Elvis & James Dean

[Ejm1059]

James Dean & Elvis are in my opnion the coolest people in the history of mankind (okay and Clark Gable;) .) My question is if James and Elvis got a chance to meet do you think they would've hit it off. I know Elvis admired James & Marlon Brando. And I also know that Elvis was "star-struck" when he met Brando. So do think James and Elvis would've clicked?

[T_J]

Hard to say. Dean, by all accounts, wasn't the easiest guy to get close to and was quite unpredictable. He could be very charming one minute and very dismissive and rude the next. I remember there was a story going round that Dean used to ring people up in the middle of the night and blast the opening of Elvis' Hound Dog down the phone as a practical joke. Funny story, but false of course as Dean was dead before Elvis even recorded it.

[Raised on Rock]

Thats a real dificult question, hard to say, Elvis admired Brando as and actor, but about James Dean, I think his admiration was not only about his acting but also his whole aura, now Brando was heavy-blood, not someone that you will find easy to get along, while Dean seemed to be, lets say pretty weird artistic character but more down to earth cool guy, and that sounds more like Elvis was.

Now Brando may have done "THe Wild One" and totally influenced Dean and Evis Presley, and the whole post war teen generation till even Lennon and tHe other Beetles, (with an "A"), but that was just a character he played, 11 years older than Presley, Brando belonged to another generation, the one that could not undestand rock and roll and disliked everything related to it, and that included Elvis Presley. On the other hand James B. Dean, only 4 years older than Elvis, played Rebel Without a Cause outside the character, just like Elvis Presley Dean was the embodiment of the generation clash that started in the 50's and ended up with all the stuff going on during the 60's. Now I know some people here may disagree with these, but from one point of view, it was Elvis Presley on music, James Dean on Film, and Jack Kerouac on literature, three main issues (among others of course) to blame for the cultural "pop" revolution that came during the 60's, those were the icons of people like Dylan, Lennon, or in fact all of that generation.

James Dean passed away to early to had a chance to hear about Elvis Presley, but its quite probably, being Dean a lover of African and African American music, Afro Cuban DANCE music, but also a man that liked to confront and go against the usual conventions of the society of those days, that he have liked Elvis Presley; so... imposible to know if they could have get along well together, but a mutual respect and enjoyment for each others work its quite posible.

[Ejm1059]

True. All good points.

[Raised on Rock]

In fact, it is not that crazy that by 1957, after Elvis did the "Jailhouse Rock", some movie producer in Hollywood would have look at the great chances $$$ of delivering "Elvis Presley" and "James Dean" together on the ultimate teenage clash movie. If only...

Thanks TCB member Hawk for this image.

[Sheila]

How can he blast the song "hound dog" when he died in 1955! Elvis didn't released it until July '56!!!

[EnigmaticSun]

I like James Dean, he helped to form Elvis as an actor; especially the movies from the 50's show this - Elvis, the angry young man who supposedly is no good, although he tries to be a good kid..

James surely had a lot of guts, I liked the way he interacted with Sal Mineo in 'Rebel Without A Cause'. For some reason, this scene may even be more shocking now (American hysteria), then it was in 1955..

Of course, James was a unique person, like Elvis. It's too bad Elvis didn't get the chance to grow riper as an actor, because in general he just met girls, girls, girls after having served in the army.. He could have done Shakespeare..

James is cool, he also helped to launch the career of my hero Dennis Hopper. And don't you forget about River Phoenix - there's an obvious link between James and River...