed him to fame and stardom overnight.

[Lanae · Rating 4 out of 5]

I first discovered James Dean not in a movie or on a t-shirt but in my library. I grew up one county away from where he died. On one of the anniversaries my library had an end cap featuring a James Dean display. I was at that age where you might still hit the childrens section (YA didn’t have its own section then) but also wanted to be grown up, so I grabbed one of the books. I have been obsessed ever since (yes I do have a brick from his high school and pictures of me at his grave in Fairmount). I can’t tell you how I became obsessed with an actor via a book though I suspect having gone through a lot as a kid, including having lost a parent even younger than he when did and feeling as awkward as he seemed played a role.

This book feels more “real” than those who try to aim for the tabloid angle or those who turn him into some perfect angel. There’s nothing shocking here if you know anything about James Dean. It covers his sexuality, his mother’s death, his desires to be behind the camera, his failed romances.

It’s a good starting point for those wanting to know more about the actor.

[Nicholas · Rating 5 out of 5]

Like losing a friend you never had. I just happened upon this book by chance while walking through the closed stacks of my library. Did I know OF James Dean, of course. Did I actually KNOW Jimmy Dean though? Absolutely not. But thanks to this carefully measured account by Joe Hyams, I feel as if I do now.

Though there are many books on Jimmy, I think this one was the most appropriate to capture the entirety of Dean. Hyams was in the perfect proximity to Dean when he first arrived in Hollywood and, with his careful research and first hand accounts, he is able to reconstruct a whole picture of an awfully fragmented human being. His words transported me, through time and space, providing that magic that only good books can create.

Watching Dean’s television performances and buying his three feature films created an even deeper experience to supplement this book. I’ve only watched East of Eden thus far, I can’t bring myself to watch Rebel and Giant just yet. Finishing the book left me slightly grief stricken and I feel like I actually need to take a beat before seeing him again for the last time.

[Craig Adamson · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a very tender and thoughtful book written by a friend of James dean. It seems to be lovingly and carefully researched. I am not familiar with James Dean other than this book so I cannot say for sure if everything in the book is more truth than fiction. I will leave that other reviewer‘s who are more familiar with his life.

Was very sad to learn about all the traumas in his life including the death of his mother and problems he had growing up. In particular the sexual abuse he endured at the hands of older men during his life. Although the author portrays Dean as a opportunist, it still does not pardon the fact that these adult men use their position of power and money to take advantage of someone when they could have just helped him.

I am looking forward to seeing James Dean’s 3 movies.

[What to read next ....... · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have had this book on my bookshelve for many many years it's embrassing for how long but finally proud to say l finally read it and wow 👌 what a brillant read.

An extremely interesting informative touching look of James Dean life, without all the trash l have read in other books about him.

The author did a wonderful job exploring all aspects Jimmy's life. He showed the good and bad about Jimmy.

And even though he made three movies 🎬 there is a certain familiarity in James Dean that keeps the generations attracted to him , belonging to those who don't belong .

I highly recommend this book to any James Dean fan , of simply anyone looking for a good read 📚

[Dean · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is very well written and I was able to get through it pretty quickly.James Dean is an icon, he died over 65 years ago, he only made three movies, and he was 24 years old. The more I read about his story, the more heartbreaking it is. As with most biographies, there are part of this book that are very hard to read, as there are also parts that are very inspiring.

[Brennan Facchino · Rating 4 out of 5]

Gone too soon🙏🏻

Dope biography though. But spoiler alert, turns out he was a rebel WITH a cause. His cause was unpacking his childhood trauma and figuring out how to cope with the loss of his mother at a young age and his battles with his sexual identity.

Honestly, was not expecting to find this book as interesting as I did.

[Julie Penzenik · Rating 5 out of 5]

This biography was excellent. After reading, I felt as if I knew James Dean and his friends personally. It gives an informative and entertaining glimpse into the struggles and achievements of a most talented character, both on and off screen.

[Darrin Rottell · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the first book I read about James Dean. I liked it a lot and it gave some real insight into the actor behind the image. It was interesting to read about many people’s personal experiences with Dean.

[James · Rating 4 out of 5]

A well researched biography and well worth the read. This book explains a great deal about how each of his three movies came about and the drama dynamics of his interactions with the cast. Such a sad story.

[Bruno · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sad story... It's surprising how you can be affected by a book eventhough you know how it ends! I found myself wishing for another fate for this incredible actor named James Dean!

[James Siejak · Rating 5 out of 5]

Interesting bio of Dean by the people who actually knew him.

[Jay Kennedy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Incredible and honest. It's always great when an author can tell the story from all the personality sides of a subject without showing a bias. Hyams did a tremendous job here, well done.

[Katherine Thornton · Rating 4 out of 5]

Didn’t know much about this very complex man. Just wonder what the future would’ve held for him if he had survived. I enjoyed this.

[G.K. · Rating 5 out of 5]

A touching, funny, heartbreaking account from one of the people who knew James Dean the best. I picked this book up on the recommendation of a friend and I'm so glad I did.

[Lori Lunt · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very sad story! A really intimate look into his life but so sad at what a waste of talent. I think he would have been a timeless actor if given more time to mature into life.

[Heidi Zimmer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fascinating reading this slice of American pop culture, by someone who was friends with James Dean. I haven't seen all of his films but now am adding to my to do list.

[Bruce]

This was a second read. Written from a very personal perspective by a journalist who worked in Hollywood at the time and knew Dean and many of his friends intimately.

[Liza · Rating 2 out of 5]

I can’t get over the author calling the sexually abusive experiences of his childhood “relationships.”

[Stephen]

Died w $33.03 in his pocket

[David Highton · Rating 4 out of 5]

Written 37 years after his early death in a car crash, by someone who knew him well.

[Celene Swagler · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’ve read this book several times. It’s full of stories about James Dean that really just add more mystique to him.

[Tristan Carr · Rating 5 out of 5]

Why did this take so long, you may ask? It was because of how many people added into this biography that made me cry and love my muse even more than I already did. That is why.