Explore James Dean’s secret life! A new book shows the threats, secret loves, and crimes that ended the career of Hollywood’s most famous rebel.
1. Blackmail deal found out.
2. Discussion of complicated connections.
A few days before his movie debut, James Dean quietly paid Rogers Brackett, a past boyfriend who had threatened to tell everyone about their relationship, off.
This shocking secret was kept from the public for seven decades. It is now out in Jason Colavito’s new book, “Jimmy: The Secret Life of James Dean.”
Dean and Brackett have been together since 1951. Brackett, who works in advertising, helped Dean get his start in the business. Their rough relationship ended around 1953.
Why did Brackett try to blackmail you?
- Loss of job
- We need to pay for an opera.
- Dean’s growing fame
- Capitalize on Dean’s fear of trouble
In 1955, Brackett kept threatening to sue if he didn’t get his money. Dean paid him $800, which is about $10,000 today, to avoid a controversy that would have destroyed his career.
Warner Bros. is said to have also paid Brackett a “finder’s fee” to keep quiet.
People still had different opinions about Dean’s sexuality. In his book, William Bast wrote that he had a secret romance with Dean. Colavito’s book adds to the complexity of this problem by giving us new proof.
Dean’s friendship with Pier Angeli after that was also difficult. Their relationship stopped because Angeli’s mother didn’t want them to get married.
Colavito found out about it when Jane Deacy’s papers were put up for sale. These papers showed the threat payment and other information that wasn’t known before.
Colavito's book gives us a more complete picture of James Dean's life by demonstrating how both events affected him. Unseen struggles. The new information we found questions long-held beliefs and adds to the tale.