Hollywood star and motor racing enthusiast James Dean was killed in a head-on crash in California on September 30, 1955.

The 24-year-old actor was travelling at high speed on Route 466, bound for a racing event, when his 1955 Porsche 550 Spyder collided with another car.

In Dean's passenger seat was his Porsche mechanic, Rolf Wütherich, who survived the accident, while the driver of the other vehicle suffered minor injuries.

Only the day before, Dean had finished filming Giant, an adaptation of Edna Ferber's book about Texas.

His first film, East of Eden , cast him firmly into the spotlight and many critics believe he had a glittering Hollywood future ahead of him.

Dean's second movie, Rebel Without a Cause , is widely considered a classic for its portrayal of dise

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