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The Way We Lived Then : Recollections of a Well-Known Name Dropper
Mesmerizing, revelatory text combines with more than two hundred photographs -- most of them taken by the author -- in a startling illustrated memoir that will both astonish and move you.
When Dominick Dunne lived and worked in Hollywood, he had it all: a beautiful family, a glamorous career, and the friendship of the talented and powerful. He also had a camera and loved to take pictures. These photographs, which Dunne carefully preserved in more than a dozen leatherbound scrapbooks -- along with invitations, telegrams, personal notes, and other memorabilia -- record the parties, the glittering receptions, the society weddings, and scenes from the everyday lives of the Dunnes and those they knew, including Jane Fonda, Frank Sinatra, Paul Newman, Roddy McDowall, Elizabeth Taylor, Natalie Wood, Brooke Hayward, Jennifer Jones, and David Selznick. You'll meet them all in this fascinating book -- captured in snapshots as these celebrities relax at poolside barbecues, gossip at cozy get-togethers and dance at the Dunnes' dazzling black-and-white ball. And you will meet Dominick Dunne's beautiful wife, Lenny, and his children, Griffin, Alex, and Dominique, as they celebrate Christmases, birthdays, and graduations. But, most of all, you will meet Dominick Dunne and learn about the peaks and valleys of his years in Hollywood, the disastrous turn his life took, and the long road back that led to his triumphant career as a writer. With its engaging photographs and candid text, The Way We Lived Then is a riveting and unvarnished account of a life among the stars and a life almost lost.
When Dominick Dunne lived and worked in Hollywood, he had it all: a beautiful family, a glamorous career, and the friendship of the talented and powerful. He also had a camera and loved to take pictures. These photographs, which Dunne carefully preserved in more than a dozen leatherbound scrapbooks -- along with invitations, telegrams, personal notes, and other memorabilia -- record the parties, the glittering receptions, the society weddings, and scenes from the everyday lives of the Dunnes and those they knew, including Jane Fonda, Frank Sinatra, Paul Newman, Roddy McDowall, Elizabeth Taylor, Natalie Wood, Brooke Hayward, Jennifer Jones, and David Selznick. You'll meet them all in this fascinating book -- captured in snapshots as these celebrities relax at poolside barbecues, gossip at cozy get-togethers and dance at the Dunnes' dazzling black-and-white ball. And you will meet Dominick Dunne's beautiful wife, Lenny, and his children, Griffin, Alex, and Dominique, as they celebrate Christmases, birthdays, and graduations. But, most of all, you will meet Dominick Dunne and learn about the peaks and valleys of his years in Hollywood, the disastrous turn his life took, and the long road back that led to his triumphant career as a writer. With its engaging photographs and candid text, The Way We Lived Then is a riveting and unvarnished account of a life among the stars and a life almost lost.
224 pages, Hardcover
First published September 28, 1999
2 people are currently reading
653 people want to read
About the author
Dominick Dunne
48 books343 followersDominick Dunne was an American writer and investigative journalist whose subjects frequently hinged on the ways high society interacts with the judiciary system. He was a producer in Hollywood and is also known from his frequent appearances on television.
After his studies at Williams College and service in World War II, Dunne moved to New York, then to Hollywood, where he directed Playhouse 90 and became vice president of Four Star Pictures. He hobnobbed with the rich and the famous of those days. In 1979, he left Hollywood, moved to Oregon, and wrote his first book, The Winners. In November 1982, his actress daughter, Dominique Dunne, was murdered. Dunne attended the trial of her murderer (John Thomas Sweeney) and subsequently wrote Justice: A Father's Account of the Trial of his Daughter's Killer.
After his studies at Williams College and service in World War II, Dunne moved to New York, then to Hollywood, where he directed Playhouse 90 and became vice president of Four Star Pictures. He hobnobbed with the rich and the famous of those days. In 1979, he left Hollywood, moved to Oregon, and wrote his first book, The Winners. In November 1982, his actress daughter, Dominique Dunne, was murdered. Dunne attended the trial of her murderer (John Thomas Sweeney) and subsequently wrote Justice: A Father's Account of the Trial of his Daughter's Killer.
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August 18, 2018
"The Way We Lived Then: Recollections of a Well-Known Name Dropper " is a photographic scrapbook of the author's life, as well as a startlingly candid chronicle scanning from the early post-World War II era to the 1990s.
Dunne, whom I first became aware of during the O.J. Simpson trial (which he covered as an investigative journalist), takes the reader through his life, from a brief telling of his early life in an Irish-American Catholic family in an overwhelmingly WASP society in Connecticut through his combat service in Europe with the U.S. Army during World War II (earning the Bronze Star for bravery in the Battle of Metz) and postwar education at Williams College.
After graduating from Williams, Dunne went to New York, where he worked as a stage manager for television during its pioneer era. While in that capacity, Dunne renewed his acquaintance with Gore Vidal, whom he had first met in Guatemala in the late 1940s (where he had also been introduced to Anaïs Nin with whom he had a brief, flirtatious relationship). Dunne became an established stage manager for some of the popular TV shows of the early 1950s (e.g. The Howdy Doody Show), and married in 1954.
Before the end of the 1950s, Dunne had moved to Hollywood at the urging of Humphrey Bogart, who wanted him to work on the TV version of 'The Petrified Forest'. Knowing Bogart helped raise Dunne's stock and give him access to many of the reigning stars, powerbrokers, and celebrities in Hollywood. It was heady stuff for Dunne who began to take photos at many of the dinners and parties he either attended or hosted at his beachside home in Santa Monica (and later in Beverly Hills, where he had moved his family). One of Dunne's neighbors in Santa Monica was the actor Peter Lawford who had recently married Patricia Kennedy, one of the sisters of the future President of the United States, John Fitzgerald Kennedy.
I so enjoyed reading this book and feasting my eyes on many of the photos which spanned from the 1950s into the 1970s. During those years, Dunne went from being a vice-president for a prominent TV production company to a producer for a number of films. Then his life unraveled in stages, he became divorced, engaged in a number of unhealthy habits - often making a fool of himself in the process, and became a pariah in Hollywood. Eventually, Dunne bottomed out and embarked upon a second career as a successful novelist and contributing writer for the magazine Vanity Fair.
I highly recommend this photographic memoir for any reader with a fascination for an era in Hollywood which witnessed the slow decline and end of the studio system and the emergence of a new world and morality during the 1960s. Dominick Dunne knew so, so many remarkable people (across Hollywood, high society and culture, and into the political realm - having been in at a few private parties where President Kennedy had been in attendance), including many of the Hollywood A-listers such as Henry Fonda, Rosalind Russell, the directors Billy Wilder and Vincent Minnelli, Lee Remick, Natalie Wood, Elizabeth Taylor (with whom Dunne later worked on a movie in Italy), and Richard Burton. I loved reading this book and almost wished I could have experienced some of the lifestyle Dunne knew during the late 1950s and throughout the 1960s.
Dunne, whom I first became aware of during the O.J. Simpson trial (which he covered as an investigative journalist), takes the reader through his life, from a brief telling of his early life in an Irish-American Catholic family in an overwhelmingly WASP society in Connecticut through his combat service in Europe with the U.S. Army during World War II (earning the Bronze Star for bravery in the Battle of Metz) and postwar education at Williams College.
After graduating from Williams, Dunne went to New York, where he worked as a stage manager for television during its pioneer era. While in that capacity, Dunne renewed his acquaintance with Gore Vidal, whom he had first met in Guatemala in the late 1940s (where he had also been introduced to Anaïs Nin with whom he had a brief, flirtatious relationship). Dunne became an established stage manager for some of the popular TV shows of the early 1950s (e.g. The Howdy Doody Show), and married in 1954.
Before the end of the 1950s, Dunne had moved to Hollywood at the urging of Humphrey Bogart, who wanted him to work on the TV version of 'The Petrified Forest'. Knowing Bogart helped raise Dunne's stock and give him access to many of the reigning stars, powerbrokers, and celebrities in Hollywood. It was heady stuff for Dunne who began to take photos at many of the dinners and parties he either attended or hosted at his beachside home in Santa Monica (and later in Beverly Hills, where he had moved his family). One of Dunne's neighbors in Santa Monica was the actor Peter Lawford who had recently married Patricia Kennedy, one of the sisters of the future President of the United States, John Fitzgerald Kennedy.
I so enjoyed reading this book and feasting my eyes on many of the photos which spanned from the 1950s into the 1970s. During those years, Dunne went from being a vice-president for a prominent TV production company to a producer for a number of films. Then his life unraveled in stages, he became divorced, engaged in a number of unhealthy habits - often making a fool of himself in the process, and became a pariah in Hollywood. Eventually, Dunne bottomed out and embarked upon a second career as a successful novelist and contributing writer for the magazine Vanity Fair.
I highly recommend this photographic memoir for any reader with a fascination for an era in Hollywood which witnessed the slow decline and end of the studio system and the emergence of a new world and morality during the 1960s. Dominick Dunne knew so, so many remarkable people (across Hollywood, high society and culture, and into the political realm - having been in at a few private parties where President Kennedy had been in attendance), including many of the Hollywood A-listers such as Henry Fonda, Rosalind Russell, the directors Billy Wilder and Vincent Minnelli, Lee Remick, Natalie Wood, Elizabeth Taylor (with whom Dunne later worked on a movie in Italy), and Richard Burton. I loved reading this book and almost wished I could have experienced some of the lifestyle Dunne knew during the late 1950s and throughout the 1960s.
January 26, 2021
I didn't go looking for this book. It's one of those thrift store finds that drew me in. It's in the "oh hell, why not?" category. It's also not one of those books you're going to want to save when you're running from some natural or manmade disaster as your house or apartment complex or tipi explodes into toothpicks behind you. Not even close.
Dominick Dunne is an interesting character. He makes no bones about who he was and what he was after. He admits fairly early on in this memoir that he intended to be a starfucker (or as close a thing to that as he could become) and his nisus was clearly "Hollywood or Slow, Shameful Death" from day one. And for a small town boy from a prosperous family with no real entertainment biz connections, he did very, very well for himself. For a time, he was a producer of somewhat high renown and regard. He was known for throwing the best, most lavish parties. He spared no expense, although much of the money spent on these excesses came from his heiress wife, whose family grew vicariously resentful as they cast cold eyes on the proceedings. Maybe they noticed that he was increasingly treating his loving wife and children as props.
On the occasion of one particularly memorable party, the young children were sent to a hotel for a weekend with a nanny so that the Hollywood elite might swarm the redecorated premises. That party called for a redesign of the baronial home's exterior, a change which remained in place for years as a grace note of Dunne's nostalgia for that black-and-white themed party. Dunne would always remind anyone who would listen that Capote, who attended the party, later copied its theme for a hugely-hyped soiree of his own overflowing with A-listers and then shamelessly failed to invite Dunne and his wife to the event. If you wish to summon Dunne's ghost to a seance, commiserating with his spirit on this would be excellent bait. It clearly rankled to the end.
And then slowly Dunne became a lifestyle casualty, an addict, and did very poorly indeed and was drummed out of the town. His comedown was somewhat legendary in the business. People seemed to relish turning their backs on him and vilifying him. Frank Sinatra once paid a waiter to go over to Dunne's table in a club and punch him in the mouth. The waiter apologized before and after the punch. Frank was a creepy fuck.
Dominick is quite comfortable admitting most of his shortcomings and delivering a bastinado to himself. Perhaps this is because he had a successful second act in his life as a crime writer and a somewhat disheveled third act as a crime journalist. Hollywood came calling again when they wanted to adapt his books into movies, so he had that to enjoy. This book ends just as that second act is beginning and those years are not covered in the memoir itself.
For those who love old Hollywood and the early days of television, the book is chock-a-block with photographs taken by Dunne himself and some of the photographers he commissioned to document his various soirees, Malibu beach parties and such. Many of the stars that were household names in Dunne's lifetime are already dim dwarfs fading in heavens no longer visited. Dunne's penchant for taking too many pictures earned him persona non grata status among some royals (Nickie loved his royals) and celebrities. He was a little obsessive and stalkerish about it, apparently. He admits as much. It cost him some friendships. He never quite lost his fanboy ways and fawning manner. This grated on some people who needed to feel they were only ever among peers.
Although Dunne is happy to confess everything and tell you where the bodies are hidden, he leaves a whopper out of the book. He does not out himself as a bisexual (or gay) man. But it amazes me that it might have taken ten years for this "secret" to come out in his marriage when he does things like spend extended time living in a South American villa with Gore Vidal and Anais Nin. It becomes pretty apparent that he always wanted to be Truman Capote, his beloved nemesis, whose In Cold Blood neo-genre suggested Dunne's future career direction after Hollywood shitcanned him. His Hollywood career ended because he insulted one of the chief power players of the day at a drunken dinner. It didn't help that this happened in the context of making a really awful film with Elizabeth Taylor that went excessively over budget.
Playwright Mart Crowley was a great friend of Dunne's and they ran together fairly constantly. Dunne was instrumental in getting Crowley the film adaptation of his only well-known work. This book sheds light on which actors and actresses ran with the gay, hardly closeted crowd. Dunne partied with these people, then went home to the mansion and the family, assuming the veneer of respectable heterosexuality so that he might continue working in a business that really brooked no queerness unless it was a sort of "don't ask, don't tell" actor like Roddy McDowall. Natalie Wood, for one, clearly loved "the gays." She lived for them, in fact. I'm surprised Dunne doesn't drop hints about Robert Wagner, since practically everyone does these days. But I guess he had his reasons.
Dunne isn't a bad writer and this book has its superficial charm. But even as the author disavows his slavish devotion to people who were often better artists than they were human beings, you sense he still wants to lick up the vomit of the party that did him in. If you get a chance to see the documentary After the Party, check it out. It reprises much of what is in this book and it shows you quite a bit more of Dunne's second (and third) acts. Dunne finally got to share in the celebrity he coveted all his life when Vanity Fair made him a star by publishing his true crime articles. And he later snagged a job hosting a television show dedicated to the same. He delivered his monologues like a grumpy grandpa late for the restroom. People seemed to like it. If you really look at the quality of his "journalism," you come to realize he could have benefited from some proper training. He knew how to write heady, spinny prose that increased Vanity Fair's readership. His specialty was the fall from grace narrative. Champagne to iron cot stuff. He wasn't so great on checking facts and writing the truth. This led to a number of high-profile lawsuits which led to the end of the Vanity Fair gig.
You sense that Dunne knew by the end that his priorities might have been out-of-whack in this life. He suffered some of the tragedies we pretty much all will face at one point or another, but he also experienced some most of us will never face. His lovely and loving daughter, Dominique Dunne, was killed by her boyfriend shortly after she was in the blockbuster Poltergeist. The miscarriage of justice that ensued is actually what led to Dunne's third act as a crime journalist.
Dunne's sister-in-law, Joan Didion, always spoke generously of his talents as a writer. One senses she was being kind to a man she knew had suffered considerable losses. Dunne himself was more clear-eyed about his own place in literature. He recognized that he wrote decently in a certain genre and that his books had their place and that might not be the literary empyrean. You might end up liking "Nick" because he does sound like the sort of man who could make an absolutely amazing go of it, were he given another life to live. He did some good. He did some harm. He learned from his mistakes. In that sense, this book is a portrait of an Everyman. But this Everyman wanted to capture all the pretty birds in his gilded cage and photograph them. And this he did. For a brief while.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IcNOG...
Dominick Dunne is an interesting character. He makes no bones about who he was and what he was after. He admits fairly early on in this memoir that he intended to be a starfucker (or as close a thing to that as he could become) and his nisus was clearly "Hollywood or Slow, Shameful Death" from day one. And for a small town boy from a prosperous family with no real entertainment biz connections, he did very, very well for himself. For a time, he was a producer of somewhat high renown and regard. He was known for throwing the best, most lavish parties. He spared no expense, although much of the money spent on these excesses came from his heiress wife, whose family grew vicariously resentful as they cast cold eyes on the proceedings. Maybe they noticed that he was increasingly treating his loving wife and children as props.
On the occasion of one particularly memorable party, the young children were sent to a hotel for a weekend with a nanny so that the Hollywood elite might swarm the redecorated premises. That party called for a redesign of the baronial home's exterior, a change which remained in place for years as a grace note of Dunne's nostalgia for that black-and-white themed party. Dunne would always remind anyone who would listen that Capote, who attended the party, later copied its theme for a hugely-hyped soiree of his own overflowing with A-listers and then shamelessly failed to invite Dunne and his wife to the event. If you wish to summon Dunne's ghost to a seance, commiserating with his spirit on this would be excellent bait. It clearly rankled to the end.
And then slowly Dunne became a lifestyle casualty, an addict, and did very poorly indeed and was drummed out of the town. His comedown was somewhat legendary in the business. People seemed to relish turning their backs on him and vilifying him. Frank Sinatra once paid a waiter to go over to Dunne's table in a club and punch him in the mouth. The waiter apologized before and after the punch. Frank was a creepy fuck.
Dominick is quite comfortable admitting most of his shortcomings and delivering a bastinado to himself. Perhaps this is because he had a successful second act in his life as a crime writer and a somewhat disheveled third act as a crime journalist. Hollywood came calling again when they wanted to adapt his books into movies, so he had that to enjoy. This book ends just as that second act is beginning and those years are not covered in the memoir itself.
For those who love old Hollywood and the early days of television, the book is chock-a-block with photographs taken by Dunne himself and some of the photographers he commissioned to document his various soirees, Malibu beach parties and such. Many of the stars that were household names in Dunne's lifetime are already dim dwarfs fading in heavens no longer visited. Dunne's penchant for taking too many pictures earned him persona non grata status among some royals (Nickie loved his royals) and celebrities. He was a little obsessive and stalkerish about it, apparently. He admits as much. It cost him some friendships. He never quite lost his fanboy ways and fawning manner. This grated on some people who needed to feel they were only ever among peers.
Although Dunne is happy to confess everything and tell you where the bodies are hidden, he leaves a whopper out of the book. He does not out himself as a bisexual (or gay) man. But it amazes me that it might have taken ten years for this "secret" to come out in his marriage when he does things like spend extended time living in a South American villa with Gore Vidal and Anais Nin. It becomes pretty apparent that he always wanted to be Truman Capote, his beloved nemesis, whose In Cold Blood neo-genre suggested Dunne's future career direction after Hollywood shitcanned him. His Hollywood career ended because he insulted one of the chief power players of the day at a drunken dinner. It didn't help that this happened in the context of making a really awful film with Elizabeth Taylor that went excessively over budget.
Playwright Mart Crowley was a great friend of Dunne's and they ran together fairly constantly. Dunne was instrumental in getting Crowley the film adaptation of his only well-known work. This book sheds light on which actors and actresses ran with the gay, hardly closeted crowd. Dunne partied with these people, then went home to the mansion and the family, assuming the veneer of respectable heterosexuality so that he might continue working in a business that really brooked no queerness unless it was a sort of "don't ask, don't tell" actor like Roddy McDowall. Natalie Wood, for one, clearly loved "the gays." She lived for them, in fact. I'm surprised Dunne doesn't drop hints about Robert Wagner, since practically everyone does these days. But I guess he had his reasons.
Dunne isn't a bad writer and this book has its superficial charm. But even as the author disavows his slavish devotion to people who were often better artists than they were human beings, you sense he still wants to lick up the vomit of the party that did him in. If you get a chance to see the documentary After the Party, check it out. It reprises much of what is in this book and it shows you quite a bit more of Dunne's second (and third) acts. Dunne finally got to share in the celebrity he coveted all his life when Vanity Fair made him a star by publishing his true crime articles. And he later snagged a job hosting a television show dedicated to the same. He delivered his monologues like a grumpy grandpa late for the restroom. People seemed to like it. If you really look at the quality of his "journalism," you come to realize he could have benefited from some proper training. He knew how to write heady, spinny prose that increased Vanity Fair's readership. His specialty was the fall from grace narrative. Champagne to iron cot stuff. He wasn't so great on checking facts and writing the truth. This led to a number of high-profile lawsuits which led to the end of the Vanity Fair gig.
You sense that Dunne knew by the end that his priorities might have been out-of-whack in this life. He suffered some of the tragedies we pretty much all will face at one point or another, but he also experienced some most of us will never face. His lovely and loving daughter, Dominique Dunne, was killed by her boyfriend shortly after she was in the blockbuster Poltergeist. The miscarriage of justice that ensued is actually what led to Dunne's third act as a crime journalist.
Dunne's sister-in-law, Joan Didion, always spoke generously of his talents as a writer. One senses she was being kind to a man she knew had suffered considerable losses. Dunne himself was more clear-eyed about his own place in literature. He recognized that he wrote decently in a certain genre and that his books had their place and that might not be the literary empyrean. You might end up liking "Nick" because he does sound like the sort of man who could make an absolutely amazing go of it, were he given another life to live. He did some good. He did some harm. He learned from his mistakes. In that sense, this book is a portrait of an Everyman. But this Everyman wanted to capture all the pretty birds in his gilded cage and photograph them. And this he did. For a brief while.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IcNOG...
January 13, 2025
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️1/2
Having just finished Griffin Dunne’s The Friday Afternoon Club: A Family Memoir, I decided to read his father’s memoir/photo book as its companion.
The two complimented each other well.
I was quite pleased that it had a photo that Griffin talked about but didn’t include in his book.
It was of him as a nine-year-old meeting and shaking hands with John Lennon, his favorite Beatle.
The way he described it, “John was smiling and looking genuinely surprised and happy that I was there.”
The photo did not disappoint!!
Dominick’s was also a very enjoyable book.
What a life he had.
As a child, his father, an eminent heart surgeon was always disappointed in him and used to severely beat him on a regular basis.
As soon as Dominick turned eighteen, he shipped out to fight in WWII and was awarded a bronze star for bravery.
He became a producer in New York, then Hollywood, married, raised a family and partied with an amazing number famous persons over several decades.
Not all fun and games, he hit rock bottom more than once, finally ending up an award winning journalist and novelist.
Along the way taking family and celebrity photos included in this wonderful book.
Having just finished Griffin Dunne’s The Friday Afternoon Club: A Family Memoir, I decided to read his father’s memoir/photo book as its companion.
The two complimented each other well.
I was quite pleased that it had a photo that Griffin talked about but didn’t include in his book.
It was of him as a nine-year-old meeting and shaking hands with John Lennon, his favorite Beatle.
The way he described it, “John was smiling and looking genuinely surprised and happy that I was there.”
The photo did not disappoint!!
Dominick’s was also a very enjoyable book.
What a life he had.
As a child, his father, an eminent heart surgeon was always disappointed in him and used to severely beat him on a regular basis.
As soon as Dominick turned eighteen, he shipped out to fight in WWII and was awarded a bronze star for bravery.
He became a producer in New York, then Hollywood, married, raised a family and partied with an amazing number famous persons over several decades.
Not all fun and games, he hit rock bottom more than once, finally ending up an award winning journalist and novelist.
Along the way taking family and celebrity photos included in this wonderful book.
September 2, 2025
A glimpse at movie stars of my preferred era, candidly taken, and wistfully shared by my favorite (social butter)fly on the wall, Mr. Dunne. Who was actually kind of cute then!
Dominick Dunne led such a charmed life. When did it all begin to go wrong? Am I the only one who thinks his life would make for an ideal Netflix limited series? I imagine Dunne would have been orgasmic at the idea!
Dominick Dunne led such a charmed life. When did it all begin to go wrong? Am I the only one who thinks his life would make for an ideal Netflix limited series? I imagine Dunne would have been orgasmic at the idea!
March 16, 2025
I bought this book many years ago and loved the photography, all images from Dunne's personal collection and a glimpse into the mid-century lives of the stars of the day, as well as a good reflection on how a couple with three children and a good income could live among their wealthier and more famous neighbors.
I read this to see if I could read between the lines of Dunne's mini-memoir of that time, to see if I could find the hidden Easter eggs, a hint of his homosexuality, that his son, Griffin's biography (2024) has revealed. I could find nothing in the text, other than a couple of overly complimentary words about Roddy McDowall (and why shouldn't he be complimented?).
I've read most of Dunne's work, but I want to reread a couple of the early books again, particularly "The Two Mrs. Grenvilles." I didn't realize until I'd read this book (again) and read Griffin's biography just how much I liked Dunne's writing.
I read this to see if I could read between the lines of Dunne's mini-memoir of that time, to see if I could find the hidden Easter eggs, a hint of his homosexuality, that his son, Griffin's biography (2024) has revealed. I could find nothing in the text, other than a couple of overly complimentary words about Roddy McDowall (and why shouldn't he be complimented?).
I've read most of Dunne's work, but I want to reread a couple of the early books again, particularly "The Two Mrs. Grenvilles." I didn't realize until I'd read this book (again) and read Griffin's biography just how much I liked Dunne's writing.
May 19, 2022
I enjoyed this one. Always liked Dominick Dunne’s writing and love his stories of Hollywood folks. Loved this look back at the glamor days of Hollywood!
May 4, 2023
I have been on a Hollywood gossip reading jag lately and I watched the documentary "Dominick Dunne: After the Party." It immediately drove me to find his memoir of life in showbiz in the 1960s. This book is heaven for both the content and the images (he loved to take photographs), but not just because Dunne was once famous and rich and hanging out with the stars. He also had a mid-life epiphany and was brave enough to start over under very humbling circumstances. His second act was as fascinating as the first. All that showbiz hobnobbing paid off with tremendous fame and success later in his life.
Unfortunately, I think this book is out of print and is only available as a very high priced used version. Even the copy at our local library is currently being repaired and cannot be checked out. Thank you, Internet Archive, for the access.
If you love Hollywood or books or stories of redemption, you will love this.
Unfortunately, I think this book is out of print and is only available as a very high priced used version. Even the copy at our local library is currently being repaired and cannot be checked out. Thank you, Internet Archive, for the access.
If you love Hollywood or books or stories of redemption, you will love this.
August 4, 2024
This is Dominick Dunne's autobiography (with lots of photos and pictures of mementos) of his life from when he was born (1925) into a rich family in Connecticut, through his years working in television and movies with celebrities, ending with his problems in Hollywood (is basically blacklisted, has to sell everything he owns, etc.) until he starts writing, at age 50. I liked this book. There are lots of interrelationships between rich people, famous people, etc., that are a little surprising, and are a big part of the book. A weird thing is that the Beverly Hills he lived in and socialized in ,and describes, is the very same Beverly Hills (apparently it's not that big) where O.J. and Nicole Simpson lived 10 - 20 years later. Mr. Dunne even says (I can't find it now), something like "...we were at" (somebody's) "house, on Rockingham, that would later be bought and lived in by O.J. Simpson."
December 23, 2022
An intensely honest and personal memoir by the author Dominick Dunne about his salad days as a movie producer in LA during the 50s a. The name dropping in the first two-thirds of the book does get a bit tedious. In fact, from a 2022 perspective, the idea of a social circle where everyone who's anyone goes to certain parties virtually all the time and black tie is standard seems crazy. But it happened.
And in the latter section of the book, Dunne describes his fall from grace in embarrassing detail. I only knew him as a writer and journalist so, to me, this epoch in his life was news. He is brave and unsparing in telling his story. It's an interesting slice of movie life in the mid-20th Century.
And in the latter section of the book, Dunne describes his fall from grace in embarrassing detail. I only knew him as a writer and journalist so, to me, this epoch in his life was news. He is brave and unsparing in telling his story. It's an interesting slice of movie life in the mid-20th Century.
January 7, 2018
I adore memoirs and this one is truly excellent. I thoroughly enjoy reading about old Hollywood and all its glory. Although the storytelling got confusing a couple of times, overall I felt like I was hearing the story from Dunne firsthand. He comes across as quite humbled and takes blame for his behavior. What a life he led, threw away, and finally recovered to find happiness.
January 13, 2018
After reading a biography about Joan Didion that mentioned some of Dunne's works I was looking forward to this memoir. Sadly, the book as the subtitle states is really just a collection of photographs by this "well-known Name Dropper" without any real text at all. It is just him rambling about who he knew.
December 30, 2018
Certainly very heavy on the name dropping, the vast majority of those mentioned being people I have never heard of. I’m glad to have read his autobiography, he was a very unique man who took advantage of his social connections to enlighten us on the dark side of television and movies. His late in life career change is inspirational.
August 29, 2023
Fascinating photographs and accounts of Hollywood in the 60s and 70s seen through the eyes and lens of Dominick Dunne. It includes his first hand testimony of his own downfall due to drugs and alcohol. After sinking to the lowest depths, he finds a way to redeem himself through writing. Very fun behind the scenes of the rich and famous.
February 23, 2018
This is a fun look from the inside of Hollywood society in the 50s and 60s. The author's gossipy style works well here. I also admire him for being able to pick himself back up after he fell apart on drugs and alcohol and lost his career.
April 29, 2023
What shallow, insipid lives of Hollywood are depicted, but I lapped up all of it. Loved the pictures. This was a palate cleanser I had sitting in my library. After reading a detailed non-fiction account of espionage in WW II, I could dive into people who really made no difference.
September 27, 2025
An interesting account of Dominick Dunne’s life when he and his wife were a Hollywood party couple. It’s a quick read with lots of photographs, definitely for anyone interested in classic Hollywood.
May 17, 2017
Dominick Dunne and his years of high society in Hollywood....lots of pictures...loved it!
November 6, 2017
wonderful photos. and as usual, great story telling.
March 30, 2019
A guilty pleasure. Always loved reading his Vanity Fair articles. A great glimpse into the Hollywood old days.
April 2, 2019
An excellent look at the life of Dominick Dunne in Hollywood during the 50s, 60s & 70s when he was considered part of the "A" list. Lots of interesting pictures.
August 10, 2019
Read this years ago...
September 9, 2019
Entertaining and poignant time capsule of Hollywood in the 60s and 70s. Dunnes personal photos are a treasure. He is as scathingly honest about his own fall from grace as he is about others'.
September 11, 2019
I watched the Dominick Dunne documentary, the doc. on his sister in law Joan Didion, then I read this.
Wow. If you like Kenneth Anger's Hollywood Babylon books, this is for you.
Wow. If you like Kenneth Anger's Hollywood Babylon books, this is for you.
April 18, 2022
A thoroughly delightful read.
August 16, 2023
Read 2009
January 11, 2024
Awesome!!
September 26, 2024
It is what it is. Dominick Dunne’s Hollywood scrapbooks of pictures condensed into one book with his own commentary.
July 29, 2025
Selective recollections of a name-dropper (some gaps included in his son's book)
September 30, 2025
People in Hollywood sure do meet a lot of untimely ends.
October 15, 2025
Such Hollywood history!
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