James Dean and Ronald Reagan: RARE Not Seen in 50 Years

Highlights of the live CBS telecast, "The Dark, Dark Hours" first broadcast on the General Electric Theater on Sunday December 12, 1954.

It was only broadcast once.

IMPORTANT NOTE: Footage from this TV broadcast appeared in Michael Sheridan's 2005 documentary James Dean: Forever Young.

This clip was edited by Wayne Federman, who discovered the entire program while researching a Reagan television retrospective for the Reagan Centennial.

James Dean, fresh from shooting East of Eden (a role which earned him an Oscar nomination), was on the precipice of film stardom. He died in a car crash less than one year after this broadcast.

Ronald Reagan, a movie actor since 1937, was beginning a new phase of his career as a television host (although still a frequent actor). His work with GE led him into politics and he was elected Governor of California 12 years after this broadcast.

I believe the jazz song is Birdland by Charlie Ventura.