Inspired by a true story, LIFE charts the friendship that developed between
Magnum
photographer Dennis Stock and actor James Dean when Stock was commissioned to
photograph the actor for Life magazine in 1955.
Stock was 26, old before his time, and already tied down to family life. Into his buttoned-down world came fledgling star James Dean, a free spirit who would change popular culture from suits to jeans and from matinee idols to teenage heartthrobs. The assignment, which took the pair on a road trip around the US, would change Stock’s life and provide the world with some of the most iconic images of the age.
Artwork not final