3. Rebel Without A Cause (1955)
Rebel Without A Cause was released in 1955 and it instantly became a cult classic because of its portrayal of the American delinquent teen and the mysterious tragedy surrounding its stars. Rebel Without a Cause starred James Dean, Natalie Wood, Sal Mineo and Nik Adams. The movie moved the American juvenile delinquent from the gritty inner city to suburban California, changing many people’s perceptions of this group of youngsters, and most importantly adding commentary to the shifting times and the different thought among older and younger generations.
James Dean died less than a month before the film’s release after he crashed his Porsche 550 Spyder. Nik Adams died 10 years later. Adams was found in his apartment, fully clothed, there were no signs of forced entry and a telephone was nearby. His death was ruled an accidental suicide, but ultimately there were no definitive signs as to what killed him. Less than a decade after Adams’ death, Mineo was stabbed to death by a pizza deliveryman. Mineo was one of the first Hollywood actors to come out as gay and so many believe that he was killed because of his sexual orientation, yet the murderer claimed to not have known who Mineo was before killing him.
Starlet Natalie Wood was the last member of Rebel Without a Cause to mysteriously die. At one time, her death was ruled accidental, but her case was reopened. Wood drowned near Santa Catalina Island, California during a boating trip with her husband, Robert Wagner, their friend Christopher Walken and the boat’s captain, Dennis Davern. All those on the boat claimed to not have known how Wood entered the water. So for 30 years her death was listed as accidental. The case was reopened in 2011 when the boat’s captain admitted that Wood and her husband had a fight the night she died and that Wagner caused her death. Wood’s case remains open.
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