Vanity Fair, the publication with which he had a 25 year association beginning in 1984 until his death on Wednesday, referred to Dominick Dunne in memorializing him as “our dearly departed diarist”. Noted communicators contribute in many genres and Dunne was the past master at his, chronicling the rich and infamous. In Letter from Los Angeles, L.A. in the Age of O.J. published in Vanity Fair in February 1995 as Dunne covered the O.J. Simpson Trial he wrote: “The Simpson case is like a great trash novel come to life, a mammoth fireworks display of interracial marriage, love, lust, lies, hate, fame, wealth, beauty, obsession, spousal abuse, stalking, brokenhearted children, the bloodiest of bloody knife-slashing homicides, and all the justice that money can buy.” Dunne’s reportage was like a story that invariably was irresistible, not surprising for a writer who had five bestselling novels.
He started his career in New York City as stage manager for The Howdy Doody Show and in 1957 moved to Hollywood where he produced both television and feature films, all experiences which one senses played a part in developing his approach to writing. When life in the fast lane (in the form of substance abuse) caught up with him he took himself in hand and into seclusion in Oregon and at the age of 50 began to reinvent himself as a writer.
His profiles of the likes of Imelda Marcos, Robert Mapplethorpe, Elizabeth Taylor, Adnan Khashoggi, and others are works of art in their own right.
To read some of Dunne’s best go to Vanity Fair’s Dominick Dunne Archive http://bit.ly/yMwu2
➡https://communicatorsandcommunications.com/2009/08/27/dominick-dunne-leaves-his-mark/
Filed under: noted communicators, writing and journalism | Tagged: Dominick Dunne, Elizabeth Taylor, Imelda Marcos, O.J. Simpson, pop culture, Vanity Fair |
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