Since they did a joint camera test for the filming of Rebel Without a Cause (1955), Natalie Wood,James Dean, and Sal Mineo were doomed to tragedy. On the occasion of the 70th anniversary of this classic by Nicholas Ray that portrayed the issues affecting American youth, it is worth remembering the tragic fate of its stars.
James Dean had become a star with his first of only three films, East of Eden (1954), but it was with Rebel Without a Cause that the myth began to take shape. One of the t-shirts he wore in the film was a bestseller, much like Marlon Brando's sleeveless t-shirts in A Streetcar Named Desire (1951) or Tom Cruise's Ray-Bans in Top Gun (1986). Dean's bisexuality was a secret known only to his closest friends, especially when he brought to the sets the heartbreak issues like the one he had with Pier Angeli, who left him to marry singer Vic Damone. He never got over that breakup.
He had a romance with Ursula Andress (88), among other women, who according to legend was about to travel in the sports car that ultimately ended the heartthrob's life. The same was claimed by Sara Montiel. Despite apparent lack of success with women, it is said he had several flings with Marlon Brando or Rock Hudson. His confidante and shoulder to cry on was Elizabeth Taylor during the filming of Giant, his last movie, who also became the keeper of Hudson's secrets.
His passion for speed and racing cars far surpassed any carnal passion. He was so obsessed with driving that with his newly acquired Porsche 550 Spyder, he met his death at only 24 years old on September 30, 1955. He never got to see the premieres of Rebel Without a Cause and Giant.
One of the most beautiful and vivacious child prodigies was Natalie Wood, unforgettable when at 8 years old she starred inMiracle on 34th Street (1947). She experienced a violent rape as a teenager at the Château Marmont, but the incident was covered up without major consequences. In the biography that her sister Lana published in 2021 titled Little Sister: My Investigation Into the Mysterious Death of Natalie Wood, the aggressor was identified. It was Kirk Douglas.
Natalie quickly captured the heart of one of Hollywood's great heartthrobs, Robert Wagner, who had a long love story with Barbara Stanwyck, who had a dark past with both men and women. Wood and Wagner were married from 1957 to 1962, becoming one of the most famous couples of the time, and remarried in 1972. During that time, the actress had several romances with Michael Caine or Warren Beatty, until she married British producer Richard Gregson, with whom she had her first daughter, Natasha (54).
Two years after her marriage to the star of Hart to Hart, her daughter Courtney (51) was born. On November 29, 1981, the great family tragedy occurred. Natalie, Robert, and their friend Christopher Walken (82) were on the yacht Splendor, owned by the Warner couple, anchored off Santa Catalina Island, California coast. That night, Natalie Wood drowned.
The mystery surrounding her death has persisted since then. The ship's captain even confessed that Robert Wagner was involved. In 2018, the investigation classified the death as suspicious. She was 43 years old.
Of Sicilian descent, Sal Mineo was destined to be one of the great stars of cinema. Unlike other colleagues, the actor embraced his homosexuality openly. He also coincided with Dean in Giant and appeared in the classics Somebody Up There Likes Me (1956) and Exodus (1960). During the latter filming, he had a highly publicized romance with Jill Haworth.
Aware of the homophobia prevalent in Hollywood, the young actor did not flaunt his sexual orientation, but neither did he hide it.
His last film was Escape from the Planet of the Apes (1971). On February 12, 1976, he was stabbed to death in the heart. It was initially said to be a jilted lover, but ultimately the culprit was pizza deliveryman Lionel Ray Williams, who was sentenced to 57 years in prison.