A fitting use for Dean’s high school
The stage of the Indiana high school where James Dean developed his acting skills could become a community theater.
“We’d like to restore that third floor and turn it into a community performing arts center,” said Ray Willey, chief executive of Historic Properties Inc., which is handling the $1.6-million renovation of Fairmount High School.
Dean, who starred in “East of Eden,” “Rebel Without a Cause” and “Giant,” was 24 when he died in a two-car collision near Cholame, Calif., on Sept. 30, 1955. He had graduated from Fairmount High in 1949.
As many as 30,000 people are expected to visit the town of less than 3,000 beginning Friday for the annual James Dean festival.
The biggest entertainment stories
Get our big stories about Hollywood, film, television, music, arts, culture and more right in your inbox as soon as they publish.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
