James Dean was never the angst-ridden, brooding young man millions of Americans worshipped on the silver screen in the 1950s, says the author of a new book on the late actor.

Instead, Dean was a well-adjusted individual at the time of his fatal accident Sept. 30, 1955. The mishap caused him to be forever typecast due to his youth-oriented roles in his first three major films that quickly transformed him from a simple Hoosier into a Hollywood icon, said Ball State film professor Wes Gehring, author of the recently published book, "James Dean: Rebel with a Cause."

"Since we only have three movies of his work, America can only know the person played by Dean on the screen," Gehring said. "That character was morose, unhappy and always fighting authority. He nailed that role.

"To his friends, Dean was a very funny man who loved to do impressions of Marlon Brando doing Charlie Chaplin," he said. "Some people have written books claiming he had a terrible childhood and hated Indiana, but the truth seems to be the reverse."

For his book, which is the third volume of the Indiana Historical Society Press' Indiana Biography Series, Gehring spent nearly a year researching the early years of Dean. The actor was born and raised in Fairmount in rural Grant County.

The author spent hundreds of hours reading newspaper clippings and interviews with childhood friends of the actor to glean a fresh look at Dean's life.

In his research, Gehring discovered a young man who seemingly enjoyed an idyllic childhood being raised by a very loving aunt and uncle on a quiet farm after overcoming the loss of his mother at a young age.

"The newspaper clippings have stories about Dean as the star of the high school basketball team and photos from all the school plays in his hometown of Fairmont," he said. "Then after he went to Hollywood and became a star, he would regularly return to his hometown to recharge his batteries. He always left home with a smile on his face. That doesn't sound like a person who was unhappy with his relatives, his hometown or his life."

While Dean may have invented the role of the troubled teen, serving an icon to generations of youth and important symbol of 1950s teen rebellion, Gehring believes the actor would have grown as an actor, taking on meatier roles.

"He may have died when he was 24, but he made noise about directing," Gehring said. "I think he would have become a consummate actor like Paul Newman became over the years. He was a hard-working professional and would have gone on to some great roles."

(Note to Editors: For more information, contact Gehring at wesgehring@bsu.edu or (765) 285-149.)