What is it about James Dean? He came and went, phhht. And yet:
FAIRMOUNT — James Dean just won't go away. Even though the young movie actor died 53 years ago after making only three motion pictures, still the James Dean legend goes on and on.
Sorry to break it to all these earnest scribes, but James Dean went away a long time ago. The only thing that won't die is the pathetic attempt to keep his "legend" status alive. Never has there been such a thin resume -- our need for teenage "rebels" is not exactly at its zenith, and being "forever young" only has so much mileage in it. Had Dean lived, he probably would have made several dubious career choices, starred in a few bad Westerns in Italy and Spain, ended up in a treacly TV series and, now, approaching 80, be doing Viagra commercials.
