James Dean

Sometimes I.D.'d as "The Tabloid Kings," Darwin Porter and Danforth Prince are the authors of at least 35 exposes of "the story behind the stories" of America's entertainment industry. Subjects they've (notoriously) aimed their spotlight on, usually to critical acclaim, have included Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, Peter O'Toole, Marlon Brando, Steve McQueen, Linda Lovelace, The Gabor sisters, The Clintons, The Reagans, and a gaggle of other luminaries who found either success or notoriety, or both, within the ongoing scandals of American show-biz.

• Contents Chapter One page 1A Hoosier Farmboy Wanders Along Hollywood's Boulevard of Broken Dreams. Rogers Brackett, Joan Davis, Beverly Wills, the pretty boys of Henry Willson's Dream Factory, John Carlyle, George Cukor, Spencer Tracy, William Bast. Chapter Two page 31Shacking Up with the A-list Legends of Hollywood.Clifton Webb, Joan Crawford, Walt Disney, Judy Garland, Cecil Beaton, Roddy McDowall, Cole Porter, Alfredo de la Vega, Chapter Three page 65 A TV Producer at CBS Adopts" a Kid from the street Jack Benny, Barbara Payton, Hedy Lamarr, Walter Pidgeon, John Bromfield, Vince Edwards, The Bad and the Beautiful, a violent altercation with Humphrey Bogart, and a developing passion for bullfighting. Chapter Four: page 113 James Dean and Nick Adams Become Hollywood Hustlers Before Setting Out to Conquer New York.The Little Prince" tackles Tallulah Bankhead, Peggy Lee, Dizzy Sheridan, Merv Griffin, Martin Milner, Barbara Baxley, Robert Stevens, some casting directors in New York, and, in Indiana, the priest who molested him. Chapter Five page 173 See the Jaguar. The Play's a Dud, but Jimmy's Debut on Broadway Generates Rave Reviews.Grace Kelly, Sarah Churchill, Stanley Haggart, Lem & Shirley Ayers, Alec Wilder, Christine White, Kim Stanley & Brooks Clift, opera giant Frank Corsaro, a three-way with Jack Cassidy and Tom Tryon, and a to-the-death" feud with Lee Strasberg at the Actors Studio. Chapter Six page 229 Jimmy's Affair with Steve McQueen Two ambitious but unknown actors, each a male prostitute, meet in a motorcycle repair shop in NYC. Their competition onscreen and after dark. Chapter Seven page 243 Jimmy's Jailbait. His Affair and Correspondence with Barbara GlennHe takes her virginity, slaps her around, borrows money he doesn't return, sends her psychotic love letters, and talks about marriage. Chapter Eight page 253 Jimmy Emerges as a Star in the Early Days of TelevisionTeleplays for NBC, CBS, Campbell's Soup, Kraft, Philco, General Electric, Westinghouse, U.S. Steel, and Schlitz. Down and dirty on the casting couch with playwright Bill Inge. Egomania and homophobia from Robert Montgomery, and Dark Dark Hours with Ronald Reagan. Chapter Nine page 311 James Dean Vs. Marlon BrandoRivals on screen, Master & Slave after midnight Chapter Ten page 327 Jimmy After Dark and on the Streets of ManhattanFriendships and/or Feuds with Eartha Kitt, Truman Capote, Shelley Winters, Eli Wallach, Patricia Neal, Gary Cooper, and Dance Queen Katherine Dunham. Suicidal Dreams: To the horror of everyone at the Actors Studio, Jimmy slits his wrists onstage. Battle Cry and Dean's ongoing feud with Tab Hunter. Getting Musical with composer David Diamond. How literary groupie and Playboy centerfold Alice Denham added James Dean to her list of sexual conquests. Chapter Eleven page 381 Jimmy's Convoluted Relationship with Tennessee WilliamsAuditioning replacements for The Horse," he interviews James Dean as his possible new lover, then invites him to be the father of a child he'd adopt. Tennessee's Lost Manuscript: Was it based on James Dean? Chapter Twelve page 399 James Dean's Affair with Montgomery CliftRebel actors neurotically feuding on their respective roads to self-destruction. How the millionaire murderer, Libby Holman, contributed to their feud. Chapter Thirteen page 411James Dean Vs. Paul NewmanActors of a similar type" compete, collaborate, maneuver, and scheme for the same roles and the same lovers. How Newman stepped into Jimmys shoes, post-mortem. Chapter Fourteen page 437 The Immoralist. James Dean Opens on Broadway as an Arab He-Slut" with a Hundred Bitchy Tricks, Including Blackmail.Geraldine Page interprets James Dean and Andre Gide. Hatred backstage, as Louis Jourdan and Jimmy exchange venom. Both its playwright and its enraged director agree: Working with this monster boy was my worst experience ever with an actor." Chapter Fifteen page 449East of Eden. Playing the Son of a Whore, a Star is BornJimmy irritates Elia Kazan and infuriates Raymond Massey. His Oscar nomination places him in direct confrontation with Hollywood's Old Guard. Chapter Sixteen page 473 Jimmy's Affair with Marilyn MonroeBaby Doll, Bus Stop, the Actors Studio, and how a farm boy from Indiana seduced the Sex Queen of Hollywood. From the twisted wreckage of their ashes, icons emerge to enchant the world. Chapter Seventeen page 499 Tales from the FBI: J.Edgar Hoover, Hot on Jimmy's Tail"How Jimmy got caught shoplifting and red-handed," and how he managed to avoid getting blacklisted and the Red Channels list. Chapter Eighteen page 511 James Dean and His Affair with the Woolworth Heiress, Barbara HuttonHow he rejected her offer to make him her all-expense-paid Toy Boy," and how he segued their association into a friendship and love affair with her son, Lance Reventlow. Chapter Nineteen page 527 The Beauty and the Billionaire: James Dean Aviates" with Howard Hughes and Terry MooreAmerica's richest eccentric demonstrates what unlimited money can do in Hollywood. In and out of bed with The American Emperor." Chapter Twenty page 547 James Dean & Pier AngeliA tangled web of Hollywood affairs. Everybody sleeping with everybody else's lovers. Vic Damone, Marisa Pavan, Marlon Brando, Natalie Wood, and John Derek. Changing partners with Ursula Andress. Chapter Twenty-One page 577 James Dean Vs. Vampira, Eartha Kitt & Theater Mogul Arthur Loew, Jr.How Vampira, the weirdest TV personality of her era, lured and later cursed Jimmy with Black Magic. How Sammy Davis, Jr. pulled Jimmy toward Satanism, the occult, and a fascination with coffins. Jimmy's affair with Toni Lee Scott and America's (male) sweetheart," Van Johnson. Inconclusive interludes with Tony Perkins, Lilli Kardell, and various Unsavory Aliens of the Night." Chapter Twenty-Two page 625Rebel Without a CauseHow a low-budget experimental film ignited the angst of teenagers everywhere. The murky sexual dynamics of Sal Mineo, Natalie Wood, and Nicholas Ray. How Jayne Mansfield, Jack Simmons, Dennis Hopper, Johnny Weissmuller, J. Paul Getty, Grace Kelly, and Alan Ladd contributed to the offscreen dramas. And how Nick Adams' self-anointed role as a Hollywood gopher for newbie Elvis Presley eventually led to his murder. Chapter Twenty-Three page 673 GiantHow a short, nearsighted farmboy from Indiana became the biggest tycoon in Texas; and how a lesbian author, a gay leading man, a sultry, bed-hopping beauty, and a bisexual rebel brought a sprawling saga to the screen. Epilogue: Death in the Afternoon page 729Drive Fast, Die Young Acknowledgments page 737 Recording the Voices (Authors' Bios) page 741