Still famous: Fixing the star image of Diana dors in the photography of cornel lucas

Abstract

Marchant examines the role of stills photography in maintaining the legacy of a star, using photographs by acclaimed photographer Cornel Lucas of actress Diana Dors taken in the 1950s. Central to her argument is the idea that different types of still photography-namely, the publicity still, the gallery portrait, and the action still-each provide distinctive ways to prevent the star image from fading. She explores a range of images from Lucas’s 1950s ubiquitous publicity stills and their recirculation on Facebook, through exhibition prints in the National Portrait Gallery to the action still repurposed as record sleeve, arguing that the work of Lucas and other stills photographers fixes and extends the star image, performance, and communities of viewers beyond the lifetime of the star.