Dominique Dunne
{{Short description|American actress (1959–1982)}}
{{about|the actress|her father, the author|Dominick Dunne}}
{{Use American English|date=July 2020}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=December 2024}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Dominique Dunne
| image = Dominique Dunne in Fame.jpg
| caption = Dunne in Fame (1982)
| birth_name = Dominique Ellen Dunne
| birth_date = {{birth date|1959|11|23|mf=yes}}
| birth_place = Santa Monica, California, U.S.
| death_date = {{death date and age|1982|11|04|1959|11|23|mf=yes}}
| death_place = Los Angeles, California, U.S.
| death_cause = Homicide by strangulation
| burial_place = Westwood Village Memorial Park Cemetery
| occupation = Actress
| years_active = 1979–1982
| education = Harvard-Westlake School
Taft School
Fountain Valley School
| parents = {{plainlist|
}}
| relatives = Griffin Dunne (brother)
John Gregory Dunne (uncle)
Joan Didion (aunt)
Hannah Dunne (niece)
| signature = Dominique Dunne's signature.png
}}
Dominique Ellen Dunne (November 23, 1959 – November 4, 1982) was an American actress.{{cite web|url=http://www.vanityfair.com/culture/features/2004/03/dunne200403|title=A Death in the Family|last=Dunne|first=Dominick|date=March 2004|publisher=vanityfair.com|page=2|access-date=January 21, 2013}} Born and raised in Santa Monica, California, she made her on-screen debut with the television film Diary of a Teenage Hitchhiker (1979) and played recurring roles in the drama series Family (1980) and the comedy series Breaking Away (1980–1981). Her breakthrough role was Dana Freeling in the blockbuster horror film Poltergeist (1982).{{Cite web|date=December 3, 1986|title=Strangled Actress : Did Slayer's Penalty Fit His Crime?|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1986-12-03-mn-453-story.html|access-date=June 15, 2021|website=Los Angeles Times|language=en-US}} Afterwards, she headlined the Western film The Shadow Riders and the crime series CHiPs (both 1982).
On October 30, 1982, Dunne was strangled by her ex-boyfriend John Sweeney during an argument on the driveway of her West Hollywood home. She fell into a coma and died five days later on November 4, 1982.
Early life and education
Dunne was born in Santa Monica, California, the youngest child of Ellen Beatriz "Lenny" (née Griffin), a ranching heiress, and Dominick Dunne, a writer, producer, and actor. Dunne had Irish and Mexican ancestry. Dominick was born and raised in an Irish Catholic family to an Irish-American father and his wife, who was from Sonora, Mexico.{{Cite news |date=January 13, 1997 |title=Paid Notice: Deaths DUNNE, ELLEN GRIFFIN |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1997/01/13/classified/paid-notice-deaths-dunne-ellen-griffin.html |access-date=April 28, 2022 |issn=0362-4331}}{{Cite web |date=August 28, 2009 |title=Celebrity Author And Hartford Native Dominick Dunne Dies At Age 83 -- Courant.com |url=http://www.courant.com/entertainment/celebrity/hc-dominick-dunne-dies-aug27,0,1613531.story |access-date=April 28, 2022 |website= |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090828032219/http://www.courant.com/entertainment/celebrity/hc-dominick-dunne-dies-aug27,0,1613531.story |archive-date=August 28, 2009 |url-status=dead}} Dunne had two older brothers, Alexander "Alex" and Griffin Dunne, who is an actor, producer and director. She was also the niece of married writers John Gregory Dunne and Joan Didion.{{cite news|title=Actress Dominique Dunne Dies After Choking Attack|date=November 5, 1982|work=Daytona Beach Morning Journal|page=7C}} Her godparents were Maria Cooper-Janis, daughter of actors Gary Cooper and Veronica "Rocky" Cooper, and producer Martin Manulis.{{harv|Dunne|2009|p=10}} Her parents divorced in 1965.{{cite web|url=http://www.latimes.com/news/la-me-dominick-dunne27-2009aug27,0,3214712.story|title=Dominick Dunne dies at 83; author and former Hollywood producer|last=Woo|first=Elaine|date=August 27, 2009|work=Los Angeles Times|access-date=January 21, 2013}}
Dunne attended Harvard-Westlake School in Los Angeles, Taft School in Watertown, Connecticut, and Fountain Valley School in Fountain, Colorado. After graduation, she spent a year in Florence, Italy, where she studied art and learned Italian.{{harv|Dunne|2009|p=5}} She studied acting at Milton Katselas' Workshop and appeared in various stage productions, including West Side Story, The Mousetrap, and My Three Angels.
Career
File:Dominique_Dunne_&_Ally_Sheedy_in_The_Day_The_Loving_Stopped.jpg (right) in the television film The Day the Loving Stopped (1981).]]
Dunne's first role was in the 1979 television film, Diary of a Teenage Hitchhiker. She then got supporting roles in episodes of popular 1980s television series, such as Lou Grant, Family, Hart to Hart, and Fame. Dunne also had a recurring role on the comedy-drama television series, Breaking Away, and she also appeared in several other television films.
After her television appearances, in 1981, Dunne was cast in the supernatural horror film Poltergeist in the main role of Dana Freeling,{{Cite web|date=November 4, 2019|title=Remembering the Tragic Murder of 'Poltergeist' Star Dominique Dunne|url=https://www.ihorror.com/remembering-the-tragic-death-of-poltergeist-star-dominique-dunne/|access-date=June 15, 2021|website=iHorror|language=en-US}} the teenaged daughter of a couple whose family is terrorized by malevolent ghosts. The film was produced by Steven Spielberg and directed by Tobe Hooper,{{Cite web|last=quint|title=Click over, children! All are welcome! All welcome! Quint interviews Zelda Rubinstein!!!!|url=http://legacy.aintitcool.com/node/34266|access-date=June 19, 2021|website=Aint It Cool News|language=en}}{{Cite web|last=Kyriazis|first=Stefan|date=July 19, 2017|title=Steven Spielberg SECRETLY directed Poltergeist for TWO very sneaky reasons: This is why|url=https://www.express.co.uk/entertainment/films/830644/Steven-Spielberg-directed-Poltergeist-1982-Tobe-Hooper-Dominique-Dunne-Zelda-Rubenstein|access-date=June 19, 2021|website=Express.co.uk|language=en}} and served as her feature film debut. Poltergeist was theatrically released in 1982, which marks both her first starring role and her only appearance in a theatrical feature.{{harv|Muir|2007|p=35}} It went on to become a critical and commercial success,{{Cite web|title=Greatest Films of 1982|url=https://www.filmsite.org/1982.html|access-date=June 15, 2021|website=www.filmsite.org}} becoming the eighth-highest-grossing film of 1982,{{Cite web|title=Poltergeist|url=https://www.boxofficemojo.com/release/rl107709953/weekend/|access-date=June 15, 2021|website=Box Office Mojo}} and since its release it has acquired a cult following.{{Cite news|title=Movies|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/section/movies|access-date=June 15, 2021|issn=0362-4331}} She was set to reprise the role in the following installments of the franchise, but she died before production began on the sequels; Poltergeist II: The Other Side,{{Cite web |last=Boyar |first=Jay |title=MISSING IN ACTION: HOW SEQUEL-MAKERS DO WITHOUT STARS |url=https://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/os-xpm-1986-05-31-0220420119-story.html |access-date=June 19, 2021 |website=OrlandoSentinel.com |date=May 31, 1986 |language=en-US}} filmed in 1985 and released in 1986, explains her character's absence by stating that she has gone off to attend college.{{Cite web |last=Macias |first=Gil |date=July 8, 2020 |title=The Tragic Real-Life Story Of The Poltergeist Cast |url=https://www.looper.com/224331/the-tragic-real-life-story-of-the-poltergeist-cast/ |access-date=June 19, 2021 |website=Looper.com |language=en-US}}
Her last on-screen appearance was in the Hill Street Blues episode "Requiem For a Hairbag", which aired on November 18, 1982, only two weeks after her death. 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 own mother; due to an altercation with her abusive partner John Sweeney that occurred just before the episode was filmed, her bruises on screen were real. The episode was dedicated to her memory.{{harv|Dunne|2009|pp=13, 29}}
Dunne was cast in the miniseries V in 1982; she died during filming, so her role was portrayed by actress Blair Tefkin. According to series creator Kenneth Johnson, recovered footage of Dunne was used in a cameo appearance.{{Cite web|title=Encyclopedia of Arkansas|url=https://encyclopediaofarkansas.net/entries/kenneth-culver-5447/|access-date=June 15, 2021|website=Encyclopedia of Arkansas|language=en-US}} The series was released in 1983,{{Cite web|date=March 1984|title=Vanity Fair|url=https://www.vanityfair.com/magazine/1984/03/dunne198403|url-status=live|access-date=June 14, 2021|website=Dominick Dunne on His Daughter's Murder|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150219104419/http://www.vanityfair.com:80/magazine/1984/03/dunne198403 |archive-date=February 19, 2015 }} and is dedicated to her memory.{{harv|Marill|1987|p=435}}
Death
{{Main|Killing of Dominique Dunne}}
File:Dominique Dunne headstone.jpg
Dunne met John Thomas Sweeney, a sous-chef at the restaurant Ma Maison, at a party in 1981. After a few weeks of dating, they moved into a one-bedroom house together on Rangely Avenue in West Hollywood.{{cite news |last=Arnold |first=Roxane |date=February 18, 1987 |title=Actress' killer free, but victim's family still suffers |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=892&dat=19870218&id=PAscAAAAIBAJ&pg=2677,3921398 |access-date=January 21, 2013 |work=The Courier |page=1C}} Due to Sweeney's jealousy and possessiveness, however, the relationship quickly deteriorated.{{cite journal |last=Darrach |first=Brad |date=October 10, 1983 |title=An American Tragedy That Brought Death to Actress Dominique Dunne Now Brings Outrage to Her Family |url=https://people.com/archive/an-american-tragedy-that-brought-death-to-actress-dominique-dunne-now-brings-outrage-to-her-family-vol-20-no-15/ |journal=People |volume=20 |issue=15 |issn=0093-7673}}
On October 30, 1982, Sweeney strangled Dunne outside of her home. She was transported to Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, where she was placed on life support.{{cite news|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=3OVPAAAAIBAJ&pg=6749,3004793&dq=dominique+dunne+cedars-sinai&hl=en|title=Actress Listed In Critical Condition|date=November 1, 1982|work=Toledo Blade|page=7|access-date=January 21, 2013}} She never regained consciousness. On November 4, her parents consented to have her removed from life support. At the request of her mother, Dunne's kidneys and heart were donated to transplant recipients.{{harv|Dunne|2009|p=8}} Her funeral was held on November 6 at the Church of the Good Shepherd in Beverly Hills. Her godfather, Martin Manulis, delivered the eulogy.{{harv|Dunne|2009|p=13}} She was buried in Westwood Village Memorial Park Cemetery.{{cite news|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2002-apr-15-me-cemetery15-story.html|title=Westwood Fears Dead Could Lie Too Close; Cemetery: The owner of the resting place for Marilyn Monroe and Jack Lemmon wants to build at property lines|last=Pool|first=Bob|date=April 15, 2002|work=Los Angeles Times|access-date=January 21, 2013}}
Filmography
| class="wikitable plainrowheaders sortable"
|+ List of roles and appearances |
| scope="col" | Year
! scope="col" | Title ! scope="col" | Role ! scope="col" class="unsortable" | Notes |
|---|
| scope="row" | 1979
| Diary of a Teenage Hitchhiker | Cathy Robinson |
| scope="row" | 1979–1980
| Various roles | 2 episodes |
| rowspan="2" scope="row" | 1980
| Family | Erica | Episode: "When The Bough Breaks" |
| Valentine Magic on Love Island
| Cheryl | Television film |
| scope="row" | 1980–1981
| Paulina Bornstein | Recurring role; 4 episodes |
| rowspan="3" scope="row" | 1981
| CBS Children's Mystery Theatre | Polly Ames | Episode: "The Haunting of Harrington House" |
| Unit Four
| Tracey Phillips | rowspan="2" | Television film |
| The Day the Loving Stopped
| Judy Danner |
| rowspan="7" scope="row" | 1982
| Fame | Tracy | Episode: "Street Kid" |
| Hart to Hart
| Christy Ferrin | Episode: "Hart, Line, and Sinker" |
| Poltergeist
| Dana Freeling | Film |
| The Shadow Riders
| Sissy Traven | Television film |
| CHiPs
| Amy Kent | Episode: "Meet the New Guy" |
| The Quest
| Italian Girl | Episode: "He Stole-a My Art" |
| Hill Street Blues
| Abandoned Baby's Mother | Episode: "Requiem for a Hairbag"; posthumous release |
| scope="row" | 1983
| V | Robin Maxwell | Cameo; posthumous release |
See also
{{Portal|Biography}}
References
{{reflist|2}}
= Works cited =
{{Refbegin}}
- {{cite book |last1=Dunne |first1=Dominick |author-link=Dominick Dunne |title=Justice : crimes, trials, and punishments |date=2009 |publisher=Random House Digital, Inc |isbn=978-0-307-55722-3}}
- {{cite book |last1=Douglas |first1=John E. |last2=Olshaker |first2=Mark |title=Obsession: The FBI's Legendary Profiler Probes the Psyches of Killers, Rapists, and Stalkers and Their Victims and Tells How to Fight Back |date=1998 |publisher=Pocket Books |location=New York, NY |isbn=0-671-01704-7}}
- {{cite book |last1=Marill |first1=Alvin H. |title=Movies made for television: the telefeature and the mini-series, 1964-1986 |date=1987 |publisher=New York Zoetrope |location=New York, NY |isbn=0-918432-80-4}}
- {{cite book |last1=Muir |first1=John Kenneth |title=Horror films of the 1980s |date=2007 |publisher=McFarland & Co |location=Jefferson, N.C. |isbn=978-0-7864-2821-2}}
{{Refend}}
External links
{{commons category|Dominique Dunne}}
- {{IMDb name|1161}}
- [http://www.justiceforhomicidevictims.net Justice for Homicide Victims] - The official site of the victim's rights organization founded by Dominique's mother in 1984
- [http://www.vanityfair.com/magazine/archive/1984/03/dunne198403?currentPage=1 "Justice: A Father's Account Of the Trial Of His Daughter's Killer"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140201235717/http://www.vanityfair.com/magazine/archive/1984/03/dunne198403?currentPage=1 |date=February 1, 2014 }} by Dominick Dunne at Vanityfair.com
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dunne, Dominique}}
Category:1982 murders in the United States
Category:20th-century American actresses
Category:Actresses from Santa Monica, California
Category:American expatriates in Italy
Category:American film actresses
Category:American stage actresses
Category:American television actresses
Category:Burials at Westwood Village Memorial Park Cemetery
Category:Deaths by strangulation in the United States
Category:Female murder victims
Category:Harvard-Westlake School alumni
Category:People murdered in Los Angeles
Category:Violence against women in California
Category:American people of Irish descent