“Too fast to live, too young to die.” That’s how the Eagles described James Dean in their tribute song to the film legend, who was only 24 when his life was cut tragically short in a car accident. Few other Hollywood stars have lasted as long in the public consciousness or left as great an impact as Dean. Sixty-three years after his death, he is still idolized, even though he appeared in only three major motion pictures – Giant, East of Eden, and the one that cemented his immortality, Rebel Without A Cause.
Starring in Rebel alongside a luminously youthful Natalie Wood and another up-and-coming screen idol, Sal Mineo, Dean personified adolescent angst in his deft portrayal of high school outcast Jim Stark. While Dean is remembered by Rebel fans, first and foremost, for his riveting performance, he is also forever associated with the red jacket he wore for the role. Like Marilyn Monroe’s subway dress in The Seven Year Itch and the head-to-toe black leather outfit Elvis Presley wore in his 1968 TV comeback special, James Dean’s red jacket is locked in time, a tangible reminder of the talented Indiana-born actor who held so much promise.
On March 3, 2018, Palm Beach Modern Auctions will present as the centerpiece of its sale a red jacket James Dean wore in Rebel Without A Cause. It is one of only a few purchased from Mattson’s Sportswear for Men in Hollywood, California, specifically for use in the film. After the movie wrapped, those few jackets were given away as gifts.
The jacket in the March 3 auction has been privately owned since 1955 and is offered with extensive documentation supporting a trail of ownership that goes all the way back to Leon Roberts, wardrobe supervisor for Rebel Without A Cause. After filming concluded, Roberts gifted the iconic jacket to a friend in California named Dambres, who subsequently bequeathed it to his nephew, Ernest H. Dambres. After Ernest Dambres passed away, the jacket was given, per instructions in his will, to longtime friend and fellow automotive enthusiast Michael Scott of Hobe Sound, Florida. Scott is the current owner and consignor of the jacket.
“Not only does this iconic jacket come with a written record of provenance, it also comes with other relevant paperwork. There’s a 1962 letter requesting the jacket be donated to a proposed motion picture museum in California, as well as a letter from Michael Scott in which he recounts his visit with the curator and executor of the James Dean Estate, whom he says personally examined the jacket and felt was ‘the real deal,’” said Rico Baca, co-owner of Palm Beach Modern Auctions. “In that letter, Michael also states that the curator later contacted him to ask if the jacket could be donated to the Dean museum in Fairmount, Indiana. It’s very unusual to see such an important, high-profile celebrity item accompanied by such an extensive ownership archive.”
The James Dean Rebel Without A Cause red jacket comes to public auction for the first time ever on March 3, 2018 at Palm Beach Modern Auctions in West Palm Beach, Florida. Its auction estimate is $400,000-$600,000. Online bidding will be available through LiveAuctioneers.
