Why did James Dean’s popularity fade while Marilyn Monroe’s lasted?

I took a class about the history of film last year. For the 1950’s, my professor screened Gentlemen Prefer Blondes that week and talked about Marilyn Monroe and her life. He also played a scene of James Dean in East of Eden during class. I think those two are synonymous with the 1950’s, but Monroe is obviously more popular.

There's more mystique in maybe having fucked an assassinated President than there is in crashing you car.

OP, what are you basing 'popularity' on?

And why would you assume that they should have endured equally?

Seems like a stupid thing to say.

Their appeal wasn’t the same. He only made 3 films, and was mostly popular with teens. MM made many films over many years, and was popular with everyone.

This extended into their legacies.

R2 Touché, but Dean pulled a gun on Ronald Reagan.

Dean is still omnipresent on billboards, murals, artwork, T-shirts, etc. His hometown has an annual Dean festival that draws thousands of people from all over the world.

R4 14:30 Look at the applause Dean received when a clip of him was played at Elizabeth Taylor’s AFI tribute. I don’t think he was just popular with teens.

Monroe, for reasons not entirely clear to me, is a icon of the 20th Century, an image where you can project every number of things. Dean was an image of cool that, i agree with the op, was popular for a time but has most justly faded. And yes, the only 3 movies contributes to this.

Dean has a decent body of work if you count his television appearances. Here he is acting alongside Betsy Palmer aka Mrs. Voorhees.

Monroe's story is more fascinating. The rise and evolution of her unique persona, her marriages, her miscarriages, her fights with the studio, her many films, the gossip, the near hysteria whenever she appeared in public. She was a force. Dean was in a handful of films. Memorable for sure, but his story doesn't resonate quite like Marilyn.

R10 I agree with you about Monroe but I find Dean’s life fascinating too. He lived a lot in just 24 years.

Dean's film career was only about three years. He died young.

Marilyn’s voluptuous body is very popular and on trend right now-why do you think that fat ass Kardashian shoehorned herself into Marilyn’s old dress for the Met Gala.

KK doesn't deserve to be in the same room with that beautiful gown worn by a legend, let alone try it on. Fuck KK.

Dean was the embodiment of youthful rebellion, and youthful rebellion is no longer a thing. Today's middle-class white kids are all urging each other to get therapy and cut toxic people out of their lives, not to rebel and find a new way to live. Of course the kids who aren't white and middle-class have a spirit of rebellion, but they have better icons than a white kid from the 1950s.

No, today's neurotic white kids identify with Monroe, not Dean. She was as mentally ill as they believe themselves to be.

[quote]why do you think that fat ass Kardashian shoehorned herself into Marilyn’s old dress

Because there was no way in hell Dean's dress was going to fit.

Dean did 3 or 4 major films and then died in a head on collision. It was a meteoric rise and sudden exit. Tragic death, but really not much more to say.

Monroe did over a decade's worth of work, led a life full of ups and downs and died prematurely, shrouded in much speculation. Over time, people have ruminated over life, against the backdrop of nascent feminist rhetoric, political intrigue, and recent me-too-ism. All this dialogue and chatter has only added to her mystique and legend.

I think Dean in East of Eden doesn’t get enough credit. He was the blueprint for the white boy faves of today.

He was too petite.

I had an older friend (now deceased) who went to a party in the late 1950's where Monroe was rumored to appear. Hours later she walked in and the entire room went wild. He said he had never seen anything like it. She appeared to be glowing, as if a spotlight were on her. Her skin radiated, as if a light were inside (his exact words). He couldn't get close to her as the crowd was like an ocean swell around her, but she shone like a star. Even across the room he felt her power. He would almost shake talking about it. He said no one could take their eyes off her.

R17 Dean is considered a queer icon.

When the straights found out he was gay they abandoned him.

At least no human being ever will be subjected to the horror of "Come Back to the Five and Dime, Kanye West, Kanye West".

Marilyn was glamorous and people like that.

I will be attacked but will flip the original question around. It is amazing that James Dean is still remembered at all and has maintained a somewhat iconic status given his short film career. There are scores of actors with great bodies if work and long, popular careers who are forgotten. They are relegated to the world of the Eldergays. That he still has some current impact is impressive.

While alive, Dean was famous for less than six months. Two of his films were released posthumously. It's stunning that there are so many photos of the guy.

Dean is nothing compared to Montrose. The only reason he is remembered is because he died so quickly and so young - and on the way up. Monroe had years - a whole legacy. She defined the 50s.

R27, that's ridiculous. Watch any program or video montage about the 1950s and Dean will show up. I mean, even on Happy Days Fonzie had a poster of Dean in his closet. You're out of touch with reality, dude.

[quote]Dean did 3 or 4 major films and then died in a head on collision. It was a meteoric rise and sudden exit. Tragic death, but really not much more to say.

It's like the first sentence of LOVE STORY: “What can you say about a twenty-five-year-old girl who died?”

R26 It’s a good thing Dean was friends with several photographers (Dennis Stock, Roy Schatt, Phil Stern), because their photos of him really helped his legacy endure.

I was obsessed with James Dean in high school (late 90s). For whatever that's worth.

But Marylin just had a life that was truly stranger and much more sensational than fiction. From her horrible childhood to her sleeping with luminaries (Joe, Arthur, JFK) to her goddess status to her addictions to her death.

You couldn't cook up a recipe better for Legend Status.

You folks do realize it's OK to admire both of these legends and not pit them against each other in death, right? OP's question is...not very grounded in fact.

Marilyn paying tribute to Jimmy on the set of Bus Stop. He apparently wanted to audition for Bus Stop.

Bump