Boulevard of Broken Dreams: The Life, Times, and Legend of James Dean

by Paul Alexander

Book Overview

This is the first biography of James Dean to look beyond the Hollywood-manufactured cliche to the volatile polarities, conflicted sexuality, and childhood trauma of the person himself. James Dean's legendary status as a Hollywood icon is reconsidered in Boulevard of Broken Dreams, which explores the process by which he became the electric and exciting actor who came to stand for a whole generation's feelings of rebellion.What no one knew at the highlight...

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0670849510
• ISBN13: 9780670849512
• Release Date: August 1994
• Publisher: Viking
• Length: 336 Pages
• Weight: 1.45 lbs.
• Dimensions: 9.3" x 1.5" x 6.8"

Customer Reviews

Interesting

It is a book that can be quite graphic and sensational, but Jimmy was sensational and quirky. He was very talented and would have been a fabulous director one day.

Judge for yourself and don't neccessarily believe all the negative reviews

It's quite frustrating to read all the negative reviews here. Paul Alexander has written other critically acclaimed biographies and from this background there is no reason to believe he was just some lousy reporter interested in writing a badly researched, scandalous tabloid biography, although this is just what some reviewers here wrongly claim. There are two rather detailed (homo)sexual scenes, and that's all. Of course one wonders how Alexander recreated them (he doesn't list his sources in footnotes and just mentions how he tried to recreate dialogue and scenes through in-depth interviews) but they are in no way the common theme of the book. Alexander's prose is elegantly clear, empathic and evocative. What seems to annoy some reviewers is that he tries to bring to light elements of Dean's life biographies back then (this book was originally published in 1995) - and maybe even today - tried to avoid or probably suppress. From this point of view this is still an informed and reasonably balanced piece of work and in no way the lurid scam it is depicted to be in some reviews here. Some "fans" probably hate their romantic myths about Dean shattered or are too uncomfortable with homosexuality to see it mentioned in a James Dean biography. What is strange, though, is the fact that the recently published book by Willam Bast, which probably deals more with Dean's (homo)sexuality than Alexander's book, doesn't get as many negative reviews as this book here. Maybe times have changed. Anyway, I think there is no such thing as "the" James Dean biography. If you want to seriously know more about him you should read several biographies to get to know different points of view. But Paul Alexander's work should not be missed.

superb style, memorable quotes

I am surprised that no one has remarked upon this biography's excellent style. Here are a few memorable passages: 1. In Salt Lake City, [his mother's] coffin, covered with flowers, was removed from the train and placed on the station platform near Jimmy's window [he was a boy of nine] "Oh, my mother! That's my mother!" Jimmy was supposed to have said. "I'm going out there. I'm going to stand right beside her!" And with the train's nurse by his side, that's what he did, until the coffin was moved back on board. 2. For years, the people of Fairmount would gossip about what Jimmy was supposed to have said when [...] on his eighteenth birthday, he reported to the local draft board. Was there a reason why he should'nt be drafted? [...] Yes, there was. [...] "You can't draft me," he said. "I'm homosexual." 3. [Of his father's resistance to the idea of him becoming an actor] A father's pull on a son may be basic, but an art form's pull on an artist is hypnotic. 4. No true artist fits into the world in which he lives. If he did, he would cease to be the observer and become the observed. It certainly seems plausible that much of Dean's rebellion proceeded from his homosexuality. After all, our inherited culture denies that men can ever really love each other, with the limited and highly qualified exception of father and son. In other cultures Dean would not have been such a rebel, perhaps. But Dean seems also to have had a certain heterosexual component to his nature. So he seems to have resembled pagan Greek men, bisexual, but with the emphasis on the homosexual side. This is what most of the people who knew him most intimately said about him. But he was promoted by an intensely homophobic culture as a heterosexual sex object of a somewhat new kind - rebellious, but safely hetero. Nevertheless there was just enough of the gay element lurking in the shadows (especially in Rebel Without a Cause) to add a certain wicked allurement. All this must have made him personally very uncomfortable, to say the least. Montgomery Clift (see Leonard's bio) and Errol Flynn (see Bret's bio) were made so uncomfortable by this pretense that they indulged in very self-destructive behavior. It cannot be very rewarding to be idolized by strangers who, if they knew about one's most basic personality trait - who one falls in love with - would find one utterly hateful and contemptible. There certainly was a kind of death wish in driving a car at 100 or 120 mph on a highway. The homophobes here seem to be most disturbed by the few sex scenes Alexander inserts. They are in fact rather prim, except for a sentence or two. But even these are more clinical than pornographic. The famous nude photo of Dean as Greek faun is included. Modern biographies are almost always written in a wooden, journalistic style that makes them more a duty than a pleasure to read. This bio does not entirely avoid the fault, but is nevertheless full of beautiful phrases and memorable lines. I enjo

WHOAAAA!!!!

I knew pratically nothing about James Dean's life besides he was hot, so this book was very insighting and throughly shocking when Alexander continously arises questions on Dean's sexuality. Some of the scenes are so descriptive that its easy to concluded that most likely the author's own amourous feelings towards Dean most likely plays a role in the writing of this book. Oh, NAKED PIC OF JAMES DEAN IN THE BOOK!!!!!!!!! :o) FOR THAT IT GETS 5 STARS ALONE!! lol

A Whole Life!

Of course James Dean as subject matter is about as fascinating as icons get...but this can be done interestingly, or in a empty, methodic, matter-of-fact way. Fortunately Alexander chose to eloquently string together Jimmy's whole life in such poetic form. You can't help but watch-as if on the silver screen-a birth to death biography highlight reel, in your mind. Other reviews' complaints about the sexual prominence pervading the work seem to suggest the readers were uncomfortable with bi-or homo-sexuality to begin with; thus causing a jaded un-objective viewpoint. Yes, some of the sexual references are superfluous, but never pornographic as other reviewers imply. I have read 8 JamesDean bios and found this to be the easiest and most comfortable read of all. It reads like a novel, not a history book, which I for one like. If all you want are the core statistics of ultimate highs and lows in his life, you could find that through some basic database. This is still my favorite bio on Jimmy. And if you have the consciousness to digest sexual references with maturity(rather than with the disgust and fear of a hateful homophobic) none of the mentions of homosexuality should shock Any reader more than those of heterosexuality. The book IS about his Whole Life-Not just sex. Learn who Dean was, Love him for his ravenous exploration life, and his refusal to compromise himself for anyone. Enjoy!

Not as bad as the other reviews have said the book is

Honestly, the book isn't as bad as the others have said about it. I'll admit at times the book was getting too graphic in some of the descriptions of Dean's sexual life, but I wouldn't consider Alexander's portrayal of Dean's enigmatic lifestyle as being tastelessly done. Since Dean's death and his past encounters with the various people mentioned in the book remain a mystery, you should judge for yourself whether or not the book is factual. Overall, it was a really fast read and I recommend this book if you want to read up more on the tragedy of James Dean.