James Dean

James Dean. . , Marion General Hospital has infused life into the downtown by sponsoring this Iconic hometown Hollywood heartthrob… James Dean., James Byron Dean was born in Marion, Indiana, February 8th, 1931 in a small house a block away from CSA at the southwest corner of Fourth and McClure streets. The house was razed many years ago and a star with his name is in the parking lot of where it used to be., Little James Dean took dance classes right here in downtown Marion. He moved with his parents to Los Angeles for a short stint until his mother sadly passed away. At 9 James moved back home and was raised on the Winslow farm in Fairmount, Indiana with his father's sister Ortense and husband Marcus Winslow. While in Grant County he enjoyed his time working on motorcycles, painting, doing school plays, and playing sports at Fairmount high school. At school, Adeline Nall was his drama teacher and she had a profound effect on the future of James Dean. Instilling the passion and dream to be a professional actor, James went against the overwhelming odds and eventually made the move to Los Angeles and New York., In Hollywood, meals were hard to come by and surviving to live combined with going after the possible dream was a struggle that few can understand. He never gave up and while there he continued his training in acting, ballet, playing musical instruments, sculpting, writing and art., Like Salmon going upstream James Dean was one of the few survivors who made it. And made it he did!!! James Dean starred in just three movies: "Rebel Without A Cause", "East of Eden", and "Giant" before his untimely death in a car accident on September 30th, 1955. He tragically died before the release of two of the movies and was the first actor to receive a posthumous Academy Award nomination for Best Actor. James Dean was nominated for two Academy Awards. In 1999, the American Film Institute ranked Dean the 18th biggest male movie star on their AFLS 100 years stars list., Because of one dreamer from Grant County, a struggling artist who was willing to pay the price and "Dream as if you will live forever. Live as is you will die today", James Dean recognized a very important lesson for all artists to take note of: "Gratification comes in the doing, not the results." The results however, have been astounding. The James Dean legacy has transcended into thousands of jobs, billions of dollars' worth of merchandising and events. Movies, posters, books, artwork, cars, pictures, toys, James Dean calendars, dolls, songs, museum's etc…, People from around the world pay homage to the superstar and celebrate his life. The James Dean weekend remains a highlight in Fairmount, Indiana every year and a tourist attraction that fills hotels, restaurants and stimulates Grant County's economy. James Dean's first cousin, Marcus Winslow, is a treasure to our community and remains on the farm that Dean was raised on. Mr. Winslow bought a stone to honor his cousin James B. Dean on the CSA wall of fame. CSA also has a 1,000 dollar annual scholarship in James Dean's name that is given to a deserving senior from CSA that pursues the arts., CSA would like to thank Marion General Hospital for helping us create a safe place to examine the talent of our community and diagnose the potential of these gifted kids. CSA notes that the prognosis is good and we appreciate MGH for showcasing the body of work and imagery of the legendary James Dean on our building in a hope to inspire our community. Like a skilled physician in his craft James Dean once said "Acting is the most logical way for people's neuroses to manifest themselves, in this great need we all have to express ourselves."