Dominick Dunne: 1925-2009

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Author Dominick Dunne, who told stories of shocking crimes among the rich and famous through his magazine articles and best-selling novels such as "The Two Mrs. Grenvilles," died Wednesday, Aug. 26, 2009, at his home in Manhattan. He was 83.

Author Dominick Dunne, left, and his son, director Griffin Dunne, arrive at the premiere of Autonomous Picture's "Fierce People" at the Pacific Design Center on Aug. 29, 2007 in West Hollywood, Calif.

At Rita Cosby's 2007 book signing party for "Blonde Ambition," Dominick Dunne poses with TV personality Hannah Storm, center, and Court TV's Beth Karas.

Writer Dominick Dunne arrives for the opening of the Broadway play "Frost/Nixon" in New York, Sunday, April 22, 2007. Dunne was part of a famous family that also included his brother, novelist and screenwriter John Gregory Dunne; his brother's wife, author Joan Didion; and his son, Griffin.

Writer Dominick Dunne attends the Second Annual Quill Awards Oct. 10, 2006, in New York. He helped present the award in the category of General Fiction. Dunne wrote the 1993 "A Season in Purgatory," that helped revive interest in the 1975 slaying of teenager Martha Moxley in Greenwich, Conn. He also wrote "An Inconvenient Woman" and "The Mansions of Limbo."

Fred Goldman, left, father of slaying victim Ronald Goldman, attends court with author Dominick Dunne, right, during the O.J. Simpson double murder trial in Los Angeles on Sept. 22, 1985. Dunne's own daughter, actress Dominique Dunne, was strangled by her former boyfriend, John Sweeney, in 1982, shortly after she had completed her first movie, "Poltergeist."

Celebrity crime writer Dominick Dunne, left, looks at his son Griffin Dunne during O.J. Simpson's trial in Las Vegas on Sept. 23, 2008.

Vanity Fair reporter Dominick Dunne is shown during the O.J. Simpson trial in Los Angeles on July 23, 1995. He spent many of his later years in courtrooms covering high profile trials. Writing for Vanity Fair, he covered such cases as the William Kennedy Smith rape trial in 1991 and the trial of Erik and Lyle Menendez, accused of murdering their millionaire parents, in 1993.

Dominick Dunne arrives at the Vanity Fair party for the 2008 Tribeca Film Festival in New York. He was a much sought after dinner guest on both coasts and in Europe where he frequently traveled. He was a regular at the Cannes Film Festival, interviewing members of royalty and movie stars.