Music
- The 1971 hit single "American Pie" by Don McLean contains the lyrics "When the Jester sang for the King and Queen in a coat he borrowed from James Dean", widely believed to be a reference to the red jacket worn by Dean's character in the film and an allusion to the windbreaker worn by Bob Dylan on the cover of his 1963 album The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan.[28]
- The 1980 Bruce Springsteen song "Cadillac Ranch" contains the lyric, "James Dean in that Mercury '49" as one of the people meeting at the Cadillac Ranch.[29]
- In 1980 David Bowie appeared on Johnny Carson's The Tonight Show dressed as Dean was in the film as a tribute to Dean.[30]
- The Replacements 1989 single "I'll Be You" references this film, with the line 'like a rebel without a clue'.
- The music video for Paula Abdul's 1991 hit song "Rush Rush" reimagines Rebel Without a Cause, with faithful recreations of several key scenes. Abdul plays the role of Judy, while Keanu Reeves plays the role of Jim.
Film
- Tommy Wiseau borrowed the line "You're tearing me apart" and used it in his 2003 cult hit film The Room, widely considered to be one of the worst films ever made.[31] In the original script, it was written as "You're taking me apart, Lisa", a reference to James Dean's line "You're tearing me apart!" in Rebel Without a Cause.
- In the 2016 film La La Land, Rebel Without a Cause is referenced briefly. Ryan Gosling's character Sebastian makes references to the film's ending where James Dean yells, "I got the bullets" when Emma Stone's character Mia discusses a callback for her audition. Later, the two of them are seen at the Rialto Theatre watching the opening of the film.[32]
Theater
In 2005, an off-Broadway stage production opened at the American Theatre of Actors in NY, featuring Allie Mulholland and Aubrey Plaza in their stage debuts in the lead roles.[33]
