Dominick Dunne

Dominick Dunne (1925 - 2009) won fame as an author and investigative journalist after a previous career as a motion picture producer and studio executive. Born to a prominent family in Hartford, Connecticut, he was one of six children. The novelist and screenwriter John Gregory Dunne was his brother. Dominick Dunne studied at Williams College before serving in World War II; he received the Bronze Star for heroism in the Battle of Metz. After the war, he worked as a stage manager in early television in New York City. He had achieved a measure of success in Hollywood when he fell prey to alcoholism and drug addiction. He left Hollywood to overcome his demons in solitude, and wrote his first novel, The Winners. Though it was not a success, he persevered in his career as an author, and found his niche chronicling the lives of the rich and famous. After his daughter, actress Dominique Dunne was murdered, and her murderer received a shockingly light sentence, he became a sharp-eyed observer of the criminal justice