Dominick Dunne

A chronicler of American crime and wealth with few peers, Dominick Dunne was a best-selling and controversial author and journalist whose coverage of such sensational spectacles as the O.J. Simpson and Claus von Bulow murder trials brought him to national prominence. An affluent but unhappy childhood had given him insight into the emotional landscape of the society figures he would cover later in life, but he began his professional life as a writer and producer for television and feature films. Bouts with alcoholism forced him to re-evaluate his life, and he launched a second career as the author of such popular novels as The Two Mrs. Grenvilles (1985), An Inconvenient Woman (1990) and A Season in Purgatory (1993), all of which drew on his own keen understanding of the lives of the idle rich. But it was his trial reportage for Vanity Fair that earned him his greatest acclaim, though his interest was sparked by unspeakably tragic circumstances - the murder of his daughter, actress Dominique Dunne, in 1982. Dunne's coverage of such high-profile cases as the Menendez Brothers and von Bulow was praised for a lack of sensationalism and a degree of empathy for the families of the victims; however, it was the outrage and compassion that marked his reports from the O.J. Simpson trial, as well as his frequent commentary on the case for television and print news, that transformed him from well-regarded author to bonafide celebrity. Post-Simpson, Dunne enjoyed a degree of fame rarely afforded to authors, including his own true-crime television series, "Dominick Dunne's Power, Privilege and Justice" (Court TV/truTV, 2002-09). Despite a well-publicized battle with bladder cancer, he returned to court coverage for O.J. Simpson's trial for kidnapping and armed robbery in 2008, determined to see his nemesis of sorts found guilty - even if it was, literally, the last thing he were to do.