— “knowing I was broke”: Briscoe journal, 1979–80.
— Advocate Experience/“uncheered”/“revenge”: Carby to author; Hardy to author; Briscoe letter, November 10, 1979.
94 “Dear Kids” letter: Briscoe letter, January 21, 1979; Hardy to author.
— Mengers wearing a dildo: Briscoe letter, December 5, 1979.
95 “I had a young, rich”: Briscoe letter, November 4, 1979.
— “It’s Chasen’s”: Stiefel to author.
96 “Grease was the best thing”: Hofler, Party Animals, 119.
— Carr/Stewart/Hamilton party: Dominick Dunne interview, unpublished, with author for Party Animals.
— Stark, Stein, and Wald encounters: Briscoe letter, November 12, 1979; Stark to author.
97 Benny party: Briscoe letters, October 8, 1979, and October 13, 1979; Dominick Dunne: After the Party; D. Dunne, The Way We Lived Then, 197.
Chapter 5
Quotes from Norman Carby (May 23, 2015), Mart Crowley (February 5, 2015), Alex Dunne (May 21, 2015), Freddy Eberstadt (May 6, 2015), Tony Kiser (July 28, 2015), Ciaran McEvoy (April 16, 2015), Wendy Stark (April 8, 2016), and Arnold Stiefel (January 29, 2015) are from interviews with the author, except where noted. Griffin Dunne quotes are from Dominick Dunne: After the Party.
100 “Lunch at the Polo Lounge”: Briscoe letter, November 7, 1979; D. Dunne, The Way We Lived Then, 202.
— Twin View Resort details, anecdotes, and quotes: Carby to author; A. Dunne to author; Tom Keller (October 5, 2015) to author; “Local Woman Remembers Dominick Dunne,” The Nugget, September 1, 2009; David Jasper, “Champ Sherman Gets a Visit,” The Bulletin, November 23, 2007; D. Dunne, The Way We Lived Then, 202–3; Dominic Dunne: After the Party; Briscoe journal, 1979–80; Briscoe letters, September 26, 1979, October 1, 1979, October 10, 1979, October 28, 1979, and November 30, 1979.
102 Linda correspondence: Briscoe letters, September 26, 1979, October 10, 1979, and November 30, 1979.
— John Gregory Dunne correspondence: Briscoe letters, November 11, 1979, and November 29, 1979.
104 therapist correspondence: Briscoe letter, November 29, 1979.
105 Driving south on Highway 1: Dunne interview with author for Variety’s “The Movie That Changed My Life.”
— Bloomingdale energy tips: Briscoe journal, 1979–80.
106 “She loved me”: Dominick Dunne: After the Party.
— Stark wedding: Briscoe journal, 1979–80; Briscoe letter, January 28, 1980; Stark to author.
— Madeline Kahn episode: Briscoe letters, January 28, 1980, and January 30, 1980; Stiefel to author.
107 Stephen Dunne’s suicide: J. G. Dunne, Harp, 19 and 21; D. Dunne, The Way We Lived Then, 210–11; Dominick Dunne: After the Party; Briscoe letters, March 5, 1980, March 9, 1980, March 19, 1980, and August 30, 1986; Briscoe journal, 1979–80.
— “all tapped out”: McEvoy to author.
108 Capote correspondence and Dunne’s reaction: Dan Shaw, “On the Inside, Looking Out,” New York Times, April 11, 1993.
109 hitchhiker episode: Briscoe journal, 1979–80; Caroline Whitman (October 5, 2015) to author.
— “murky circumstances”: Briscoe letter, November 19, 1979; Briscoe journal, 1979–80.
— Spalding Drive sale: Stark to author; Stiefel to author; Whitman to author.
110 “Medici-like” and Fuller apartment: Carby to author; Kiser to author; Briscoe journal, 1979–80; Briscoe letter, July 14, 1980.
— The Razor’s Edge structure: Carby to author; Briscoe letter, November 5, 1979.
— Korda’s rejection: Briscoe letters, September 2, 1980, and October 18, 1980; anonymous source to author.
111 Cal Culver episode: Briscoe letter, August 8, 1980; anonymous source to author.
112 Korda’s acceptance: Briscoe letters, September 2, 1980, September 23, 1980, and October 18, 1980; anonymous source to author.
— “There’s nothing the public”: Dominick Dunne: In Search of Justice.
113 “You need to put”: A. Dunne to author.
— “Yes, I think I can”: Dominick Dunne: After the Party.
Chapter 6
Quotes from Marvin Adelson (September 17, 2015), Stephen Barshop (July 28, 2015), Marie Brenner (October 19, 2015), Norman Carby (May 23, 2015), Linda Deutsch (February 23, 2015), Alex Dunne (May 21, 2015), Susanna Moore (May 4, 2015), Dotson Rader (September 26, 2015), Chris Smith (May 9, 2015), Patrick Terrail (April 21, 2016), Mike Tipping (October 15, 2015), and Joyce Wadler (September 28, 2015) are from interviews with the author, except where noted.
114 “It was a flop”: Dominick Dunne: In Search of Justice.
— “thoughtless spectacle”: Christopher Bagley, “Party Time,” W, October 1999.
— “Joan Didion’s brother-in-law”: D. Dunne, The Way We Lived Then, 188.
— Brown letter: Briscoe letter, January 15, 1981.
116 “these Bukowski characters”: Griffin Dunne, Fresh Air interview, December 15, 2009.
— “Sweeney”: Dominick Dunne, “Justice,” Vanity Fair, March 1984.
— “snob thing because”: James H. Hyde, “Dominick Dunne,” NewEnglandTimes.com, 2009.
117 “No one’s total time”: Dominick Dunne, “Was O.J. Simpson a Loving Father and Brother, or a Cold-Blooded Killer?,” Vanity Fair, September 1995.
— “relay teams”: D. Dunne, “Justice.”
— “You want to know”/Didion phone call: Carby to author; Wadler to author; Eden Collinsworth (April 24, 2015) to author.
118 “Oh, what difference”/“It’s hurtful to us”/“interim object”: D. Dunne, “Justice.”
— “very dependable young man”: “Dominique Dunne Dies in Coma,” Los Angeles Times, November 5, 1982.
— “the best legal counsel”: “‘Poltergeist’ Actress Attacked; Ex-Boyfriend Held,” Santa Monica Evening Outlook, November 3, 1982.
— “would obtain the best”: D. Dunne, “Justice.”
119 “third-rate rich people”: Briscoe letter, January 30, 1983.
— “public relations campaign”/“to incite me”: D. Dunne, “Justice.”
— He died of lymphoma: “Joe Shapiro,” Los Angeles Times, September 25, 1999.
— ICM agent: Briscoe letter, August 30, 1983.
120 “He told me he was off”: Tina Brown, “The Unforgettable Dominick Dunne,” Huffington Post, August 27, 2009.
— “The night before”: Chris Smith, “Dominick Dunne v. Robert Kennedy,” New York, June 23, 2003.
— “this little English wren”: Hyde, “Dominick Dunne.”
— “Tina Brown literally discovered”: Dominick Dunne: After the Party.
— reluctant writer: William Norwich, “Dominick Dunne,” Tatler, September 1992; C. Smith to author.
121 “There are writers who discover”: Brown, “The Unforgettable Dominick Dunne.”
— offered him $15,000: Briscoe letter, June 12, 1983.
— “You shouldn’t be wasting”: Hyde, “Dominick Dunne.”
122 Igor Cassini research: Briscoe journal, July 6, 1983; Liz Smith (November 4, 2015) to author.
123 Annie Hall glasses: D. Dunne, “Justice.”
— Lenny and Dominick’s phone calls: Briscoe journal, 1983.
— POMC: D. Dunne, “Justice”; Briscoe journal, 1983.
124 “Before the first preliminary hearing”: J. G. Dunne, Harp, 107.
— “It’s the last business”: D. Dunne, “Justice.”
— Boh! lunch/Barry Farrell offer: Ibid.; anonymous source to author.
125 Leslie Abramson: Briscoe journal, July 9, 1983; anonymous source to author.
— John and Joan’s secretary: Briscoe letter, July 22, 1983.
— “surrogate sister”: J. G. Dunne, Quintana & Friends, 98.
126 “Let me remind you, Miss Pierce”: D. Dunne, “Justice.”
127 Robert Mitchum: Briscoe letter, July 13, 1983.
— “Ladies and gentlemen, I am going”: D. Dunne,
“Justice.”
128 Carby on witness stand/“a miracle”: Briscoe letter, August 13, 1983; Adelson to author; Carby to author.
129 “Your honor, Alex Dunne”/“I can’t go back”/“His violent past”/“A few jurors”: D. Dunne, “Justice.”
130 Katz and Dunne exchange: Ibid.
— “proudest moment”: G. Dunne, Fresh Air interview.
131 “You don’t know me”: A. Dunne to author.
— “Nick was ready to kill”: Anonymous source to author.
— “I really didn’t want to”: Tony Castro, “Celebrity Crime Reporter Inspired by Own Tragedy,” Daily News, September 27, 2007.
— “My rage needed a release”: Dominick Dunne: In Search of Justice.
132 “Now don’t you talk”: D. Dunne, “Justice.”
— “Dominick had a voice”: Dominick Dunne: After the Party.
— “scraps of paper”: Anonymous sources to author.
Chapter 7
Quotes from Arthur Barens (October 28, 2015) and Gordon Basichis (June 1, 2015) are from interviews with the author, except where noted.
134 police car status symbol: Dominick Dunne, “The Woman Who Knew Too Little,” Vanity Fair, September 1984.
136 “Betsy table”: Ibid.
— giggles in the courtroom: Ibid.
137 “Dominick has been quite clever”: Dominick Dunne: After the Party.
Chapter 8
Quotes from Scotty Bowers (January 11, 2016), Marie Brenner (October 19, 2015), Tracy Breton (September 19, 2016), Alan Dershowitz (February 25, 2016), James Duff (March 4, 2015), John Erman (January 30, 2015), Charles Feldman (July 30, 2015), Preston Stephen Fischer (September 17, 2015), Jonathan Friendly (October 12, 2015), Lucianne Goldberg (February 21, 2015), Judy Hilsinger (January 29, 2015), David Kuhn (August 25, 2015), Dick Lehr (October 19, 2015), Barbara Nevins Taylor (September 16, 2015), Andrea Reynolds Plunket (September 30, 2015), Sue Pollock (February 10, 2015), and Joyce Wadler (September 28, 2015) are from interviews with the author, except where noted.
138 “Novels aren’t being”: Guilty Pleasure.
— “that changed my life”: Dominick Dunne: After the Party.
139 three million copies: G. Dunne to author.
— Young, Bacall, Smith, Osborne: Erman to author.
140 Radie Harris: Robert Osborne (May 12, 2016) to author.
— type-written seven-page: Briscoe letter, July 8, 1986; Erman to author.
141 “don’t like rich people”: Nevins Taylor to author.
143 “Isn’t this a blast”: Lehr to author.
144 “a football game”: Dominick Dunne, “Fatal Charm,” Vanity Fair, August 1985.
145 “We dined across Bellevue”: Ibid.
— “as long as they take Cosima”: Ibid.
146 “friendly spoon into a reporter’s parfait”: Alex S. Jones, “Coma Trial: After Hoopla,” New York Times, June 12, 1985.
147 “Mr. Dunne is not a friend”: D. Dunne, “Fatal Charm.”
— Corviglia Club: D. Dunne, The Way We Lived Then, 110.
148 “You’re not going to”: Brenner to author.
— “I have better jewels”: D. Dunne, “Fatal Charm.”
— “to love something”: Duff to author.
149 obsessing about his interview: Nevins Taylor to author.
— “The necrophilia story”: D. Dunne, “Fatal Charm.”
— “S&M people”: Mike Hogan, “What Drove Dominick Dunne’s Quest for Justice,” Vanity Fair, November 2009.
150 “misguided. . . . I have no feeling”: Jonathan Friendly, “Von Bulow Jury Issues Acquittal on All Charges,” New York Times, June 11, 1985.
151 “Coincidental obscenity”/“I do not understand”: John Gregory Dunne, “How to Write a Novel,” Esquire, October 1986.
— “cowardly blow”: Briscoe letter, undated.
— “The trouble started”/Alex and Dominick Dunne fight: James H. Hyde, “Dominick Dunne,” NewEnglandTimes.com, 2009; Briscoe letter, August 15, 1987; A. Dunne (May 21, 2016) to author.
Chapter 9
Quotes from Elizabeth Ashley (February 6, 2015), Tita Cahn (March 5, 2015), David Patrick Columbia (February 15, 2015), Mart Crowley (February 5, 2015), Freddy Eberstadt (May 6, 2015), Judy Hilsinger (January 29, 2015), Jesse Kornbluth (April 23, 2015), Bruce Nelson (March 30, 2015), Markham Roberts (March 30, 2015), James Sansum (March 25, 2015), and William Baldwin Young (March 18, 2015) are from interviews with the author, except where noted.
168 A computer person: Kornbluth to author.
— “Dad, this is in the same”: Griffin Dunne, Fresh Air interview, December 15, 2009.
169 “bite the hands that fed”: “Nick Dunne Takes on the Clarence’s Set,” Women’s Wear Daily, January 4, 1988.
— “There we were, at a table”: Stephanie Mansfield, “Social Butterfly Dunne,” Washington Post, April 5, 1988.
170 “I didn’t tell one private thing”: Ibid.
— “It wasn’t based on Oscar”: Hilsinger to author.
— nicknamed Darkie: Eberstadt to author.
— Mehle had read early galleys: Columbia to author.
170 “I will not be where”: “Nick Dunne Takes on the Clarence’s Set.”
— “She’s the cattle heiress”: D. Dunne, The Way We Lived Then, 172.
171 Dominick hated Jerry Zipkin: G. Dunne (January 21, 2015) to author.
— “a great teacher”/“chief eunuch”: Bob Colacello, “A Walker on the Wild Side,” Vanity Fair, September 1995.
— “cunt” remark: Roberts to author; Sansum to author.
— “I never became an extra”: Dan Shaw, “On the Inside, Looking Out,” New York Times, April 11, 1993.
172 “We are all terribly saddened”: Jack Jones and Carol McGraw, “Fatal Shooting of Real Estate Man Probed,” Los Angeles Times, September 27, 1987.
— “Don’t use the real names”: Nelson to author.
173 “This is a smart novel”: Jill Robinson, “Up to No Good in Hollywood,” New York Times, June 10, 1990.
— “What got him in trouble”: Mike Hogan, “What Drove Dominick Dunne’s Quest for Justice,” Vanity Fair, November 2009.
174 “full participation” sex/“the worst parents”: Young to author.
Chapter 10
Quotes from Aimee Bell (August 3, 2015), Tita Cahn (March 5, 2015), Jack Cummings III (February 8, 2015), Len Levitt (March 4, 2015), Chris Morano (July 28, 2015), Dorthy Moxley (March 3, 2015), Robert Rand (October 20, 2015), and Kevin Sessums (March 26, 2015) are from interviews with the author, except where noted.
176 “Peter was ill-used”: D. Dunne, The Way We Lived Then, 198.
177 “The man who instigated”: Dominick Dunne, “The Verdict,” Vanity Fair, March 1992.
— “I didn’t know who did it”: Dominick Dunne, “Triumph by Jury,” Vanity Fair, August 2002.
178 “Martha Moxley became a crusade”: Dominick Dunne: In Search of Justice.
— “It will bring attention”: Moxley to author.
— editor John Cotter: Levitt, Conviction, 90.
179 “Did Dominick think”: Ibid., 198.
— “It’s too easy to say”: Dan Shaw, “On the Inside, Looking Out,” New York Times, April 11, 1993.
— “Dominick Dunne takes all”: Maureen Dowd, “The Circus of Constant Bradley,” New York Times, June 6, 1993.
180 “How amazing you”: Shaw, “On the Inside.”
— “Little did I suspect”: Levitt, Conviction, 198.
— Morrall and Terrien quotes: Ibid., 203–4.
181 Sutton report episode: Levitt to author; Morano to author; Moxley to author.
— “I know something about”: Moxley to author.
Chapter 11
Quotes from Dan Abrams (August 7, 2015), Pamela Bozanich (October 19, 2015), Norman Carby (May 23, 2015), Craig Cignarelli (July 27, 2015), Linda Deutsch (February 23, 2015), Philip Kearney (October 19, 2015), Shoreen Maghame (April 29, 2015), Bruce N
elson (March 30, 2015), Norma Novelli (November 4, 2015), Robert Rand (October 20, 2015), Ira Reiner (February 20, 2016), and Judalon Smyth (October 20, 2015) are from interviews with the author, except where noted.
183 “I have heard of very few”: Dominick Dunne, “Nightmare on Elm Drive,” Vanity Fair, October 1990.
— “With the exception of some”: Ibid.
184 “There was something about”: Dominick Dunne: In Search of Justice.
— Menendez murder: D. Dunne, “Nightmare on Elm Drive”; Soble and Johnson, Blood Brothers, 4–12.
— “We are not disputing”: Court transcript.
— “This is not a prosecution trial”: Ibid.
186 Jose Menendez might be gay: Dominick Dunne, “Menendez Justice,” Vanity Fair, March 1994.
— “adorable. They’re the two”: D. Dunne, “Nightmare on Elm Drive.”
187 “You don’t have to be Sigmund”: Abramson, The Defense Is Ready, 288.
— “He comes up with false”: Guilty Pleasure.
— “doyenne of crime reporters”: Dominick Dunne, “Three Faces of Evil,” Vanity Fair, June 1996.
— “contradicted at trial”: Abramson, The Defense Is Ready, 289.
— “I never ever believed”: Dominick Dunne: After the Party.
— “pulled Erik’s hair when”: Court transcript.
188 “But why the mother”/“I wonder if”: Maghame to author.
189 “Well, I had a moment”: Rand to author.
— “great neurotic actor”: D. Dunne, “Menendez Justice.”
— “But I didn’t kill”: Ibid.
192 “Did you know that Lyle”: Ibid.
193 “Judalon, you’ve got to tell”: Smyth to author.
194 “implanted”: Alan Abrahamson, “Psychologist’s Ex-Lover Testifies He Brainwashed Her,” Los Angeles Times, November 17, 1993.
— “the heroine of this story”: Briscoe journal, 1994.
195 “Spiritually, yes”: D. Dunne, “Menendez Justice.”
— “If I was gay”: Kearney to author.
196 “My car is in the shop”: Kearney to author.
— “Oh, that was Barbara”: Kearney to author.
197 “So Mr. Kearney, you’ve been”: Kearney to author.
— “the little puke”: Robert Rand, “Menendez Confidential,” Playboy, July 1995.
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