September 30 1955

Actor James Dean, 24, dies in a crash at the Route 446/41 junction near Cholame, California. He made his debut in a commercial in 1950 and had a number of film, TV and stage roles before cracking his first major film, “East of Eden”, in 1954. It was released on June 9 1955. Around the time of filming “Rebel Without a Cause”, he competed in three professional motor races, but Warner Brothers barred him from racing during the filming of “Giant”. A few days after completing his scenes, he drives his silver Porsche 550 Spyder (“Little Bastard”) to a race in Salinas with mechanic Rolf Wütherich. At about 5.45pm, a Ford Tudor driven by student Donald Turnupseed, 23, turns off 466 onto 41 in front of the Porsche. The much lower Porsche slams into the left front of the Ford. Dean dies from a broken neck and multiple other injuries, Wütherich recovers from serious injuries, Turnupseed escapes with minor scratches. “Rebel” is released on October 27, “Giant” on October 10 1956. He receives two posthumous Oscar nominations but ironically not for “Rebel”, which made him a cultural icon