The Friday Afternoon Club — New Memoir by Griffin Dunne

I bet this is good. I may check it out.

I can't wait to read the Who's That Girl chapter Surely he will regale us with details of his exploits with Madonna.

I’ll be reading this.

Me, too.

Is that Griffin on the far left in the photo?

I still remember seeing After Hours in my twenties. It turned into a cult favorite of mine. It had already been out for around 15 years, but it reinforced feelings I had about NYC late night. It’s been years since I’ve seen it, I’ll have to look for it.

Oooh, this is way up my alley. I just ordered an advance readers copy. Was Dominick Dunne thought to be a closet case? He always pinged to me.

R6 I think he very well may have been.

Dominick Dunne seemed like a Presbyterian Truman Capote to me, scuttling around, sour, sucking up.

R6 R7 Here's an excerpt from an article about the feud between Dunne and his brother John:

"In one letter of confession to John, written in November 1979, Dominick came out as a gay man. He wrote of going to a retreat called the Advocate Experience in San Francisco. It offered est-like therapy for gay men and lesbians, advising them to disclose their true sexual orientation to family and close friends. In that letter, Dominick told John about one telling episode from their youth. At their father’s wake in 1947, when his mother and five siblings were grieving, Dominick left the family to have sex with a college student named Andreas Devendorf in the family’s big black Buick parked near the ninth hole of the local golf course. Dominick also mentioned Didion’s novel "Play It as It Lays" in the letter to John. He doubted that Joan would be surprised at his “I’m gay news” since she had based the BZ character on him, Dominick believed."

[quote]Was Dominick Dunne thought to be a closet case? He always pinged to me.

Honey, even Helen Keller knew he was gay.

I had a huge crush on him in the Madonna movie, and I enjoyed his portrayal of a therapist in 'Succession'.

R5 I had seen After Hours in a movie theater when it was first released in 1985. I recall it being a bizarre, quirky and memorable black comedy based in New York. It did actually capture the spirit of the downtown lifestyle of that time. I didn't get to see it again until just a few months ago when I got a copy of it on DVD. It was just as good as I remembered it.

Losing Dominick was an awful blow to Vanity Fair. I believe that I let the subscription go after his death. I really miss(ed) him.

So, a double tragedy for Vanity Fair

He's had such an interesting life. For those of you who don't know:

His father Dominick was a closeted gay man who was an important Hollywood producer. he was a relentless social climber who used to appal almost everyone with his obsession with the rich and famous, and was close friends with Elizabeth Montgomery and Elizabeth taylor. After he had to leave Hollywood to handle his multiple addictions, he reinvented himself as a gossipy novelist.

His mother Ellen ("Peach") was the daughter of a wealthy industrialist, and stayed with Dominick long enough to bear him several children until she couldn't take his closetedness and his addictions and longer. She developed multiple sclerosis in the 1980s.

His sister Dominique was a rising starlet until she was strangled to death by a boyfriend soon after making "Poltergeist." Because the murderer got off with a charge only of voluntary manslaughter, their mother because an activist to protest the criminal justice system and their father began to obsess in his journalisma nd his fiction about privileged people getting away with murder.

His father's brother was the screenwriter John Gregory Dunne, married to the screenwriter- journalist- novelist Joan Didion. Their families were very close.

He himself is an actor and writer and producer, best known for starring in Martin Scorsese's "After Hours" and the awful Madonna screwball comedy "Who's That girl?"

Joan Didion was relaxing in his parents' pool when she first heard about the Manson murders:

[quote]On August 9, 1969, I was sitting in the shallow end of my sister-in-law’s swimming pool in Beverly Hills when she received a telephone call from a friend who had just heard about the murders at Sharon Tate Polanski’s house on Cielo Drive.

I'm the only one who never needs to hear or read another word about the Dunnes and their "Happy Few" life?

I remember him as the cute teacher in My Girl. I would’ve had a crush on him, too.

This should be a great read. He was a highlight of "Bright Lights" reminiscing with Carrie Fisher in her London bed. He supposedly took Carrie's virginity at Carrie (and Debbie's) behest. Like his Dad he always pinged to high heaven to me and sharing a wife with Richard Gere is not the way to dissuade me.

Thanks, R15, for all the information we knew already.

Thanks R15 because I did not know all of that.

I’m 50 pages in and Griffin is open about his dad’s secret homosexuality.

Five kids. His wife must hold the record for enduring the worst sex for the longest stretch.

Why do you suppose Irish Catholics are all such social climbers?

I'm so tired of hearing about this self-important family.

Wednesday Afternoon Fine Arts League

Pre ordered. Thanks OP!

R25, you sound as if you're bombarded on a daily basis about them. You're not.

R28 Does attempting to invalidate other people's personal reactions make you feel like a big, strong man?

R25, it was kind of a silly observation. When was the last time you heard anything about the Dunne family, unrelated to this memoir? Come on. You got caught and called out. Big deal.

No love for Griffin's performance as David Naughton's zombie buddy in An American Werewolf in London? He was funny and cute as hell in that... at least until necrosis set in.

R22, How could you be 50 pages in when the book is not available until June?

R30 Again. You know nothing about me or "the last time I heard" anything. Don't tell me what you feel I should think about anything.

Dominick Dunne was some kind of lowly assistant on the TV show, Robert Montgomery Presents. He built that into a career by obsequiously kissing up to anyone he could.

[quote] Why do you suppose Irish Catholics are all such social climbers?

"Lace Curtain Irish Catholics" which is slightly and subtly bitchier...

Stop whining, R33.

Irish Catholics are social climbers because there's no where to go but up for them.

Can't wait. This is gonna be good!

R32- I work in media and got an advanced reader copy.

R37 is partying like it’s 1959.

R33, I know you're kind of a neurotic asshole so I'm tellin' ya: shut the fuck up with the stupid, gurlina.

We have Dominick Dunne to thank as one of the producers of THE BOYS IN THE BAND film in 1970. 1970!!! He slept with Frederick Combs (Donald) and also had a big crush on Gardner McKay, the handsome star of the TV series RIVERBOAT.

Dominick Dunne also gifted us with this.

Try Adventures in Paradise, r42.

[quote]Honey, even Helen Keller knew he was gay.

Wikipedia doesn't.

And elebenty-zillion magazine articles.

The Talented Mr. Lonergan...

The only Dunne who really grabbed me intellectually and artistically was the by marriage one, Joan Didion. I was obsessed with her in my teens in the 70s and 80s but then it faded, eventually. If someone made a good bio-pic of a passage in her life, I'd be interested.

Griffin was openly critical of his social-climbing daddy. Does anyone remember the stories from Ash Wednesday? It was a drunken car crash. Liz told him he'd never produce another movie. (She was right and partially the cause of it.) But what put the final nail in the coffin was Dunne's joke about the rotund Sue Mengers, Hollywood Superagent. Dunne claimed to know Mengers' writer boyfriend "Jean-Claude Tramont when he was known as Jack Schwartz back in the 50s when "Schwartz" was a page at NBC and Dunne was stage manager for the Robert Montgomery Show. He claimed the only reason he got the writing job was because of her (probably true). Sitting around with the cast one night, a drunk Dunne put down Tramont by saying if they ever wrote a book about Ash Wednesday it should be called "When a Fat Girl Falls in Love." When the quote appeared in a trade, the studio blacklisted him.

Dominick was sort of handsome back then. I can't wait to read this.

Thanks, R9, for the longish linked article. I knew something of each of the key players, and a very little about the bad blood, but what a complicated, ugly mess. Ugliness to the extent that I was somehow relieved for the semi-happy ending of the relationship between John and Dominick by chance in a hospital waiting room.

The Dunnes are so creepy and full of themselves.

You know them, R56? Are you that idiot R25?

Dominick Dunne wanted desperately to become the next Truman Capote, but didn't have the talent or the charisma.

Zzzzzzz...

Oops, sorry R44 - I knew it was something watery....married to a woman, two kids. He was great looking -

Rave reviews from noted literary critics Anderson Cooper and David Duchovny!

^ LOL.

He also played Uncle Nicky in THIS IS US

I'll never forget when Dominick Dunne and Gore Vidal got in a bitchy cat fight in the letters section of Vanity Fair. I have forgotten what it was about, but I remember Gore sneering that Dunne had mentioned the complete works of Anne Bronte "as if there were such a thing!".

I finished my advance copy over the weekend. It’s really compelling. One thing I found interesting was that filming Who’s The Girl with Madonna warranted a single sentence. He didn’t share a single anecdote about what it was like to work with Madonna at the zenith of her popularity. Not a single anecdote.

I read No Crying in Baseball recently, about the making of A League of Their Own, and Madonna doesn't come off all that well in terms of being easy to work with. I bet Griffin could expand on that theme if only he had chosen to.

Dominick claimed he inspired Capote's party of the century at the Plaza. The film of My Fair Lady had just come out and he and his wife decided to have a black and white party. This is what inspired Capote's party Dunne claimed. And he wasn't even invited. All of the creators of the original production of the musical claimed they came up with the idea of the black and white sequence.

Dunne claimed he destroyed the judge who decided the lenient sentence of his daughter's killer but he doesn't say how. Dunne and his wife never recovered from her murder.

There was a discussion of the murderer on DL and I believe he works as a cook in a nursing home on the west coast if he hasn't retired yet. Somebody called them once and said do you know who this person is? Whoever answered said yes and hung up the phone.

The judge in his daughter's murder trial decided the record of the killer's stalking, threats and violence past was not admissible to the trial. The jury said afterwards that if that were admitted into evidence they would have convicted him of second degree murder.

The judge in the case was the execrable Burton Katz. After the trial he wrote a book which nobody read, and later transferred to juvenile court in LA. He used to pop up from time to time on Geraldo's coverage of the OJ trial. He was a slime bag.

The Dunnes were inspired by Cecil Beaton's Ascot scene in MFL, and used it for their b&w party in 1964. Capote attended, but failed to invite the Dunnes to his 1966 chicken hash soiree.

Anyone I've know who's dealt directly with Madonna has nothing good to say about her, even if they engage with her as a fan.

[quote]Rave reviews from noted literary critics Anderson Cooper and David Duchovny!

Well, Duchovny has an advanced degree in English from Yale.

R72 . . .

Never realized Griffin Dunn was Dominic's son. Crazy considering know I see they have nearly the same exact face.

And I'm sure that's why he was asked for a blurb, R72.

Advance blurbs of celebrity memoirs by other celebs are quite common. When the book is released, it will of course by reviewed by all the usual newspapers, magazines, and media outlets.

R76, the usual book reviewers from magazines and newspapers already have their copies.

Advance blurbs are common, R77. Reviewers for magazines, etc., would not be providing blurbs or quotes from their reviews before publication.

Griffin Dunne reflecting on OJ's death earlier today:

I "dealt directly" with Madonna visiting our mutual dying friend in hospitals in New York in 1988-89. She was normal and warm.

Goddamn, Griffin Dunne still looks good. In American Werewolf and Who's That Girl he was sex on a stick.

In American Werewolf in London David Naughton was the sexy one.

They both were, but I agree, R82. Naughton was the fuck piece in that.

It's amazing how a celebrity can get stuck in your head for one role alone even if they have somewhat of an illustrious career afterwards. Griffen Dunne will always be the cute from the terrible Madonna movie Who's That Girl that I saw several times on HBO over one summer in 1988. There was also a hot UPS guy who deliver's the line "How's it hanging?" to Griffen. It was the first time I ever heard that expression and it took me a while to figure it out. Once I learned it referred to dick, and the sexy guy was uttering it, I was hooked. That is probably why the movie is burned in my brain.

Perusing something more au courant.

[quote] who deliver's the line "How's it hanging?" to Griffen

Double oh dear, R84.

Being a 3rd grade substitute English teacher was the highlight of your life? Oh Dear R86

Dominick Dunne came into my store in the late 1990s, as he spoke at one of the events at Brown University graduation that weekend (he may have gotten an honorary degree, too - I can't recall). He came into my store three days in a row, and each day had a different young hunky muscle guy accompanying him (we had a few gay stripper bars in the area back then). He spent quite a bit of money (especially on the young hunk he was with) each day. On the third day, I quietly told him I was a fan of his work and had read all his books. Of course, he was rather unimpressed and just rolled his eyes. He then said to me, 'You should spend less time reading books and spending more time with guys like this one...' and grabbed his sexy boy toy by the waist and pulled him in closer. The boy toy just smiled and winked at me. I said to Dunne, "I think you're right. I'll take your advice into consideration." With that, he grabbed his bags and left with his boy toy.

r88, he sounds insufferable.

R89 He was, I lost much interest in him or his works after that encounter. I heard he was a real 'diva' in the other stores and restaurants in my area - no one had anything nice to say about him (and word spreads in my little retail neighborhood).

The only good thing which came out of it was the hunky escort returned to my store often after that day, A beautiful guy from head to toe.

Was DD a drinker?

[quote] I bet this is good. I may check it out.

It’s that kind of dedication that keeps the literary world alive, secure and thriving! Keep up the good work, Avid Reader R1

R87, stupid mistakes like that are not the fault of the person pointing them out.

R86 I see a triple oh, dear.

That entire paragraph is a mess.

R86 can't even get the spelling of "Griffin" right, and she has the nerve to give attitude?

R95, it wasn't me who responded. No attitude given. Although I really don't give two shits about people who's jollies come from "oh dearing" others. It's a personality type that no one appreciates. It's indicates someone who lacks for friends and probably forces themselves on others. The one saving grace of Datalounge for them is that they can socialize without being seen. What did we used to call them? Hissing Queens?

R90, Are you implying that you became intimate with the boy toy?

[quote] Although I really don't give two shits about people who's jollies come from "oh dearing" others.

Oh dear, R96.

The fun aspect of enduring all these self-appointed copy editors is knowing their imprisoned in within their own shitty personalities.

[quote] The judge in his daughter's murder trial decided the record of the killer's stalking, threats and violence past was not admissible to the trial.

California judiciary's penchant for valuing criminals over justice is not new

I was a fan of Dominick. I enjoyed his writing. Not all of it, but the articles for Vanity Fair and the Grenville book.

I remember seeing him on TV just casually saying that he believed Gary Condit was responsible for the disappearance of that intern Chandra Levy. He talked about Gary being part of a motorcycle gang (Condit had a bike and liked to ride with fellow bikers) and that investigators needed to look into that. I believe he wrote an article for Vanity Fair about it all too.

People engaging in conspiracy theories wasn’t as common back then as it is now so I was less inclined to dismiss it out right. But I remember thinking that it seemed quite far-fetched. Condit sued Dunne later and won.

Looking back I’m amazed Dunne was so comfortable outright accusing another public figure of murder. He later wrote an article about being sued too. He expressed surprise at finding out so many people were angry at him. That seems to have been a recurring theme in his life. Not being aware of pissing people off.

My friend Jere was in A Season in Purgatory and Mr Dunne was all over him.

It was not mutual.

Mr. Sondheims' advances came later.

R88- Can we now conclude that Griffin Dunne was a Connoisseur of COCK 🍆?

[quote] I remember seeing him on TV just casually saying that he believed Gary Condit was responsible for the disappearance of that intern Chandra Levy

A not unreasonable guess considering Condit's behavior. Eventually a criminal illegal alien was convicted on circumstantial evidence and a perjuring jailhouse informant. He was about to obtain a new trial when the Department of Justice instead deported him back to El Salvador.

Dominick Dunne exuded nastiness to me... I can't quite put it into words but he had a nasty aura to him. I agree, I liked his writing often, but whenever I saw him he came across as nasty and a little unhinged. I know he had the great trauma of his child's murder and some people couldn't come to terms with something like that... I guess that's what I was picking up on... he seemed a permanently angry, restless spirit. Anyway, never liked him.

I would imagine going through what he went through with his daughter's death and that joke of a "trial" would embitter anyone. Not to mention having to spend most of his adult life closeted. Gee, all that might make someone a little edgy in behavior.

Domenic was a traipsing queen.

R106, agreed, but he never seemed to find any kind of reconciliation or grace. High ick factor.

Not interested in turning this into a discussion on Gary Condit/Chandra Levy. I just wanted to point out that I remember that the media was obsessed with that crime.

9/11 happened and the story COMPLETELY disappeared from the headlines.

What a ridiculous attitude to take, R108. By all means, critique the victim's father for not being generous and forgiving toward the man who viciously murdered Dunne's daughter. Get your head out of your ass.

[quote] Domenic

Oh dear, R107.

That horrendous DM has an article with a misleading headline, suggesting that Griffin Dunne blames 'humorless' Madonna for the failure of WHG, and ultimately, his failed movie career. But if you read the article, he calls the movie itself 'humorless.'

[post redacted because linking to dailymail.co.uk clearly indicates that the poster is either a troll or an idiot (probably both, honestly.) Our advice is that you just ignore this poster but whatever you do, don't click on any link to this putrid rag.]

[quote] 9/11 happened and the story COMPLETELY disappeared from the headlines.

Condit was the very last story on Today immediately before the first plane hit the WTC

I've always pictured Condit cheering in relief

A transvestite prostitute being arrested in Eddie Murphy’s car was big news for a few days until Frank Gifford was lured into a hotel room by a stewardess working with Globe Magazine and everyone forgot about Eddie.

Timing is everything.

Gifford's stewardess had better illustrations than Murphy's tranny

[quote]Timing is everything.

You're telling me!

[quote] The Dunnes are so creepy and full of themselves.

This. These people are insufferable and not people you’d want to spend time with. Like his father, Griffin is desperate for attention. He must need money really bad. To sell out your father and continue your family’s legacy of milking your sister’s death for publicity is unseemly. His father’s behavior during the OJ trial is legendary.

[quote] A transvestite prostitute being arrested in Eddie Murphy’s car was big news for a few days until Frank Gifford was lured into a hotel room by a stewardess working with Globe Magazine and everyone forgot about Eddie.

No one forgot and even SNL made fun of it with Eddie picking up tranny hookers in a sketch. Murphy boycotted the show after that.

Apparently not, R119.

I preferred the Wednesday afternoon. Fine arts league

[quote] even SNL made fun of it with Eddie picking up tranny hookers in a sketch

Yet still whitewash Alec Baldwin

[quote] To sell out your father

How did he sell out his father? You type stupid, R118.

R118, is this you on the other Dunne thread? "This family sure do love milking this poor girl’s name. Jesus."

You're a broken fucking record, Mary.

But the broken record isn't wrong. Griffin himself admits he was really uncomfortable with his dad basically turning Dominique's murder into a cottage industry.

You've read the book, R125? At any rate, the accusation is also being leveled at Griffin Dune--so are you saying he was uncomfortable but did the same?

His father didn't do that, anyway. He did what any grieving father would do who was also a writer--he wrote about it and advocated on behalf of other victims. Only a fool like you would turn that into "milking it" and turning it into a "cottage industry."

I don’t want to derail the thread either but I have no recollection of Condit’s behavior during the whole intern scandal. So now I’m curious as to what he did that was suspicious.

I always enjoyed the reading books and articles by Dominic Dunne. I will read his son's book, too. They lived unique and interesting lives marked by tragedy in a milieu that not everyone dwells. I find it fascinating and entertaining.

R127, He had been fucking her.

IIRC, Levy was in love with Condit and pressuring him to divorce his wife in Modesto which he had no intention of doing. They led essentially separate lives and kept her as the convenient political wife while he whored around D.C. I'm not sure if the wife was aware he was a player. She never left Modesto. Very sketchy, on this part, but I think he removed Chandra's personal items from his apartment.

I recall Larry King having Condit’s son on to defend his father and the son kept referring to his father as “Gary”.

He was a grumpy, nasty, petty, suck up Tolkein creature. Small wonder he's got defenders here.

Who are you banging on about, R132?

Who's that Girl might have been watchable had Madonna not attempted to do that ridiculous accent and broadly overact. I guess she was trying to portray a character but it failed miserably.

But it was a role that she could have aced a la Desperately Seeking Susan. It wasn't much of a stretch.

R132 is a MAGA who can no longer defend trump so he's going after interesting intellectuals.

An interesting intellectual R132 never knew, it should be said. R132 is just another fool ranting about a total stranger and including other strangers in the mix. Sounds like a MAGAt to me. You might be right, R135.

R134, Madonna seemed like she was trying to do Cyndi Lauper in “Who’s That Girl.”

"Who's That Girl (no question mark)" was supposed to be a screwball comedy, harkening back to the classic screwballs like "Bringing Up Baby" and "My Man Godrey," and Madonna's character was supposed to be a dizzy dame like Hepburn's and Lombard's in those films, possessing a gangster's moll Brooklynese accent like Billie Dawn and Betty Boop, but the whole project was a complete misfire.

Love Griffin Dunne. Loved "Practical Magic". Loved His Dad's tv show and books. Don't care about Madge. I preordered.

I read the snippet in Vanity Fair. Griffin is a good writer. I will probably buy this one.

I read the snippet in Vanity Fair. Griffin is a good writer. I will probably buy this one.

r141 Two copies?

LOL It's the weirdest thing R142. Now I know how this happens. I posted the first one but it said I was in a completely different thread. So I oops'd and posted it (again obv.) in this one.

Are you high, dear, R143? If so--join the club!

[quote] but it said I was in a completely different thread.

Wait, R143--who's "it"? I never get notifications on DL.

R135, I'd stick to your clerking job, you're no detective.

One of the things I love about DL is the unexpected attachments the misfits form.

R145 It’s only a premium subscription feature

Does Griffin include details of his taking Carrie Fisher’s virginity in his memoir?

Is Griffin gay?

straight

If he took Carrie Fisher's virginity he's straight and blind.

Carrie was extremely pretty when young.

Imagine the dressing room scene between Debbie and Carrie.

I liked him in An American Werewolf of London. Great makeup and he was entertaining. We need more movies of people walking in the foggy moors at night.

Who’s That Girl was admittedly an awful movie but a few scenes between Griffin and Madonna worked for me and were cute.

I wasn't aware of this book until I heard his interview on Fresh Air yesterday.

He finds out his dad is gay, is sort of freaked out thinking it might be genetic, and has sex with his dad's friend while a teenager to confirm if he is or isn't? Wild.

I bought this book yesterday and am about 2/3 through it. I can't recommend it enough. Griffin has led a very interesting life, and he's a good storyteller, so it's a compelling read.

It's ok if you're into the gossipy side of their lives, but there's just something so entitled about the Dunnes and Didion that really puts me off. Maybe I'm revolted at the public display of their place in American society and squeezing as much as possible from being around the people they're around? All of them seem very mediocre at what they do except socializing, and it's that socializing that perpetuates this false sense of achievement and excellence. I find it annoying and fascinating at the same time.

R158 I'm curious, are you reading the book or are your criticisms based on your general perceptions of those involved?

I'm reading the book (about halfway through) and I watched Griffin's documentary on Joan Didion last night on Netflix as a supplement.

Oh and I also watched the Streisand Star Is Born a few days ago, which feeds my opinion about their mediocrity. (Yes, I know the Didion-Dunnes said they did scripts purely for the money, but this was really shit.).

I'm not ready to pronounce everyone involved as "mediocre." I mean, compared to what?

My impression so far (more than halfway through the book) is that Griffin has had a very interesting life, and met a lot of notable people. I admire the way he's able to tell his story in a way that is very self-aware and engaging.

I didn't say they were bad or boring, but there are people who do what they did better and weren't as good at networking. They knew the right people, starting with Grandpa Dunne putting Nick and John in prestigious northeastern prep schools. In Joan Didion's case, people pretty much accepted her being an authority on social commentary from the gate because she's so damned good at prose. She got her job at Vogue for it.

All of them leveraged their contexts masterfully, and I can respect that craft more than the craft exhibited in their produced works.

[quote]It's ok if you're into the gossipy side of their lives

Gossip is to the Dunnes like Olive Oil was to the Corleones. I was also impressed with Griffin's writing. Better than his father.

In both the Didion doc and Griffin's book, Griffin talks about how Joan would stop phone conversations, get John on the extension, then have Griffin tell them both when his stories were particularly gossipy. Joan said that was common practice for her and John to share the line on gossipy phone conversations like that.

R165 - How old was Griffin when he kept falling for that?

He was a teenager, r166. The example Griffin gave was when he was accosted by a paranoid Otto Preminger who was tripping his balls off at the launch party for [italic] The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test[/italic]. Griffin mistook Preminger for Colonel Klink from Hogan's Heros.

Carey Lowell gets around.

I'm about halfway through. He's a good writer, but I'm underwhelmed.

The murder trial chapter is a long slog.

I'm really liking it. He's got his father's knack with a good story. He's talking about being Ruth Ford's social secretary at the Dakota and being fondled by Truman Capote and Tennessee Williams at a dinner party:

"Truman led the handsy charge when I leaned over to reach his empty glass and he pinched my ass, making me squeal like an Elizabethan barmaid."

"When Tennessee managed to get a handful of both my balls, Ruth spoke for the first time since dinner was served. 'You know Tennessee,' she drawled, 'this boy,' as you call him, happens to be the nephew of Joan Didion, whom I always though you were rather fond of.

"Tennessee's hand snapped away from my crotch as if he'd been bitten by an asp. Embarrassment drained his complexion, and he pushed away a glass of vodka on ice in self-revulsion. After composing himself he looked me directly in the eye. 'Young man,' he began, 'though I don't know your aunt well, I adore her words and deeply apologize for my disgraceful behavior. Won't you please sit with us."

"He grabbed an empty high-back chair and told Truman to 'scoot over.' His apology impressed me, and I joined the group with no ill will. I had been groped by men since my earliest teens, and though I realize a younger generation has felt lifelong trauma from similar abuse, I had no such reaction, and accepted my abashment as the price for being young and attractive. I pass no judgment on that generation or my own."

It’s ok, he was molested by famous men.

Plus, he was a horny youngster and he's get it anyway he could? Guys can't be molested.

R173 = rage farmer 😡👨‍🌾

[quote] His apology impressed me, and I joined the group with no ill will.

That's because you're a name-dropping superficiality like your father. If what Williams did was self-admittedly disgraceful it would be disgraceful if he did it to a young person WITHOUT a famous aunt. Treating people better based on who they're related to is the fucking worst.

I'm halfway through and I'm really starting to detest this guy.

I wanted to like Griffin because he had a self-hateful gay father and a sweet, kind sister who was destroyed and killed because she was mistakenly kind to a sociopath.

Yet he's telling us getting manhandled because his auntie was famous was totally OK, replete with a literary giant's "apology" not wondering if Tennessee might have "drunkenly" escalated into outright rape.

Griffin seems more unconcerned than Susan Collins.

I'm trying to imagine Ruth Ford boiling over while this groping was going on. Griffin is a name-dropper like his dad but he does it in a way where he isn't too impressed, it's just everyday life. The part where he describes the genesis of his family fortune which comes from his mother's side, apparently has to do with train wheels. And Griffin lets us know often that he is riding on a train equipped with these wheels. But he's never cloying like Dominick could be and he has a better sense of humor. It's a better family memoir than a lot of other Hollywood brats have done..

Ruth Ford was married to Zachary “Monte Beragon” Scott.

[quote]It’s ok, he was molested by famous men.

I feel his pain.

Don't be so sure John was straight. His marriage to Joan was fraught.

Ruth Ford

JGD's novel "Vegas: A Memoir of a Dark Season" (1974) is very funny.

Am I the only one who actually enjoyed “Who’s That Girl?” It’s dreadful as a serious comedy but campy as hell! It’s so bad it’s good.

Ruth Ford also lived with bi hustler Dotson Rader before he was stolen away by Tennessee Williams, maybe at the same dinner party! She ended up leaving her entire estate to her Nepalese houseboy.

[quote]Don't be so sure John was straight. His marriage to Joan was fraught.

He cheated on her with women. Probably to assuage his bruised ego at being the less talented spouse by far.

I got the impression that Dominic harbored resentment towards his brother John, and Joan because he felt they had stature in the literary world that he lacked. As successful as Dominic washenever felt his work was taken seriously as Joan's or John's.

Irish-American siblings is all I needed to know about John and Dominick when it comes to why they don't get along.

Would you please clarify r187? I don’t know much about Irish-American siblings.

r188 - tiny penis envy.

[quote]Yet he's telling us getting manhandled because his auntie was famous was totally OK, replete with a literary giant's "apology" not wondering if Tennessee might have "drunkenly" escalated into outright rape.

Oh please, guys have been getting groped by men forever but, unless you're looking for a payout, it's no big deal. I never took it as a compliment but it didn't scar me for life.

That may be fine for you, but some people have different attitudes about their body and who should be touching it. The onus is not on the person being touched to figure themselves out and stop that shit.

I was touched on the onus once.

I was touched by an Angel.

Ok, it was a drag queen dressed like Della Reese in a crowded piano bar and would probably be considered more of a bump, but give me a break because it’s all I got.

I was touched on the onus by an angel from Uranus.

When I was a kid my parents took us to the Bahamas for a vacation at the end of February, and there was a little girl, a local, whose mother worked in housekeeping and she would play with us all morning. He name was ...Dellareese! All one word. I got such a kick out of that and so did my parents.

I'm almost done with this and really enjoyed it. I'm looking to read similar memoirs now about coming of age in the 70s-80s with LA or NYC as a backdrop. Any recommendations?

I'm just did Elaine May's biography and it's got a lot of both, but the front third or so is late 50's-60's.

I'm reading it now. It's very entertaining. But they all do seem like a bunch of twats.

R195, singer Della Reese's birth name was Delloreese Patricia Early. Her daughter was named Deloreese Daniels. Other than those 2 Del(l)oreeses, I don't I've encountered anybody else with that name.

[quote]I was touched on the onus by an angel from Uranus.

on the road to Morocco.

I really enjoyed reading his dad's memoir, great photos of old time actors and performers.

I don't understand his mother at all. Was she also closeted? She knew she was married to a gay social climber. After they divorced, Griffin writes, she continued to cling on to gay men.

Does Griffin say he once had sex with another man to see if he enjoyed it or not?

r203, yes. he feared it was genetic.

Well he could have asked me. My father was a dog when it came to women. He would not have cared if every other man disappeared from the planet. He loved being surrounded by women. To him being attracted to another man would be like being attracted to a 2 x 4.

oh my

Is there a better name than Dotson Rader?

[quote]Is there a better name than Dotson Rader?

Semolina Beaterbars

Why was Joan Didion so beloved? Her writing was so cold, detached, and remote. and humorless!!

I agree about Didion. Loved Slouching Toward Bethlehem but, yeah, I found her later writing to be what R209 describes. They also treated Dunne like crap.

Joan Didion took herself very seriously.

I liked Dommie. He had a sense of humor and was honest about what a climber he was in his young years.

Joan Didion was a grifter just as much as she was a writer, and she did indeed take that very seriously. While she is a very good writer, she was a much better social climber and was very much of her time. Her work will not age well because the contexts in which she placed herself won't matter to future generations and her themes are not universal enough to last.

And that includes The Year of Magical Thinking, which was was so personalized that it won't make sense to people 30 years from now.

Wasn't Didion a pill cabinet raider when invited to dinner parties? Or am I thinking of another literary person?

^ That was me.

[quote]And that includes The Year of Magical Thinking, which was was so personalized that it won't make sense to people 30 years from now.

That's the book that turned me off her forever. I realize it was a hard time for her having lost her husband and daughter but I felt like more of an unpaid therapist than a reader. She just free associated for a few hundred pages.

Jesus, this whole booze soaked white family finds themselves so fascinating, huh?

I read the book and loved it, as should anyone who likes true tales of Hollywood. Griffin seems pretty self-aware about how privileged he and his family can come off and it certainly may not have helped with the judge at the murder trial. On a side note, I was taken aback to read about how the Dunnes and their kin ate at the same restaurant as the jurors almost daily. Seems like a really bad idea.

R218 I loved it too. I'm looking for another memoir now that is as interesting as this was.

Loved it, but would honestly like another from Griffin focusing on his career. We definitely got the early years here, but I would like a more in depth memoir about his work.

Griffin can definitely tell a story as well as his father.

John Gregory Dunne seems like a colossal snob.

Was Didion the diet coke addict who had one can left in the fridge and somebody drank it so when she went to get it she went into a wild rage?

i love dommo dunne

Oh God, Joan Didion braless in that OP photo.

Enjoyed the book.

Does Joan Didion’s writing matter anymore? In this age of Trump, an extremist Supreme Court, the rollback of voting rights and reproductive rights and the looming plot to destroy the country in Project 25 …. and everyone sitting on their asses allowing this to happen…

Does the writing of a wealthy, pampered woman who cared so much about the right tablecloth matter to anyone under 60?

Griffin Dunne ... wasn't he married recently? Was he quietly div?

BUMP for dunne dunne dunnzo

I read an article by a Didion fanatic who talked about Didion’s sadness at the disappearance of fields and trees and farms in her hometown and found that it was Didion’s family who sold the land to McDonald’s, other chain stores and tract home developers. Didion failed to mention her genteel family’s wealth came from selling off the family land to developers

I'll bet Joan never had a Big Mac in her life.

[quote]Wasn't Didion a pill cabinet raider when invited to dinner parties? Or am I thinking of another literary person?

Julia Phillips was a friend of theirs and wrote about peeping in their medicine cabinet. They had EVERYTHING.

R177, I imagine she wasn’t very scandalized. Her brother was an avowed homosexualist who wrote what is considered to be the first modern gay novel.

Didion had style. She’ll be remembered as long as readers remember Hunter S. Thompson and Tom Wolfe. They all had a distinctive, influential writing style that you morons just take for granted nowadays. It was highly influential at the time.

Not interested in your opportunities for cheap abuse, r233. F&F.

The best anecdote in the book is about Frederick Combs, (Donald from The Boys in the Band). Evidently he became close friends with adult Griffin and told him how heartbroken his father had been when he did not reciprocate his love for him back in the 70s. So toward the end of his life he calls adult Griffin, and he sounds very sick, and there is all this background noise. He tells Griffin he is in LA County Hospital's AIDS ward because his SAG insurance had run out. Griffin was producing a film, WHITE PALACE, at the time, and got him a job as an "actor", knowing he couldn't dp it - but his insurance kicked in right away, and Combs was able to go home with hospice care, and died in his own bed in his own home. in 1992.

Where Dominick was or his reaction is not mentioned.

I wept 4 or 5 times while listening to this book. It was really moving.

R235, if that's true, he's a real mensch.

Just finished this book. Very interesting and engaging read.

Why did Lenny marry Dom? It was clear why he married HER ($$)

Does Griffin have a spanking fetish? When he was a kid, he sent a paddle to Jackie Kennedy to use on John-John. And later he got paddled himself at an all-boys school.

Anybody watch The Simpsons last night?

I loved the book and was so happy to find and read this thread.

Reading it now, didn't know that Griffin had a brother

r243, I believe Alex, the brother, struggles with mental illness and lives rurally in Oregon