Items signed by James Dean, including the 1954 studio contract that made him a star, go up for auction on May 25, Nate D. Sanders Auctions announced on Tuesday. The document, which secured Dean his brief, era-defining acting career, is appropriately described as “one of the most important acting contracts in the history of Hollywood.”
The Warner Bros. contract, dated April 7, 1954, was for Dean’s first film, Elia Kazan’s “East of Eden.” It gave the studio the option to extend Dean’s contract for several more films. Sadly, his tragic death at age 24 meant he only made two more features, 1955’s “Rebel Without a Cause” and 1956’s “Giant,” which permanently cemented his status as a movie icon on par with Marilyn Monroe.
“To say this collection is unprecedented is an understatement – while a few individual letters or signed documents have been sold, a James Dean collection of this size and quality has never been available since Dean’s death almost 70 years ago. A true Hollywood icon, James Dean set the template for cool that reverberates throughout our culture, and even the world, to this day,” said Sanders in a press release.
The nearly 400-lot collection was part of the estate of Dean’s New York agent, Jane Deacy, who died in 2008. Among the memorabilia is his motorcycle registration card, handwritten letters from Dean to Deacy in which he told her of his anxiety over shooting “East of Eden,” and a signed photo dedicated to Deacy which was addressed “Mom.” The agent, whose other clients included George C. Scott, was like a second mother to Dean, whose own mother was absent for the majority of his childhood. The minimum bid for the photo (below) is $7500.
Bidding on the James Dean Collection begins on May 25 at www.NateDSanders.com.
