A revealing new book exposes a previously undisclosed aspect of James Dean's life, detailing how he paid his former lover to keep their relationship private.
Jason Colavito's latest work explores James Dean's personal life, highlighting his secret romance and the consequential payout to avoid scandal, Mail Online reported.
The relationship between James Dean and Rogers Brackett began in 1951 when Brackett, a prominent advertising executive at Foote, Cone & Belding, noticed Dean, then a budding actor. Brackett recognized Dean's potential and offered him a role in the radio drama Alias Jane Doe, sparking both a professional collaboration and a personal relationship.
Their relationship evolved into a complex emotional and financial entanglement, with Dean navigating Brackett’s influence over his life. In 1951, Dean avoided the military draft by claiming homosexuality, a declaration Brackett substantiated through sham psychiatrist sessions he had arranged. This risky strategy reflected the era's perilous attitudes toward homosexuality.
Brackett supported Dean far beyond career guidance, covering significant expenses, including $450 in hotel bills and over $700 in gifts and loans. However, their financial dynamics and personal connection eventually deteriorated, leading to future disputes.
Their once cooperative relationship deteriorated by the time Dean was moving to New York. Brackett then demanded the repayment of $1,200 he had previously spent on Dean. The dispute led to a lawsuit from Brackett seeking $1,100, a case that threatened to expose their private dealings and potentially ruin Dean's rising career.
In response, Dean agreed to settle the lawsuit for $800 to be paid in $100 weekly installments. This settlement was crucial for Dean, as it included an agreement by his agent to arrange for Warner Bros. to pay Brackett a 'finder's fee.' This fee was essentially hush money to ensure Brackett's silence on matters that could damage Dean's public image and career in a time of pervasive homophobia.
Jason Colavito, in his book, discusses how the agreement to keep this settlement and the nature of their relationship secret was pivotal. He quotes from the communications, noting, "Implicit in the correspondence and conversations between Brackett's team and Dean's is the threat that the suit might become public, which both Brackett and Dean knew would destroy Dean's career."
The financial arrangement in 1954 happened just before the premiere of Dean's major film, "East of Eden." This payment, which would be equivalent to $14,500 today, underscored the lengths to which Dean went to protect his burgeoning career from the devastating impacts of societal attitudes towards homosexuality at the time.
Reflecting on their relationship, Brackett provided a mixed description, portraying Dean both as a cherished figure and as someone who behaved provocatively. "Jimmy was like a child. He behaved badly just to get attention…he was a kid I loved, sometimes parentally, sometimes not parentally," he said.
Dean's frustration with the situation was palpable when he remarked angrily, reflecting his dismay at the financial and emotional toll the relationship exacted on him. "I didn't know it was the w***e who paid – I thought it was the other way around," Dean reportedly said, signaling the strain and bitterness that had grown between him and Brackett.
James Dean's life, marred with personal struggles hidden behind his public persona, came to a tragic end when he died in a car crash in 1955 at the age of 24. The secrets of his life, including his relationship with Brackett, remained obscured until Colavito's book shed light on the complex dynamics of his personal affairs and their impact on his life and career.
The information revealed in Colavito's "Jimmy: The Secret Life of James Dean" adds a significant layer to the existing narrative of the Hollywood icon, underscoring the immense pressures and the personal costs of fame during a less tolerant era. It also illustrates the lengths to which individuals went to protect their private lives and careers in the face of societal scrutiny and bias.
