James Dean Love Letters Up for Sale

Love letters from one of the major romances in James Dean's short life will hit the auction block for the first time. The actor, who was killed in a car crash at the age of 24, dated Barbara Glenn for 2 years, and the three letters up for sale date from the year before his death, reports the Daily Mail. In one letter, the budding star complains about rehearsals for "piece of shit" Broadway musical The Immoralist.

"They were all young actors starting out and struggling together," says Glenn's son, filmmaker Keith Gordon. She "never discussed their romance in great detail, but I did know Jimmy was her first serious, grown-up relationship," he tells the BBC. "It was apparently very intense and involved numerous break-ups and reconciliations, but she often remained his confidant even during some of them 'off-again' times." The three letters are expected to fetch at least $25,000. (More auction stories.)