A List Of Things Thrown Five Minutes Ago

THE WITNESS: We assumed you'd understand why we don't have an obituary post for Ted Kennedy -- this isn't really the blog for that, given the contentiousness over his life and legacy. But we cannot let go unremarked the passing today of writer Dominick Dunne at the age of 83 from bladder cancer.

Dunne's columns for Vanity Fair were sui generis -- a captivating mix of true crime reporting, courtroom intrigue and high society gossip. Whether it was the death of Princess Diana or Sunny von Bülow, the O.J. Simpson trial or the Menendez brothers, who Dunne met for lunch was always as important as what was said in court. As Graydon Carter recounts, Dunne led the comfortable life of an Ephman in Hollywood, producing movies and hobnobbing with the stars, until:

In 1982, as nearly everyone knows, Nick’s daughter Dominique, a beautiful young actress, was strangled to death. The event punctuated what had already been a tumultuous period in his life. But before he left New York for Los Angeles to attend her killer’s trial, he went to a dinner that would change the course of his life. (Such was his luck, then as always.) At a Sunday kitchen dinner at the home of Vanity Fair writer-at-large Marie Brenner, Dunne was seated next to a feisty young British editor named Tina Brown, who was in town to discuss the possibility of editing Vanity Fair. She asked Dunne to keep a diary of the trial, which became the basis of the first article he ever wrote for this magazine. The rest, as they say, is history.

Even if I never quite "got" the Edmond Safra thing, Dunne's unique niche of diarist-slash-victim's-advocate is not easily replicated. Class gave him access, but his talents as an observer, interviewer and writer made him memorable. Even with all his ridiculous name-dropping, as Jen notes Dunne fought the good fight for victim's rights, helping justice be done on behalf of battered and murdered women like Martha Moxley, Nicole Simpson, Lana Clarkson and his daughter. (She also says An Inconvenient Woman is terrific.)

Now can people please stop dying this summer? Enough already.

added: NYT obit adds this nugget -- "The [family's] spokesman had initially declined to confirm the death, saying the family had hoped to wait a day before making an announcement so that Mr. Dunne’s obituary would not be obscured by the coverage of Senator Edward M. Kennedy’s death."