Liz & Jimmy

Elizabeth Taylor and James Dean in Giant (1955)

Among the many men in Elizabeth Taylor’s life, some of the ones she was closest to were not husbands but friends—Roddy McDowell, Montgomery Clift, Rock Hudson. These co-stars found in a Taylor a loyal and trust-worthy confident who stood besides them through thick and thin and, in the case of Clift, even saved their lives.

One of the most memorable of her male friends was James Dean. Their seemingly close bond is all the more striking when you consider the fact that their friendship began only a few months before Dean's death.

James Dean and Elizabeth Taylor on set. Photos: Frank Worth.

They met on the set of Giant in June 1955. Taylor was a big Hollywood star who had been acting since childhood. Dean was the farm boy turned method actor who had only made two films. Some cast and crew members were turned off by Dean's sometimes disruptive behaviour and odd sense of humour but not Taylor; she found him interesting and funny. Dean on the other hand was in awe of Taylor. When it came time to film their first scene together, he found the courage to get through it in a very Dean-like way: he turned his back to Taylor and urinated in front of a large crowd of onlookers. He later told co-star Dennis Hopper that "It was Elizabeth Taylor...I was so nervous I couldn't speak." He thought if he could do that in front of a a group of people then "I would be able to work with her."

 

 

Photo: API/Gamma-Rapho

Photos: Richard Miller

Nerves gone, the two quickly became friends. When filming wrapped for the day, they would often stay up late and Taylor, ever the good confident, would listen to Dean talk. Later in life, she would write of Dean, “We had an extraordinary friendship. We would sometimes sit up until three in the morning, and he would tell me about his past, his mother, minister, his loves, and the next day he would just look straight through me as if he'd given away or revealed too much of himself. It would take, after one of these sessions, maybe a couple of days before we'd be back on friendship terms. He was very afraid to give of himself."

Toward the end of filming, Taylor gave Dean a Siamese kitten whom he named Marcus after his uncle. Dean adored the kitten. A few days after he had finished shooting his final scenes, he eagerly made plans to head up to Salinas, California in his new Porsche 550 Spyder to compete in a race event. He left Marcus with a friend along with a detailed list of instructions on how to take care of him while he was gone. Dean was killed shortly after in a car crash on September 30, 1955. The story goes that on the day he died, Marcus ran away.
 

Stevens was the one to break the news of Dean's death to Taylor who burst into tears. The next day, it was business as usual. Rock Hudson said, "George forced her to come to work after Dean's death. He hadn't finished the film. And she could not stop crying." Taylor, in a fury, stormed off set. Shortly thereafter, she collapsed and was admitted to the hospital.

 

One can only speculate, of course, but I'd like to think that if Dean had lived, the two would have remained dear friends. Looking at the photos of them, it’s clear that they enjoyed being together; they look so relaxed and at ease with each other. What a beautiful couple and what a beautiful friendship.

American Cool

"James Dean" Roy Schatt (1954)

Jazz saxophonist Lester Young is credited with popularizing the word “cool” back in the 1940s. Since then it’s become a label that often leads to hotly contested debates over exactly who deserves the moniker. Friday I headed down to Washington, DC and checked out what the National Portrait Gallery thought about the subject with their photo exhibit “American Cool.”

Gathering together images of 100 “cool” Americans, the curators used the following criteria to decide who should make their list (candidates had to fit at least three of the four): “an original artistic vision carried off with a signature style; cultural rebellion or transgression for a given generation; iconic power or instant visual recognition; and a recognized cultural legacy.” Apparently, it was so hard to choose that a "100-Alt list" was created of those who didn't make the cut (it's included at the beginning of the gallery). 

"Bessie Smith" Carl Van Vechten (1936)

"Louise Brooks" Nickolas Muray (circa 1924)

The exhibit is broken up into four sections: “The Roots of Cool: Before 1940,” “The Birth of Cool: 1940-59,” “Cool and the Counterculture: 1960-79,” and “The Legacies of Cool: 1980-Present.” Beginning with Walt Whitman and Frederick Douglass it moves through the 20th century and ends up in the present with Missy Elliott and Johnny Depp.

I was immediately drawn to “The Roots of Cool” section where I found some old friends hanging out—Louise Brooks, Dorothy Parker, Ernest Hemingway (shot by Robert Capa), and Buster Keaton among others. I agreed with their inclusion but thought Clara “It Girl” Bow should have been there as well (she's on the “100-Alt list”).

"Frank Sinatra" Herman Leonard (ca. 1956)

"Duke Ellington" William Paul Gottlieb (1946)

And so it went, room after room of mostly actors and musicians sparking either a nod of the head (Charlie Parker? Of course. Steve McQueen? So cool.) or a frown (Elvis Presley? He fits the criteria but cool? John Wayne. Um.) And here lies the problem when using the word “cool.” Regardless of the criteria, it’s almost impossible to find a general consensus because it is so personal; everyone has their own idea of who they think is cool.

"Patti Smith" Lynn Goldsmith (1976)

"Bob Dylan, Singer, New York City" Richard Avedon (1965)

What can be agreed upon is that the images in the exhibit were taken by an amazing group of photographers. In addition to the Capa image of Hemingway, there’s James Brown by Diane Arbus, Jon Stewart by Richard Avedon, Malcolm X by Henri Cartier-Bresson, Lauren Bacall by Alfred Eisenstaedt, Great Garbo by Arnold Genthe, Audrey Hepburn by Philippe Halsman, Johnny Depp by Annie Leibovitz, Deborah Harry by Robert Mapplethorpe, H. L. Mencken by Edward Jean Steichen (Mencken, seriously? Mencken was never cool), Georgia O’Keefe by Paul Strand, and James Cagney by Edward Henry Weston.

The day I went there was a lot of discussion going on in the gallery about the people in the photos: who they were, what they had achieved, and who should have been included (or not). The exhibit had sparked a dialogue among the visitors and that's cool. 

“American Cool” is on display at the National Portrait Gallery through September 7, 2014. For more information and a list of the official 100 cool people, visit here.

Men With Cats

James Dean with Marcus who was a gift from Elizabeth Taylor.

While it's perfectly acceptable for a man to own a dog, the idea of him having a cat, let alone admitting to liking them, appears to be a foreign concept to many. Aren't cats for women, the misinformed ask? The answer is, no. Don't believe me? Take a look at these images, evidence that some men do like cats. And we're not just talking any men; these are some pretty cool guys.

Sean Connery

Clark Gable

Bob Dylan

Marlon Brando

Ernest Hemingway whose house in Key West is still home to the descendants of his famed six-toed cat Snowball.

John Lennon

Robert Redford

Paul Newman and Louis XIV.

Steve McQueen. Love this photo.

To see images of stars with dogs, check out my post here.

Dennis Stock at the Milk

"James Dean in Times Square" Dennis Stock (1955)

Tonight I went to an opening of an exhibit of Dennis Stock photographs at Milk Gallery. A photojournalist, Magnum member, and author of more than 24 books, Stock captured a variety of people from screen stars Audrey Hepburn and Marilyn Monroe to jazz greats Louis Armstrong and Billie Holiday to non-celebrity bikers and hippies. He also took some hilarious images on the set of Planet of the Apes. 

Yet he is perhaps best known for a series of photos of James Dean including the iconic shot of Dean walking through Times Square in the rain. Stock first met Dean at a Hollywood party in January, 1955. The two hit it off and after seeing a screening of his first film, East of Eden, Stock realized there was something special about Dean and convinced Life Magazine to finance a story on the journey of a young actor. Over the course of three months the two visited Dean's hometown in Indiana and spent time in New York before returning to Los Angeles. Later that year Dean would be dead at the age of 24. Many of these photographs are included in the exhibit and are both stunning and poignant.

"The 20th Century Fox studios during filming of Planet of the Apes, Hollywood" Dennis Stock (1967)

The opening was quite the scene (I'm not used to having to queue outside to see art), with a mix of photography fans and people who were obviously there for the free booze and to be seen. But the photos were worth braving the crowds.

The exhibit is at the Milk Gallery through April 17. For more information, visit here.

Jimmy & Gran

East of Eden (1955) was my introduction to James Dean, and I've always had a special fondness for the film. There is something so real about Dean's performance as the tormented Cal that his anguish seems to practically leap from the screen. This screen test, less than a minute long and without audio, gives viewers a glimpse of the actor's talent and his amazing screen presence. For me what makes this test special is the actress with him, Lois Smith, who made her screen debut in the film in the role of Anne. Some of you may know her better as Adele "Gran" Stackhouse on True Blood, the wise grandmother to Sookie and Jason. Jimmy and Gran—what a combo.

Jimmy Dean

James Dean was born on this date in 1931 in Marion, Indiana. Before he became the face of teenage rebellion and one of film’s greatest legends, he was a struggling actor living in New York. When not studying at the Actors Studio or getting parts in plays, he spent his time on a variety of interests—books, drawing, sculpting, photography, playing his bongo drums while listening to jazz, and roaming the streets of the city. He was always exploring, always learning.

I love all three of the films he made—East of Eden, Rebel Without a Cause, and Giant (I remember first seeing him in East of Eden when I was a kid and being completely mesmerized)—but when it comes to photos, I’ve always been fond of those of him in New York. On the street or with camera in hand, looking just so damn cool. So Happy Birthday Jimmy Dean. We hardly knew you.

Photos by Roy Schatt.