During filming of the 1955 classic D East of Eden, James Dean wrote a letter to "Lady Jane," the woman he also called "Mom." In it, he expressed his dislike of LA, his quest to find a discreet dentist, asked about his finances, and assured her he was doing fine. "Too much smoking. [Have] stopped completely, also stopped drinking. Taking vitamins also," he wrote in the two-page letter. "I'm fatter now and feel much better. Tear myself up in New York. Build myself up in Calif. (health and maybe career huh?)."
Jane Deacy, the woman James addressed in the letter, believed in the young actor before anyone else. After signing him to her nascent talent agency in New York, she helped James make job connections, paid his bills, protected him from blackmail, and kept his secrets even after his 1955 death. "She went above and beyond what agents did at that time," says Jason Colavito, author of a new examination of the star's private life (due out from Applause Books this fall).
James had lost his own mother, Mildred, to cancer when he was 9, leaving a hole in his life. "He was very close to his mother. She had encouraged his interest in the arts with storytelling and fantasy," says Colavito. "But the most important influence his mother had, sadly, was in dying. He never got over her death. He treated Jane like a mother figure."
EARLY PROMISE
This story is from the March 04, 2024 edition of Closer US.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Sign In
This story is from the March 04, 2024 edition of Closer US.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
I Owe Everything TO GOD
THE JEFFERSONS AND 227 ACTRESS IS GOING STRONG AT 92 YEARS YOUNG
HER RULES to Live By
THE SiLVERSSCREEN LEGEND BELIEVED IN WORKING HARD AND LIVING LARGE
Murder, She Wrote SECRETS FROM THE SET
FRIENDS AND CO-STARS SHARE BEHIND-THE-SCENES STORIES FROM THE BELOVED SERIES
We're All CONNECTED
The Touched by an Angel alum shares her thoughts on marriage, aging, faith and her new TV series, The Baxters
Amazing UNTOLD STORY
FRIENDS AND FAMILY SHARE MEMORIES OF THE ACTOR AND DANCER NEARLY 15 YEARS AFTER HIS UNTIMELY PASSING
MOTHER'S DAY Memories
OUR FAVORITE TELEVISION MOMS SHARE THEIR FAMILY CELEBRATIONS AND THOUGHTS ON MOTHERHOOD
5 WAYS TO STOP SUGAR CRAVINGS
FOLLOW THESE SIMPLE STEPS TO KEEP TEMPTATION UNDER WRAPS
Memories of My Grandfather, LARRY FINE
THE THREE STOOGES COMEDIAN WAS A COMMITTED FAMILY MAN WHO DOTED ON HIS LOVED ONES
CHRISTOPHER ATKINS - I'm Still a DREAMER
The Dallas and Blue Lagoon star shares his life today with Closer
KATE & KING CHARLES - STAYING STRONG& Carrying On
BATTLING CANCER AT THE SAME TIME HAS DEEPENED THE AFFECTION AND RESPECT BETWEEN THEM