James Dean Photographed by Wilson Millar For His First Film ‘Hill Number One’ (1951)

Before he conquered Hollywood, James Dean toiled in New York television. Hill Number One was an hour-long Easter special sponsored by the Family Rosary Crusade – the story of Jesus after the crucifixion, when he was buried in the tomb and then was risen.

It’s talky, stiffly staged, and very earnest. Dean has a small role, about four lines of dialogue, and he’s wildly miscast as the serene and pious John the Baptist.

These photos derive from a private sitting in the spring of 1951, when James Dean was making his first film Hill Number One in an installment of Family Theater. Dean was taken by Hollywood-based photographer Wilson Millar, when he was a struggling actor-student at UCLA.

James Byron Dean (February 8, 1931 – September 30, 1955) was an American actor with a career that lasted five years. He is regarded as a cultural icon of teenage disillusionment and social estrangement, as expressed in the title of his most celebrated film Rebel Without a Cause (1955), in which he starred as troubled teenager Jim Stark. The other two roles that defined his stardom were loner Cal Trask in East of Eden (1955) and surly ranch hand Jett Rink in Giant (1956).

Dean died died in a car crash on September 30, 1955 and became the first actor to receive a posthumous Academy Award nomination for Best Actor for his role in East of Eden. He received a second nomination for his role in Giant the following year, making him the only actor to have had two posthumous acting nominations. In 1999, the American Film Institute ranked him the 18th best male movie star of Golden Age Hollywood in AFI’s 100 Years…100 Stars list.