Let me take you back to 1955, when Hollywood was about to witness the rise of a true icon. During the filming of the classic East of Eden, James Dean, the young rebel with a heart full of dreams, penned a heartfelt letter to someone he affectionately called "Lady Jane" and also referred to as "Mom." In this letter, he opened up about his struggles in L.A., his quest for a discreet dentist, his financial concerns, and how he was holding up. He mentioned quitting smoking and drinking, focusing on vitamins, and even shared that he had put on a little weight, which made him feel better overall. “Tear myself up in New York. Build myself up in California (health and maybe career huh?),” he wrote, showing his self-awareness and vulnerability.
Jane Deacy, the remarkable woman James addressed in the letter, was more than just an agent to him. She believed in his potential long before anyone else did. After signing him to her fledgling talent agency in New York, she went above and beyond what any agent would typically do. She helped James secure job connections, paid his bills, shielded him from blackmail, and kept his secrets even after his untimely death in 1955. “She went above and beyond what agents did at that time,” says Jason Colavito, author of a new book set to be released this fall by Applause Books, which dives deep into the star’s private life.
James had lost his biological mother, Mildred, to cancer when he was just 9 years old, leaving an unfillable void in his life. “He was incredibly close to his mother. She encouraged his interest in the arts, sparking his imagination through storytelling and fantasy,” explains Colavito. “But tragically, her most profound influence came from her passing. James never fully recovered from her death. He viewed Jane as a maternal figure, seeking the comfort and guidance he so desperately needed.”
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Discovering the Big Apple
After studying drama at UCLA, James made the bold decision to drop out in January 1951 and move to New York City. It was a daunting step for the young actor. “New York frightened and overwhelmed me,” he once admitted. “For the first few weeks, I barely ventured out of my hotel. I would watch three movies a day just to ease the loneliness I felt.”
James’ journey to find an agent led him to the offices of Louis Shurr, who managed the careers of legendary entertainers like Bob Hope and Ginger Rogers. That’s where he met Jane Deacy. She had started as a humble switchboard operator and worked her way up to become one of the top agents in the office. Now, she was ready to launch her own agency and needed clients to join her. “Jimmy appealed enormously to Jane’s maternal instincts. He had that lonely boy quality that women find irresistible,” a coworker confided to Ronald Martinetti, author of The James Dean Story. “And, of course, she believed he had talent. Like all great agents, she had a sixth sense for discovering actors. From the very beginning, her faith in Jimmy was unwavering.”
Jane not only helped James find jobs but also took charge of his chaotic finances. “He would send his bills to her, and she would pay them out of her own pocket, later reimbursing herself from his checks,” says Colavito. When James found himself short on cash, Jane would slip him $5 and tell him to pay her back whenever he could.
Jane also tried to instill professionalism in the young, fiery actor. “He was always an undisciplined performer. He was chronically late and had difficulty following instructions,” explains Colavito. “She couldn’t force discipline on him, but she did her best to make him understand the business side of acting—the importance of filling out paperwork, showing up on time, and doing your job.”
Rising Stardom and Challenges
By 1953, Jane’s unwavering belief in James paid off when he was cast in East of Eden. However, this newfound success also brought challenges. She began receiving demands for money from Rogers Brackett, a gay advertising executive turned theatrical producer who had briefly lived with James in the early 1950s. “Rogers Brackett called me just now, and he’s on the warpath again. Wants some action,” Jane wrote to James in a letter.
“Brackett was trying to launch a Broadway show and essentially wanted James to fund it,” explains Colavito. “The implied threat was that Brackett would expose their past connection, potentially ruining James’ career if he didn’t pay up.”
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Other letters reveal that Brackett’s attorney demanded $1,200 as repayment for a supposed “loan” that Brackett claimed he had given the struggling young actor in the past. With Jane’s assistance, James eventually agreed to pay Brackett $800 in installments in exchange for his silence.
Jane, who passed away in 2008, kept this entire ordeal private. The settlement with Brackett only came to light recently when her family auctioned off letters, photographs, and documents from her years working with James. “My grandmother kept her relationship with him extremely private. They were incredibly close,” Jane’s grandson, John Paul Deacy, exclusively tells Closer, adding that James’ death in a car crash in 1955 left Jane heartbroken. “She was devastated when he died and never wanted to talk about him. It hurt too much.”
