The secret life of James Dean & Bill Bast… & the woman who came between them
The following is an excerpt from Jimmy: The Secret Life of James Dean by Jason Colavito and available now from Applause Books.A scant forty-eight hours after he arrived in Los Angeles, [James] Dean showed up at Bill Bast’s apartment in a rented convertible, roused him from bed at an early hour, and hustled him into the car for a trip to the Anza-Borrego Desert south of Palm Springs to get a tan.
They had spoken only a couple of times over the past year, but now, all smiles and teasing affection, it seemed as though no time had passed.
During the drive, Dean, confident and safe with the adoring Bast, said that he saw Eden as a stepping stone toward the transcendent greatness that lay beyond acting, beyond movies, and a way to take back what powerful men had stolen from him.Subscribe to our newsletter for a refreshing cocktail (or mocktail) of LGBTQ+ entertainment and pop culture, served up with a side of eye-candy.On the way to their hotel in the sandy wastes of Borrego Springs, their car hit a small bird, and Dean pulled over to find the creature.
He comforted the dying bird, whispering to it and holding it until it passed, and then buried the tiny body by the side of the road.
