There is no feud like a Hollywood feud. As such, it was simply an oversight that we failed to mention the contretemps between Sue Mengers and Dominick Dunne in Monday's post "Twinkle, Twinkle Super Star: The Life of Sue Mengers." Dominick Dunne and Sue Mengers should have been great friends. They had so much in common. Both simply adored famous and the celebrate. They had other connections as well. Dunne produced the 1973 Elizabeth Taylor-film Ash Wednesday that was written by Sue Mengers's husband Jean-Claude Tramont.
It was actually a comment Dunne made about Jean-Claude that finished off Dunne's faltering career in Hollywood. Mengers became infuriated when the Hollywood Reporter quoted Dunne as implying that nepotism, not talent, was the reason Jean-Claude was hired to write the screenplay for Ash Wednesday. He compounded the insult by referring to Sue's weight problem. Mengers, then at the height of her powers, made certain Dominick Dunne never ate lunch in Hollywood again. Or, so she thought. How was she to know that the end result would be a dazzling new career for Dunne that would enable him to dine out anywhere he damed well pleased.
It was actually a comment Dunne made about Jean-Claude that finished off Dunne's faltering career in Hollywood. Mengers became infuriated when the Hollywood Reporter quoted Dunne as implying that nepotism, not talent, was the reason Jean-Claude was hired to write the screenplay for Ash Wednesday. He compounded the insult by referring to Sue's weight problem. Mengers, then at the height of her powers, made certain Dominick Dunne never ate lunch in Hollywood again. Or, so she thought. How was she to know that the end result would be a dazzling new career for Dunne that would enable him to dine out anywhere he damed well pleased.
Elizabeth Taylor and Dominick Dunne on the Set of "Ash Wednesday;" Photograph by Gianni Bozzachi
Image Credit: The Way We Lived Then
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