dominick dunne cause of death dominick dunne cause of death

But what is most frightening is the death of the . Scuba Certification; Private Scuba Lessons; Scuba Refresher for Certified Divers; Try Scuba Diving; Enriched Air Diver (Nitrox) Sweeney said that he also vomited, ran into Dunne's house, and consumed two bottles of pills, in an attempt to kill himself. Dunne was born in 1925 in Hartford, Connecticut, the second of six children of Richard Edwin Dunne, a hospital chief of staff and a heart surgeon, and Dorothy Frances (ne Burns). Zev Braun, a TV and film producer whose credits include the acclaimed CBS Vietnam War series Tour of Duty (1987-1990), died peacefully in Los Angeles on Oct. 17, just two days shy of his 91st birth High society novelist, true crime writer. Dominick Dunne, who gave up producing movies in midlife and reinvented himself as a best-selling author, magazine writer, television personality and reporter whose celebrity often outshone that of his subjects, died Wednesday at his home in Manhattan. He claimed that they had reconciled, that they were planning to move back in together, and that the two had daily discussions about getting married and having children. The octogenarian attended the trial against doctors orders, unable to resist what promised to be the final curtain in a protracted saga. He was 83. [41], On November 7, Sweeney was sentenced to six years in prison for manslaughter, which was the maximum sentence which he could have received, with an additional six months for the assault charge. [11] At the time of his death, he was working on Too Much Money. Speigel went on to say that had the jury been provided with the opportunity to hear all of the evidence, it would have convicted Sweeney of murder. Sean Elder's review of Dunne's memoir, The Way We Lived Then, recounted how Dunne appeared at a wedding reception for Dennis Hopper, writing, "But in the midst of it all, there was one man who was getting what ceramic artist Ron Nagle would call 'the full cheese,' one guy everyone gravitated toward and paid obeisance to. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our User Agreement and Privacy Policy and Cookie Statement and Your California Privacy Rights. Trial To Be Last", "Crime Writer Rushed From O.J. Murder with malice". Dominique's cause of death was murder by strangulation. On October 30, 1982, a few weeks after Sweeney and Dunne broke up, Dunne was at her West Hollywood home rehearsing for the miniseries V with actor David Packer. Mr. Dunne went on to cover the trials of Claus von Bulow, Michael C. Skakel, William Kennedy Smith, Erik and Lyle Menendez, and Phil Spector, as well as the impeachment of President Bill Clinton. His willingness to entertain nearly any source made him the target of an $11-million defamation lawsuit by former California Rep. Gary Condit after Dunne told a bizarre, unsubstantiated story on national television and radio programs that implicated Condit in the 2001 disappearance of Washington intern Chandra Levy. At 22, despite her death, Dominique's heart and kidneys still functioned perfectly . Mother of actor Griffin Dunne and author Alexander Dunne. The man was later identified as the . What I saw in the courtroom filled me with the kind of rage that only writing about it could quell., The 1984 article that his journal became, Justice: A Fathers Account of the Trial of His Daughters Killer, was a powerfully dry-eyed indictment of the legal proceedings that found Sweeney guilty of the lesser charge of voluntary manslaughter. Dominick Dunne. At Michaels restaurant in Manhattan, a favorite gathering spot of the news media elite, Mr. Dunne could often be found at his regular corner table receiving admirers. In November 2006, Condit again sued Dunne for comments Dunne made about him on Larry King Live on CNN. It gave me a lifelong commitment not to be afraid to speak out about injustice.. Looking for books by Dominick Dunne? Dominique Ellen Dunne (November 23, 1959 November 4, 1982) was an American actress. The cause of death was Parkinson's disease, according to Paul Bogaards, an executive at Didion's publisher Knopf. Ad Choices, The 42 Best Romantic Comedies of All Time, The 25 Best Shows on Netflix to Watch Right Now, Prince Harry on Williams Hairline and Their Wicked Stepmother. Im sick of being asked to weep for killers, Mr. Dunne often said. I knew everyones back story. She has been attracted by many of the boys where she has also been involved in it and later she broke up. herculoids gloop and gleep sounds Her parents were actors, and she was the youngest of three siblings. After graduating in 1949, he moved to New York, where he became stage manager for television shows and later an assistant to the producer of Playhouse 90. In 1954 he married Ellen Griffin, who was known as Lenny and with whom he had two sons, Griffin and Alexander, in addition to Dominique. He became a nonperson in the industry. Sweeney said that he attempted to revive her by making her walk around, but she fell down. Privileged or not, Dunne worked very hard, always arriving at the courthouse early and recording every wink and nod. She later sustained a broken nose. My jobs never qualified me for the strata of Hollywood we moved in, he recalled. The consummate insider and relentless crusader, Dunne chronicles the arrogance that leads the rich to believe they are above the law. He denied assaulting Dunne, however, claiming that she accidentally incurred the bruises when he tried to prevent her from leaving their home. Like Truman Capote, another social chronicler, Dunne often bit the well-manicured hands that fed him. Dominick Dunne, who gave up producing movies in midlife and reinvented himself as a best-selling author, magazine writer, television personality and reporter whose celebrity often . Image: Warner Bros. Dunne (pictured above, far left), who played the eldest daughter Dana in the first film, was strangled by her abusive ex-boyfriend, John . There are various reasons for a person's death, like health issues, accidents, suicide, etc. [48], This article is about the actress. The Hartford Courant, Dominick Dunne papers at the Briscoe Center for American History, The Interviews: An Oral History of Television, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Dominick_Dunne&oldid=1140799119, This page was last edited on 21 February 2023, at 21:19. An investigative journalist, writer, and movie producer, he is best known for works such as The Two Mrs. Grenvilles (1985), People Like Us (1988), and The Mansions of Limbo (1991). He was a producer in Hollywood and is also known from his frequent appearances on television. According to Dunne's father, Pellicano reported that Sweeney had moved to the Pacific Northwest, assumed the name John Maura, and continued to work as a chef. Sweeney openly admitted to attempting to kill Dominique and then himself. His father, Richard, was a heart surgeon, and although the family was well-off, his childhood was not happy. The documentary series Dominick Dunnes Power, Privilege and Justice premiered on Court TV in June 2002. He also was a wily analyst of character, revealing mores, conceits and other flaws through well-observed details and scenes in which he was as much a participant as a reporter. He was 83. There, he said, he overcame his personal demons and wrote his first book, The Two Mrs. Grenvilles. Dominick Dunne was born on the 29th of October, 1925. A woman calls police worried there's water flowing out from her neighbour's front door. The cause of death was bladder cancer, said his son . I had some hot information about Skakel, Mr. Dunne said, and I knew Fuhrman would bring it to attention.. [40] The jury's foreman, Paul Speigel, later told the media that both he and his fellow jurors were surprised by Judge Katz's criticism and he called his comment "a cheap shot. Speigel felt that Judge Katz's criticism did not stem from their verdict but from the harsh criticism he received afterward. Dominique Ellen Dunne (November 23, 1959 - November 4, 1982) was an American actress. She came from a creative family; her father Dominick Dunne was a film producer and her aunt and uncle were novelists. He never hesitated to admit that his sympathetic stance stemmed from the murder of his daughter, Dominique, by John Sweeney, her ex-boyfriend, in 1982. [26] She never regained consciousness. Mr. Dunnes speaking out led to a lawsuit for slander filed by Gary Condit, a Democratic congressman from California, over remarks Mr. Dunne had made on national radio and television in 2001. Dunne himself professed astonishment when he earned a Bronze Star during World War II for rescuing a wounded soldier at the Battle of the Bulge. People just loved to talk to him., When the Simpson trial opened in 1995, Dunnes sympathy for the victims was so well-known that Judge Lance Ito assigned him a front-row seat in the courtroom. [24], To establish a history of Sweeney's violent behavior, the prosecution called one of Sweeney's ex-girlfriends, Lillian Pierce, and asked her to testify. Having reported on Simpson's first trial and having thought the judicial system failed the families of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ron Goldmanas well as his own family after his daughter's murderhe was personally vested in Simpson's fate. Hollywood outcast, best-selling author and chronicler of the rich and famous, Dominick Dunne was one of the world's leading journalists and society commentators. It was released globally and featured Johnnie Cochran, Griffin Dunne, and producer David Brown. For his full interview, see http://www.emmytvlegends.org/interviews/people/dominick-dunne alexander dunne death. What was indisputable was that Dunne -- with his silver hair, tortoiseshell glasses and Turnbull & Asser finery -- became a celebrity in his own right, sympathizing with crime victims, skewering the perpetrators and riding in limousines to his front-row seat at their trials. After his Army service, he attended Williams College, where he and a group that included Stephen Sondheim started a theater. He turned to writing in the . The Mass was held Thursday at St. Vincent Ferrer Church in Manhattan, where stars such as Richard Gere, Julianna Margulies, Liev Schreiber . Season 1. In a surreal scene, Dunne found himself following Reynolds into Sunny von Bulows former bedroom, where Reynolds had expensive garments laid out on the bed. Dunne, however, wanted to forge her own path and pursued acting (via Reel Reviews). Dominique Dunne. Reports say sweeney an ex of dunnes had routinely abused her causing. Know the death cause and wife Joan Didion. [13] It went on to become a critical and commercial success,[14] becoming the eighth-highest-grossing film of 1982,[15] and since its release it has acquired a cult following. According to an email sent to several sources by Paul Bogaards, an executive at Didion's publisher Knopf it was announced that the cause of death was Parkinson's disease. Dunne told the friend that Sweeney had tried to kill her, but Sweeney denied the claim and asked Dunne to come back to bed. Drafted into the Army during his senior year in high school, Mr. Dunne fought in the Battle of the Bulge and won both his fathers admiration and a Bronze Star for crawling past Nazi sentries and carrying back a wounded soldier. Vanity Fair editor Graydon Carter remembers Dominick Dunne, Writer-at-large Marie Brenner remembers her late friend and colleague Dominick Dunne, 2023 Cond Nast. Gender: Female Religion: Roman Catholic Race or Ethnicity: White Sexual orientation: Straight His obsession with the case inspired Another City, Not My Own (1997), a novel in the form of a memoir based on his involvement in the Simpson murder trial. They insisted that he went to Dunne's home on October 30 in an effort to persuade her to reconcile after she told him that their break up was permanent. [16], Dunne was married to Ellen Beatriz Griffin from 1954 to 1965. Home. The spokesman had initially declined to confirm the death, saying the family had hoped to wait a day before making an announcement so that Mr. Dunnes obituary would not be obscured by the coverage of Senator Edward M. Kennedys death. After graduation, she spent a year in Florence, Italy, where she learned Italian. All the people who dumped me years before were now giving dinner parties for me, he said during Mr. Simpsons trial. Dominick Dunne (1925-2009) was the author of five bestselling novels, two collections of essays, and "The Way We Lived Then," a memoir with photographs. movies and played a role the 1982 film Poltergeist. A collection of essays, Fatal Charms (Crown), was published in 1987, and his memoir, The Way We Lived Then: Recollections of a Well-Known Name Dropper (Crown), was published in 1999. He apologized to Condit and paid an undisclosed sum to settle the lawsuit in 2005. Then came the tragedy that would define the second half of his life: His actress-daughter, Dominique, 22, was strangled by her boyfriend, John Sweeney, a chef at a tony West Hollywood restaurant. But by this time drugs and alcohol had become an unmanageable part of his life, and in 1975 he drove himself up to the woods in Oregon. The tv actress Dominique Dunne died at the age of 22. If I hadnt kept that journal, as Tina suggested, I would have gone mad, Dunne later wrote. The marriage ended in divorce in 1965. He is survived by his sons and a granddaughter, Hannah. Dominick Dunne, a special correspondent for Vanity Fair and best-selling author, died Wednesday at his home in Manhattan after battling bladder cancer. Justice (Crown), a collection of articles that had appeared in Vanity Fair, was published in 2001. That was when he knew that my demise as a film producer was imminent. He had no more work and was so broke he sold his dog. Born Oct. 29, 1925, he was the second of six children in a wealthy Hartford, Conn., family. (1983) and filmed several scenes before she was murdered. [24], During Pierce's testimony, Sweeney became enraged, jumped up from his seat, and ran towards the door leading to the judge's chambers. After the war, he attended Williams College, from which he graduated in 1949. Dunne stopped the car long enough for Sweeney to jump off the hood and then she drove away. He had gotten the idea a few years earlier, after a chance encounter in the Beverly Hills Hotel with a Washington Post writer who went to college with Stephen. Pierce, who, at the request of Sweeney's attorney, did not testify in the jury's presence, stated that she and Sweeney had dated on and off from 1977 to 1980. He told me there was nothing people liked more than reading about the rich and powerful in criminal situations, Mr. Dunne said. Despite the brutality of the crime committed against her, Dominique Dunne's killer, John Thomas Sweeney, got only six years in prison. [8], Dunne attended Harvard-Westlake School in Los Angeles, Taft School in Watertown, Connecticut, and Fountain Valley School in Fountain, Colorado. I always kept scrap books and saved everything. His story on the Safra slaying, for instance, was an engrossing brew of fact and rank speculation as only Dunne could produce. Although ill, he covered Simpsons recent armed robbery trial in Las Vegas, which resulted in a pronouncement of guilt -- a verdict that Dunne awaited for more than a decade. As part of the settlement, Dunne issued a brief statement that it was not his intention to imply that Mr. Condit was complicit in Levys disappearance." Dunne told her friend, "Oh God, it's Sweeney. This is his story. Sweeney meanwhile was facing first degree murder charges. Death 26 Aug 2009 (aged 83) . "[10] That man was Dunne, who mixed easily with artists, actors, and writers present at the function. She asked him to keep a journal during the trial and come see her when it was over. He attributed his success to his being a good listener. Mr. Dunne said this had created an environment that led to Ms. Levys disappearance. Nothing could have pleased me more, Dunne recalled in his 1999 memoir, The Way We Lived Then: Recollections of a Well-Known Name Dropper. I knew all the players. [7], Dominique Dunne, most known for her role in the film Poltergeist, was strangled to death by her ex-boyfriend, John Sweeney, on November 4, 1982. In November 1982, his daughter, Dominique Dunne, best known for her part in the film Poltergeist, was murdered by strangulation. Devastated when his wife asked for a divorce She was the real thing, and I became a fake, he said he declined into a hopeless alcoholic, he admitted, and started to use cocaine. The film producer Dominick Dunne died at the age of 83. [1] Born and raised in Santa Monica, California, Dunne studied acting at Milton Katselas' Workshop, where she appeared in stage productions. He didnt invite us, Dunne noted whenever he told the story. We were like minor-league Kennedys.. At Sweeney's sentencing, Judge Katz criticized the jury's verdict of manslaughter, stating that he felt that Dunne's death was "A case, pure and simple, of murder. The cause was bladder cancer, according to the Vanity Fair website, where his death was announced. [6] Her godparents were Maria Cooper-Janis, daughter of actors Gary Cooper and Veronica "Rocky" Cooper, and producer Martin Manulis. From her greed is good heyday to her post-divorce denouement cavorting with a series of freaky Italian lovers, it was Ivana, all along, who gilded the Trump name. Dominick Dunne, a best-selling author and special correspondent for Vanity Fair, died today at his home in Manhattan. Sweeney was convicted of manslaughter and served less than four years of his six-and-half year sentence. [5] Although his Irish Catholic family was affluent, Dunne recalled feeling like an outsider in the predominantly WASP West Hartford suburb where he grew up.[3]. Dominique Dunne was born in Santa Monica. [15] Vanity Fair paid tribute to Dunne and his extensive contributions to the magazine in its November 2009 issue. As a boy, Dunne was known as Nicky. [13] He died on August 26, 2009, at his home in Manhattan[14] and was buried at Cove Cemetery, in the shadow of Gillette Castle in Hadlyme, Connecticut. [1] Dunne had Irish and Mexican ancestry, her father was born and raised in an Irish Catholic family with her maternal grandfather an Irish-American and her maternal grandmother a Mexican who was from Sonora, Mexico. When Elisabeth Finch met Jennifer Beyer in 2019, the two women forged a fiercely loyal friendship, and eventually got married. He also reported on Mr. Simpsons murder trial. By 1957 he was in Santa Monica, Calif.; a year later he was producing at 20th Century Fox and living in Beverly Hills. 5-star. [12] On September 22, 2008, Dunne complained of intense pain, and was taken by ambulance to Valley Hospital. Dunne began his career in New York City as the stage manager of The Howdy Doody Show, and in 1957 he moved to Hollywood, where he became the executive producer of the television series Adventures in Paradise. Many of his subjects were friends from his previous life, such as Elizabeth Taylor and Gloria Vanderbilt. He went on to become both a champion for justice and a companion to an international cast of high-society characters, tales of which he recounted in his monthly diary for the magazine. A television station polled viewers, and found Judge Katz to be the fourth worst judge in Los Angeles County. Dunne was a television and film producer for two decades until drugs and alcohol ruined him. For her father, the author, see, Posthumous releases and unfinished projects, Last edited on 25 February 2023, at 09:09, assault with intent to do great bodily harm, "Murder of a horror queen: The tragic tale of Dominique Dunne", "Strangled Actress: Did Slayer's Penalty Fit His Crime? Actress who appeared in several T.V. . 12.5.34-12.23.21.". It caused a lot of commotion at the hospital, he said. Ellen Griffin Dunne, from whom he was divorced in 1965, died in 1997. 1. Dunne had written extensively about the bizarre death of Edmond Safra, the billionaire banker who, in 1999, suffocated from a fire set inside his heavily secured Monte Carlo penthouse. In an effort to save face, Judge Katz criticized the jury at Sweeney's November 7 th sentencing. In 2003, in a 14,000-word article in The Atlantic Monthly arguing that the case against his cousin was flawed and had left reasonable doubt, Mr. Kennedy accused Mr. Dunne of intimidating prosecutors and helping to drive the news media into a frenzy to lynch the fat kid., Mr. Dunne said in The Times interview that he had also been a source of information for a book that Mark Fuhrman was writing about the Skakel trial. After the 1982 murder of his daughter Dominique, an actress, he began to write about the interaction of wealth and high society with the judicial system. Ezra Millers Messiah Delusions: Inside. In the episode, she played a teenage mother who was a victim of parental abuse and chose to give her baby up for adoption, out of fear of repeating the cycle of abuse that she endured with her parents; due to an altercation with John Sweeney, her abusive partner, her bruises on screen were natural. DOMINICK DUNNE reports why Hollywood's most stylish gamine shunned the superficialities of show biz and found the cause that redefined her life Aug. 26, 2009. Packer left the home through the back entrance, approached the driveway, and saw Sweeney in some nearby bushes, kneeling over Dunne. In 1969, he was arrested for possession of marijuana. Packer then phoned a friend and told him that if he was found dead, John Sweeney was his killer. Living alone in a cabin, he became sober and began, at age 50, to write. He began his career in film and television as a producer of the pioneering gay film The Boys in the Band (1970) and as the producer of the award-winning drug film The Panic in Needle Park (1971). Dominique Dunne's Early Life, Education. [33], On September 21, 1983, after eight days of deliberation, the jury acquitted John Sweeney of second-degree murder but found him guilty of the lesser charge of voluntary manslaughter. I just lost my temper and blew it again. Six years later he was being treated in a hospital when, he said, he decided to leave. When Dunne wasnt covering a sensational trial, he was writing intimate profiles of movie stars, socialites and newsmakers -- the only person writing about high society from inside the aquarium, former Vanity Fair editor Tina Brown once said. His father was a renowned heart surgeon and a hospital chief of staff. He and his wife hosted lavish parties at their Beverly Hills home, most notably a black-and-white ball for their 10th wedding anniversary in 1964 with a guest list that included Nancy and Ronald Reagan, Natalie Wood, David Niven, Billy Wilder, Gina Lollobrigida and Capote, whose fame was about to peak as the author of In Cold Blood. The party inspired Capote to give his own black-and-white ball two years later at New Yorks Plaza Hotel, a legendary affair that included 500 of the biggest names in literature, Hollywood and society. [23] Due to Sweeney's jealousy and possessiveness, however, the relationship quickly deteriorated. Dunne began working at the . He was unique, veteran Associated Press trial reporter Linda Deutsch told The Times recently. Dunne also had a recurring role on the comedy-drama television series, Breaking Away, and she also appeared in several other television films. [27] Her funeral was held on November 6 at the Church of the Good Shepherd in Beverly Hills. other kin relationship with Dunne, Hannah (born 8 April 1990). The only footage of her which remains in the miniseries is a shot of her . He later admitted that some of his controversial rulings in Dunne's case "pained" him, but he reiterated his thought that Sweeney should have been convicted of murder and given a lengthier sentence. If, as Capote said, all literature is gossip, Dunne was a believer. In addition to his son Griffin, of Manhattan, Dunne is survived by another son, Alex, of Portland, Oregon, and a granddaughter, Hannah. By 1970, he was producing films. On October 29, 2009 (what would have been Dunne's 84th birthday), many of his family and friends gathered at the Chateau Marmont to celebrate his life. When youre down and out, theres no meaner place to live than Hollywood. Pierce claimed that during the relationship, Sweeney had assaulted her on ten separate occasions, and as a result, she was hospitalized twice for the injuries which she sustained. Episode 3. Five months after the release of the movie, with her career beginning to blossom, Dominique would be strangled to death at her West Hollywood apartment by her estranged boyfriend John Sweeney. Even as his health declined, he would show up in his trademark round glasses and a Turnbull & Asser shirt, with the proper white collar and large blue stripes. Five months after the release of the movie with her career . Dominique Ellen Dunne (November 23, 1959 - November 4, 1982) was an American actress. But I was convinced I was going to die, and the room was not the right setting for my death scene. Whether writing of Claus von Blow's romp through two trials; the Los Angeles media frenzy surrounding O.J. He attended the . All rights reserved. She was set to star in the miniseries V in 1982, but died during the filming.Dominique Dunne was born in 1950s. At one point he sold all his possessions including, for $300, his dog, a West Highland terrier. She left The Times in 2015. Reporters for major newspapers, including The Times, were relegated to the rear. Dominique Dunne's murder is the sort of shocking event that most films don't have hanging over their initial release it's true, and the death of Heather O'Rourke aged 12 is the sort of tragedy that will capture the imagination of the conspiracy-minded. He later chronicled high-profile criminal trials and high society as a correspondent and columnist for Vanity Fair magazine. Though she left behind several notable turns on television and one bonafide blockbuster in "Poltergeist" (1982), actress Dominique Dunne's lasting fame came as a result of her violent death at the hands of a deranged boyfriend in 1982. John Gregory Dunne was born on the 25th May 1932 and collapsed to his demise bed on the 30th December 2003. The daughter of film producer-turned-journalist Dominick. Dunne was a frequent contributor to Vanity Fair, and, beginning in the 1980s, often appeared on television discussing crime. He mocked me and often beat me with a wooden coat hanger, and although we belonged to WASP clubs, we were never a part of things. He is survived by his sons Griffin, an actor and director of New York, and Alexander of Portland, Ore.; and a granddaughter, Hannah Dunne. One annoyed reporter called Dunne Judith Krantz in pants.. The series is dedicated to her memory. He apologized to the court for the outburst, which Judge Katz accepted. Dominick Dunne, a best-selling author and special correspondent for Vanity Fair, died today at his home in Manhattan. Dominick Dunne attended the trial of John Thomas Sweeney, Dominique's ex-boyfriend. Her kidneys and heart were donated for transplant. . Dunne was born in Santa Monica, California, the youngest child of Ellen Beatriz "Lenny" (ne Griffin), a ranching heiress, and Dominick Dunne, a writer, producer, and actor. [40] Afterward, several media outlets also debated the events of the trial and the verdict. Go here to read about the Death of Jayne Mansfield (and no, she wasn't decapitated). In the past year Mr. Dunne traveled to the Dominican Republic and Germany for experimental stem-cell treatments to fight his cancer, at one point writing that he and the actress Farrah Fawcett, who died in June, were in the same Bavarian clinic. Two children, both girls, died within days of being born. I made no pretense of doing balanced reporting about murder, he wrote in his memoir. The primary source of his income was his successful long-term career as an American novelist, screenwriter, and literary critic. Dominick John Dunne (October 29, 1925 - August 26, 2009) was an American writer, investigative journalist, and producer. Fri 03 Mar 18:00. And his last book, Too Much Money: A Novel, is scheduled for publication in December 2009 by Random House. She covered public education and filled a variety of editing assignments before joining the dead beat news obituaries where she has produced artful pieces on celebrated local, national and international figures, including Norman Mailer, Julia Child and Rosa Parks. Dominick Dunne at his home in Manhattan in 2002. Dunne had recovered from prostate cancer in 2001 but was diagnosed with bladder cancer last year. His final novel, "Too Much Money," will be published in December 2009. In 1980, Dunne moved back to New York and saw eight of his books become bestsellers. He achieved perhaps his widest fame from his reporting of the O. J. Simpson murder trial in 1994 and 1995 and later as the host of the program Dominick Dunnes Power, Privilege and Justice, on what was then Court TV (now TruTV). For more than two decades, Vanity Fair published Dominick Dunne's brilliant, revelatory chronicles of the most famous crimes, trials, and punishments of our time. Dominique Dunne, most known for her role in the film Poltergeist, was strangled by her ex-boyfriend John Sweeney, resulting in her death on November 4, 1982. Dominique Dunne was born on the 23rd of November, 1959. All are welcome! For the next few days, she stayed with her mother and she also stayed at the homes of her friends. Sweeney told Packer to call the police. One of his brothers was John Gregory Dunne, the late screenwriter and novelist who was married to another literary celebrity, Joan Didion. Born and raised in Santa Monica, California, Dunne studied acting at Milton Katselas' Workshop, where she appeared in stage productions.