Dominick Dunne Dies At The Age Of 83 From Cancer

Dominick Dunne, famous writer, television personality and investigative reporter, passed away of bladder cancer on Thursday August 26, 2009 in New York City at his home at the age of 83.

He submitted an article to Vanity Fair in 1982 where he reported on the murder of his daughter Dominique Dunne, best known for her role in the movie Poltergeist, which was titled Justice:  A Father’s Account of the Trial of his Daughter’s Killer.

The piece received a lot of attention and Dunne then went on to accept a regular reporting assignment where he covered many highly-publicized celebrity murder trials, including O.J. Simpson, Claus von Bulow and brothers Lyle Menendez and Erik Menendez.  Besides his work as a reporter he also hosted Power, Privilege and Justice on Court TV.

Graydon Carter, Vanity Fair editor, praised Dunne as a gifted reporter who proved as fascinating as the people he wrote about.

In a statement released Wednesday Carter wrote:

“Anyone who remembers the sight of O.J. Simpson trying on the famous glove probably remembers a bespectacled Dunne, resplendent in his trademark Turnbull & Asser monogrammed shirt, on the court bench behind him.  It is fair to say that the halls of Vanity Fair will be lonelier without him and that, indeed, we will not see his like anytime soon, if ever again.”