Griffin Dunne's drawing intense media anticipation for his book "The Friday Afternoon Club: A Family Memoir," to be published next week.
In a chorus of media interviews, the actor says completing the memoir fulfills one of his lifetime goals. He still wishes to learn to play a musical instrument and master Spanish.
The scion of a famed literary and Hollywood family, Dunne felt immense pressure to finish the book following the acclaimed literary careers of his father, Dominick, his uncle, John Gregory Dunne, and his aunt, Joan Didion.
Interviewed this week by New York magazine, People magazine, the Los Angeles Times, the Guardian and the Literary Hub, Dunne says he felt compelled to revisit the murder of his sister Dominique, a rising young actress slain by her ex-boyfriend, John Thomas Sweeney, in 1982.
The 22-year-old actress's buoyant spirit still shines against the darkness of her death, Dunne says. The book's title comes from the name of his sister's acting group.
Vanity Fair in a recent issue published Dunne's recollections of his sister's murder, and the trial of her killer, which outraged his family.
Sweeney, accused of murder, was convicted of manslaughter, serving three and a half years in prison. Dominick Dunne in an article for Vanity Fair magazine divulged his disgust for Sweeney's attorneys and the presiding judge. The piece launched his spectacular career covering celebrity trials for the magazine.
Griffin says he was initially incensed by his father's success stemming from the trial of his sister's killer. Griffin eventually reached a rapprochement with his father on that and other points of contention. His father died in 2007 at age 83.
The book recounts Griffin's Hollywood childhood. Dominick, a closeted homosexual, built a successful career as a producer before wrecking his insider status with an insult of super-agent Sue Mengers published in the Hollywood Reporter.
After years of destitution, Dominick Dunne rebuilt his life writing for Vanity Fair and making frequent TV appearances as a crime expert.
Griffin as a youth often attended parties given by his aunt and uncle, renowned Hollywood scriptwriters who never lost their standing.
In the book, he recalls being saved from drowning by Sean Connery and having his girlfriend hit upon by Roman Polanski, Jack Nicholson and Warren Beatty.
"Like three wolves sniffing a baby lamb," he told New York magazine's Shawn McCreesh.
Griffin discloses in the interviews that the book revisits his up and down acting career. After initial success in Hollywood films and on the New York stage, Dunne struggled with lackluster roles and substance abuse.
The 69-year-old has undergone a resurgence in recent years, producing and appearing in the documentary "Joan Didion: The Center Will Not Hold," a retrospective of his late aunt's career. He also starred in the popular NBC hit "This Is Us."
Now, he's matching his family's literary radiance.
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