James Dean, known for his acting in Rebel Without a Cause, was not only an actor, but also a race car driver. In his spare time Dean would quench his thirst for speed and battle other drivers in the Palm Springs and Santa Barbara Road Races.
On this day, September 30th, in 1955, the American icon gets into a fatal car accident on his way to race in Salinas, California. The head-on collision between Dean’s Porsche and the Ford was deadly, killing Dean and injuring the other driver.
However, Dean marks history as the first actor to receive two Oscar nominations posthumously.