<div><p>The late, great, James Dean's star in Hollywood rose fast and bright. </p><p>Sadly, just as he was beginning to make a name for himself, his life was cut short. At the young age of 24, James died when his Porsche crashed into an oncoming Ford on September 30, 1955.</p><p>On the anniversary of what would have been his 87th birthday, see how many of these facts you actually know about him:</p><h3>1. His full name was James Byron Dean </h3><amp-img src="https://www.shared.com/content/images/2017/02/2245771841-3.jpg" title="" alt="" height="9" width="16" layout="responsive"></amp-img><p></p><p><!-- [invalid-shortcode] --></p><h3>2. His mother signed him up for tap dance lessons when he was three years old and taught him the violin.</h3><amp-img src="https://www.shared.com/content/images/2017/02/2245771841-3-1.jpg" title="" alt="" height="9" width="16" layout="responsive"></amp-img><h3>3. His first TV appearance was in a Pepsi Cola commercial</h3><amp-img src="https://www.shared.com/content/images/2017/02/2245771841-3-2.jpg" srcset="https://www.shared.com/content/images/2017/02/2245771841-3-2_GH_content_550px.jpg 550w" sizes="89vw" title="" alt="" height="9" width="16" layout="responsive"></amp-img><h3>4. He was fired from his job as a stunt tester for the game show Beat the Clock. He performed the tasks too quickly.</h3><amp-img src="https://www.shared.com/content/images/2017/02/2245771841-3-3.jpg" srcset="https://www.shared.com/content/images/2017/02/2245771841-3-3_GH_content_550px.jpg 550w, https://www.shared.com/content/images/2017/02/2245771841-3-3_GH_content_650px.jpg 650w, https://www.shared.com/content/images/2017/02/2245771841-3-3_GH_content_750px.jpg 750w" sizes="89vw" title="" alt="" height="9" width="16" layout="responsive"></amp-img><h3></h3><p><!-- [invalid-shortcode] --></p><h3>5. James Dean briefly Dated Elizabeth Sheridan </h3><amp-img src="https://www.shared.com/content/images/2017/02/2245771841-3-4.jpg" srcset="https://www.shared.com/content/images/2017/02/2245771841-3-4_GH_content_550px.jpg 550w, https://www.shared.com/content/images/2017/02/2245771841-3-4_GH_content_650px.jpg 650w, https://www.shared.com/content/images/2017/02/2245771841-3-4_GH_content_750px.jpg 750w" sizes="89vw" title="" alt="" height="9" width="16" layout="responsive"></amp-img><h3>6. He started to seriously pursue a racing career</h3><amp-img src="https://www.shared.com/content/images/2017/02/2245771841-3-5.jpg" srcset="https://www.shared.com/content/images/2017/02/2245771841-3-5_GH_content_550px.jpg 550w, https://www.shared.com/content/images/2017/02/2245771841-3-5_GH_content_650px.jpg 650w, https://www.shared.com/content/images/2017/02/2245771841-3-5_GH_content_750px.jpg 750w" sizes="89vw" title="" alt="" height="9" width="16" layout="responsive"></amp-img><h3>7. He Loved the bongos</h3><amp-img src="https://www.shared.com/content/images/2017/02/2245771841-3-6.jpg" title="" alt="" height="9" width="16" layout="responsive"></amp-img><h3></h3><p><!-- [invalid-shortcode] --></p><p>8. He was so near-sighted he could barely see without his glasses</p><amp-img src="https://www.shared.com/content/images/2017/02/2245771841-3-7.jpg" srcset="https://www.shared.com/content/images/2017/02/2245771841-3-7_GH_content_550px.jpg 550w, https://www.shared.com/content/images/2017/02/2245771841-3-7_GH_content_650px.jpg 650w, https://www.shared.com/content/images/2017/02/2245771841-3-7_GH_content_750px.jpg 750w" sizes="89vw" title="" alt="" height="9" width="16" layout="responsive"></amp-img><h3>9. He got a speeding ticket two hours before his death</h3><amp-img src="https://www.shared.com/content/images/2017/02/2245771841-3-8.jpg" srcset="https://www.shared.com/content/images/2017/02/2245771841-3-8_GH_content_550px.jpg 550w, https://www.shared.com/content/images/2017/02/2245771841-3-8_GH_content_650px.jpg 650w, https://www.shared.com/content/images/2017/02/2245771841-3-8_GH_content_750px.jpg 750w" sizes="89vw" title="" alt="" height="9" width="16" layout="responsive"></amp-img><h3>10. He received two posthumous acting nominations for his role in "East of Eden" and "Giant."</h3><amp-img src="https://www.shared.com/content/images/2017/02/2245771841-3-9.jpg" srcset="https://www.shared.com/content/images/2017/02/2245771841-3-9_GH_content_550px.jpg 550w" sizes="89vw" title="" alt="" height="9" width="16" layout="responsive"></amp-img><h3>Share if you love James Dean!</h3></div>