Live Fast-Die Young: Remembering the Short Life of James Dean

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 facade. 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's private world in a way that makes him seem more like a hero with a cause. Photos. (Sept.)