Synopsis

Diana Dors is a legend. Her fame has survived the adored fifties’s celebrity to today’s cult figure. She is arguably the biggest star the U.K. has produced, not only for her acclaimed body of work but for her generosity, incredible bravery, lack of airs and graces, her compassion, wit and intelligence.
From the age of eight Diana’s huge passionate dream was to become a wealthy, famous, film star. “Connecting Dors” tells the fascinating story of how an ordinary-looking child, from an ordinary family, made that seemingly impossible dream come true.
It explores the consequences of that celebrity/stardom, not only on herself but on her son, Jason, examining the pitfalls and rewards of being the child of a famous celebrity.
“Connecting Dors” is both informative and entertaining, recounting wild tales involving Diana’s friends – Hollywood Stars, villains, rogues and rascals, tales which are poignant, hilarious, shocking and disturbing, both from her life and from Jason’s star-studded life. It is a story which has never been told.
Niema Ash is an award winning author, W.B.Yeats scholar and travel writer
She now lives in England.
Jason Dors-Lake, the son of Diana Dors, is a talented actor and musician now living in a house on the beach.

My thoughts

Diana Dors, Britain’s most glamorous movie star, gorgeous, down to earth, fun and approachable.

Niema Ash gives us Diana’s story form a woman’s point of view and unlike other biographers that only focus on scandals and lies (David Brett anyone???) Ash’s biography is more sympathetic. Some reviewers think that the book is a bit one sided and perhaps this is true, but it is nice to read a book that doesn’t portray her in an extremely bad light.

Did she make mistakes? Of course she did she was a human being But no matter what, she never gave up, until cancer claimed her in 1984.

Every time life knocked her down, she got back up and just got on with it.

The second half of the book focuses on her youngest son Jason, he was 14, when Diana died , and when Alan, his father committed suicide a few months later he was left an orphan, then Jason had to move to LA and live with his strict half-brother, of course he rebelled. Jason of course comes across as a typical spoilt brat – child of star who was given everything he wanted, and he was. But reading on and learning about Jason and how he expelled his demons and eventually was able to grieve for his parents was incredibly moving.

It brought me to tears and I just wanted to give him a big hug and tell him that everything is alright and he is not alone..

I’m not sure why other people haven’t liked this book and I personally found it fascinating and the writing style easy to follow. Maybe some people don’t want Diana and her family to be human, that they should be something else, something to be abused.

On a side note back in the 1950s when Diana was touring the UK with her cabaret act and still married to Denis Hamilton, my father met her in a pub in Weston-Super-Mare, he remembers her as  being, gorgeous, funny and above all a wonderful person and maybe this should be her legacy.

She brought glamour and fun into post war Britain , she grew older with grace and humour., and even at the end was the most glamorous star Britain ever produced.

I gave this 4 out of 5*