Griffin Dunne was born into privilege: a family that came from money and a home in Beverly Hills; his father, Dominick Dunne, was a Hollywood producer hosting the likes of Billy Wilder and Sean Connery at his parties while his uncle, John Gregory Dunne, and aunt, Joan Didion, were writers who had their own celebrity circles. But Dunne has also endured his fair share of trauma and tragedy. His father was forced to repress his sexuality until his drinking and secret love life destroyed his marriage; his mother later developed multiple sclerosis; his brother, Alex, ricocheted between brilliance and empathy and crippling mental health crises; and his sister, Dominique, was murdered by an ex-boyfriend just as her own star was on the rise.
Dunne carved his own path, starring in the films “An American Werewolf in London,” “After Hours” and “Johnny Dangerously,” while producing movies that included “Running on Empty.” But his memoir, “The Friday Afternoon Club,” is purposely subtitled “A Family Memoir” — while it is filled with countless bold-faced names, it is less a behind-the-curtain showbiz tell-all and more an examination of the ties that bind and fray. Even Dunne’s on-set scenes often return to that theme — the most memorable moment from filming “Johnny Dangerously” was the day that the verdict was handed down in the long and tumultuous trial for his sister’s killer.
The movie’s star, Michael Keaton, had filming abruptly shut down so Dunne .
