Ugh…this is one I’m not sure I know how to answer. The thing about Dean’s relationship with Brackett is that Dean RARELY EVER mentioned or talked about Rogers to anyone, and there is little recorded from Brackett about Dean. Bios rely heavily on outside sources, friends, and acquaintances to tell this story so no one really knows the strength of their relationship.

I have mixed feelings.

Rogers absolutely helped James Dean get his start by giving him connections, setting up auditions and leading the way to New York (which is where it really started happening for him). He would offer Dean housing, food, money, clothes, etc. whenever he needed it.

HOWEVER…
I just always had this feeling while reading about this that James Dean was clearly not always comfortable with this. James Dean was free and to have to rely on Brackett for connections and money had to have bothered the shit out of him. In a few bios and in Liz Sheridans book, Dean clearly had a sort of resentment toward Brackett. Many of Bracketts friends say how great and wonderful he was, which maybe he was, but Dean never having mentioned him as a key to his success, I think, says a lot about how he felt toward him. Maybe he didn’t want to risk the label of “homosexual” by being associated with Brackett, but I think it was more than that.

When Dean finally started making it and had finished “East of Eden”, Brackett was in a bit of a slump. He met up with Dean again and asked to borrow some money (after all he had given him in the past years he thought it was a no-brainer) but Dean got pissed off and refused. Apparently he said something like “I didn’t think it was the whore who had to pay…”. Liz Sheridan wrote of times when Dean was intimidated or just sick of Brackett and wanted her help to get him out of his life.

But then…I wasn’t there. This is all based on other people’s memories and expeirences, and we just don’t know. Sometimes I want to like Brackett because he DID help Dean out a lot. But I just have this feeling when I read about it that behind closed doors, Dean wanted out.

This was a long response.

 

In high school he played pretty much EVERYTHING. He even once said something about how lame it was that there is so much to do but so little time to do it all. Anyways, he was exceptionally good at basketball (Indiana born, go figure), and was involved in other athletics such as track. Of course, he was in drama and even the debate team, for crying out loud. Just to name a few…

LIVE, PEOPLE, LIVE.