Photographer Who Captured Stars at London Heathrow Airport for 70 Years Dies

For 70 years, Dennis Stone was positioned at London Heathrow Airport and photographed celebrities as they entered and left the U.K., earning him the nickname “The Godfather.”

The BBC reports that Stone died on Sunday age 92. His unusual photography career saw him become friendly with some of the biggest names in showbusiness including Sir Paul McCartney and Elizabeth Taylor.

In a fascinating video shared on his Instagram page earlier this year, Stone explained how he got his”Godfather of Heathrow paparazzi” moniker.

“It was always glamourous to be flying out of Heathrow because it was unusual, it was a new era of travel if you like. Getting on an airplane and flying to New York,” Stone said.

Stone captured a lot of his work on a Rolleiflex, a classic twin-lens reflex analog camera.

“I think I’ve always had a natural flare for photography, I’ve always had a camera,” Stone added.

Stone started as a postboy for the British Airways Overseas Corporation and worked there until the company offered him the role of Heathrow photographer.

“In the end, I became known as the airport photographer, and celebrities would ring me up and tell me they were going out and would I possibly be there,” said Stone.

Stone, who was the resident photographer of Heathrow Airport, captured stars like Michael Jackson, Princess Diana, and the Dalai Lama.

His son Duncan tells the BBC that his father always said: “It’s not a proper job, I don’t work for a living; I press a button, have lots of fun, and people pay me lots of money.”

Duncan is in a similar trade and says working with his father in a darkroom when he was younger was a “huge influence.”

Stone and his wife Dorothy had three sons: Duncan, David, and Darren, and seven grandchildren.