Details
Synopsis
In this Hollywood history, Vanity Fair magazine writer Dominick Dunne recalls his fortunate childhood, his heroic feats during World War II, and his days working as a stage manager for the Howdy Doody television show--a position which catapulted him into Hollywood's elite social circles. He also reveals the problems of his personal life, explaining how his marriage erupted as he descended into a world of alcoholism and drug addiction. Additionally, Dunne shares the ultimate tragedies of his life: after he had returned home from a drug rehabilitation vacation, he learned that his daughter had been murdered, and that her mother had developed multiple sclerosis. Included are numerous photographs of Dunne's family and his famous acquaintances, such as Jane Fonda and Elizabeth Taylor.
| Size | | Length: | 218 pages | | Height: | 10.8 in | | Width: | 7.8 in | | Thickness: | 1.0 in | | Weight: | 32.0 oz |
Publisher's Notes
First Line: "When I was nine years old and growing up in Hartford, Connecticut, a city that I knew from the age of four would not be the city of my life, my aunt Harriet, my mother's sister, a maiden lady as well as a former Catholic nun who quit the convent--a subject that fascinated my brothers, sisters, and me, although it was a subject that was never discussed by my parents--took me on a trip out west that summer. Our first stop was Los Angeles."
Industry Reviews
"Dunne mixes the serious and the surreal, and ultimately neither he nor his hard-boozing friends come off as particularly likable. But their tempestuous ways and Dunne's self-deprecation make them, and this slim volume, riveting nonetheless."
Ascher-Walsh
"Readers who thrive on movie-star trivia will devour the handwritten invitations, the guest lists, the recollected conversations. Dunne seems to have carried his camera with him at all times, and the pictures and their captions provide a giddy record of what passed for everyday life among movie stars. Here are Paul Newman and Kirk Douglas eating hot dogs at Roddy McDowall's house, Warren Beatty playing the piano at a party, Natalie Wood using the blade of a knife to check her makeup after dinner, Cecil Beaton eating his first ice-cream cone with a spoon, Elizabeth Taylor and her major-domo in matching white mink coats and, in sequence, Elizabeth Montgomery dancing with George Hamilton, her husband Gig Young competing for her attention and Hamilton in tears for reasons Dunne no longer remembers."
New York Times - Holly Brubach (12/05/1999)
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