• New book claims James Dean was in love with Marlon Brando and they become lovers – but it was a twisted S&M affair
• Brando was ‘only in love with Brando’ and would make Dean loiter outside his apartment in the desperate hope his idol would invite him in for sex
• When Dean first met Brando, in 1949, he told him he was ‘his biggest fan’ and the two kissed 
• Dean showed Rogers Brackett, a Manhattan advertising executive who was his on-off boyfriend, how Brando stubbed out cigarettes oh him
• Book, called James Dean: Tomorrow Never Comes, also claims Dean had a gay threesome with Walt Disney and My Fair Lady director George Cukor

James Dean and Marlon Brando had a secret sadomasochistic relationship fueled by the Godfather star’s ego and insatiable desire for control, a new book claims.

The two men would meet up for master and servant style sex sessions where Dean asked to be burned with cigarettes, it alleges.

Friends revealed that Brando was so in charge that he made Dean watch him have sex with strangers who he had just met as part of a twisted mind game.

Brando never reciprocated Dean’s love and played a ‘cat-and-mouse game’ with his younger lover for his own amusement.

Friends said that Dean was like a ‘puppy dog’ who would loiter outside Brando’s apartment in the cold – in the desperate hope his idol would invite him in for sex.

Dean and Brando were two of the icons of their generation but their dark personal currents drew them together, the book says.

The two men both studied under acting coach Lee Strasberg, they were both discovered by director Elia Kazan and they were both intense, brooding characters.

In some ways Dean was considered the successor to Brando and only got his roles in Rebel Without a Cause and East of Eden because Brando turned them both down.

In James Dean: Tomorrow Never Comes, which is due out next on Blood Moon Productions, authors Darwin Porter and Danforth Prince reveal that their relationship was far more complex than had been thought.

The book is based on conversations with sources and veteran gossip journalists who had known Dean before his death in 1955 at the age of 24.

They reveal that the first time Brando met Dean was not on the set of East of Eden in 1954 as he claimed in his own memoir, ‘Songs My Mother Taught Me’.

Instead it was in 1949 when, after an extended stay in Paris, Brando flew back to New York to make a public appearance at the Actors Studio where he had studied under Strasberg.

Following his lead role in A Streetcar Named Desire on both the stage and the screen Brando was being idolized and wanted to give a speech at his alma mater.

At the back of the audience was a young man who Brando would later describe to Bobby Lewis, one of the founders of the actor’s studio, as staring at him so intently he ‘felt my skin burning’.

Brando thought that Dean had a ‘childlike sincerity’ and thought Dean was in love with him – and he was right.

Afterwards Dean introduced himself by telling Brando that he was his ‘greatest fan’ and that he was confused about many things but ‘not confused in my admiration for you’.

The two men made small talk about Dean’s ability to predict days that people would die – he got his own wrong – before a long pause when they looked into each other’s eyes.

Brando leaned in and kissed him, the book says.

Prince and Porter claim that Brando downplayed the extent of his relationship with Dean In Songs My Mother Taught Me.

But it was quite apparent for their celebrity friends who included playwright Tennessee Williams, composer Alec Wilder and Rogers Brackett, a Manhattan advertising executive who was Dean’s on-off boyfriend.

James Dean reportedly confided in friends about his relationship with Marlon Brando, describing Brando as being “completely in charge” of their interactions. Dean was said to be infatuated with Brando, even adopting his style, but their dynamic was complex and one-sided. Brando was alleged to have been emotionally manipulative, keeping Dean at a distance while indulging in affairs with others, sometimes flaunting them in front of Dean.

Friends of Dean, like Stanley Haggert, believed Brando treated Dean cruelly, using him for amusement. Despite Dean’s attempts to seek a more committed relationship, Brando remained detached and dismissive. Brando, in his memoir, denied any close relationship with Dean, claiming they were never friends.

James Dean reportedly had a deep fixation on Marlon Brando, which went beyond professional admiration and into a complex, often troubling relationship. Dean’s friends recalled disturbing incidents, including one where Dean revealed cigarette burns on his chest, allegedly inflicted by Brando at Dean’s request, highlighting Dean’s growing masochistic tendencies.

Despite Brando’s claim that Dean had an “idéé fixe” about him and nothing more, many believed their relationship was real, though devoid of genuine affection—more about power dynamics than love. Their professional rivalry also fueled the tension between them.

Dean’s relationship with Steve McQueen mirrored his dynamic with Brando, but in reverse, with McQueen emulating Dean in every way. The two were often seen together in Greenwich Village, riding motorcycles and spending time in cafes.

Dean was also rumored to have had brief flings with Marilyn Monroe and even Walt Disney. According to some sources, Disney, who faced rumors about his sexuality, allegedly met Dean through director George Cukor, leading to a secretive encounter. Despite these rumors, Disney’s relationship with Dean, like others in his life, was marked by complexity and secrecy.

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