Well Dunne!

I hear that the writer, DOMINICK DUNNE is ill & battling cancer again. I am sorry for this. He is really the only reason to still read VANITY FAIR. I have long been a fan of his & have read every book he ever wrote as well as a terrific collection of photos & stories about his life in Hollywood called, THE WAY WE LIVED THEN which has an iconic photo, taken by Mr. Dunne, of the gorgeous NATALIE WOOD, reapplying her lipstick using the blade of a butter knife for a mirror! Two of his best sellers were turned into terrific mini-series, THE TWO MRS. GRENVILLES & AN INCONVENIENT WOMAN. He has not had the easiest life. He was a successful producer who fell on hard times & lost everything, his beloved wife was confined to a wheelchair, & his only daughter, DOMINIQUE, was brutally murdered by her boyfriend who strangled her in the driveway of her home & ended up serving less than 3 years in jail for manslaughter.

His coverage of the O.J. Simpson trial made Dunne a household name. His constant courtroom presence & highly tuned sense of justice has vexed many an attorney; prosecution & defense. Legendary lawyer, LESLIE ABRAMSON once mocked him as “Judith Krantz in pants!” Dunne had the last laugh as Abramson’s famous clients; The Menendez Brothers, still rot in jail for the murder of their parents.

I met Dunne once in a restaurant in Beverly Hills at the height of the O.J. hysteria. Other diners included, Sidney Poitier, Candace Bergen, Carol Burnett, famous directors, writers & agents. The room was packed. And the only person that people were desperate to talk to was Dominick Dunne.

I just found a collection of his V.F. columns published in 1987 called, FATAL CHARMS. Fabulous pieces on his daughter’s murder, Elizabeth Taylor, The Women of Palm Beach & Claus von Bulow. A 21 yr-old book that reads as if it was written today. Classic. Like Dominick.

God Bless You, Mr. Dunne