Nicholas Ray 1911to –1979
American director, best known for his films Johnny Guitar and Rebel Without a Cause. He made a number of movies from 1947 to 1963, which became influential to the French New Wave, but after this period he was never able to finish another project. His last unfinished work was a sprawling, collaborative experimental film called We Can’t Go Home Again. He was married several times and had affairs with both men and women, including something of a spiritual affair with James Dean. His work often deals with characters who are social misfits, and in Rebel Without a Cause, the character of Plato can be seen as film’s first gay teenager.