Valley of the Dolls is the first novel by American writer Jacqueline Susann . Published in 1966, the book was the biggest-selling novel of its year. By 2016 it had sold more than 31 million copies, making it one of the all-time best-selling fictional works in publishing history .
77-470: Jacqueline Susann (August 20, 1918 – September 21, 1974) was an American novelist and actress. Her novel Valley of the Dolls (1966) is one of the best-selling books in publishing history. With her two subsequent works, The Love Machine (1969) and Once Is Not Enough (1973), Susann became the first author to have three novels top The New York Times Best Seller list consecutively. Jacqueline Susan
154-973: A 1971 episode of the crime drama Mannix ("The Crime That Wasn't", airdate January 29, 1971). During the mid-1950s, Susann wrote a science-fiction novel called The Stars Scream (published posthumously as Yargo ). In the early 1960s, she considered writing a book about show business and drug use, to be entitled The Pink Dolls . In 1962, after encouragement from showman Billy Rose , husband of Susann's friend, Joyce Mathews (1919–1999; twice married to Milton Berle ), she began to adapt into book form letters she had written about her beloved poodle, Josephine. Published by Bernard Geis Associates on November 16, 1963, Every Night, Josephine! sold 35,000 copies in hardcover, and by 1973 sold 1.7 million paperbacks. This affectionate account of Josephine's hijinks earned positive reviews and appeared briefly on Time magazine's best seller list, peaking at #8. In support of Josephine! , Susann undertook her first book tour, on which she
231-520: A Cape Canaveral space shot." The story was said to be a roman à clef , with characters in the novel reportedly based on real-life celebrities such as Judy Garland , Dean Martin , and Ethel Merman . Although Publishers Weekly , in an advance review, called the novel "powerful and sometimes fascinating," the book received largely negative reviews. Gloria Steinem panned the book in The New York Herald Tribune as did
308-409: A brazen public affair. Henry persuades Anne to wait out the humiliation and pretend she knows nothing, assuring her that Lyon will grow tired of Neely and return to her. The affair stretches out for years, with Neely pressuring Lyon to end his marriage. Anne becomes dependent on the ‘dolls’ to relax, but Lyon reluctantly stays with Anne. After repaying Anne's loan he breaks off the affair (losing Neely as
385-479: A brilliant, ruthless, unhappy Broadway legend. Neely is hired for Helen's latest show but Helen takes a dislike to her and minimizes her role. Anne uses her friendship with Lyon to secure Neely a bigger role, and Neely becomes a breakout star; Helen cruelly rejects Anne by revealing she was only interested in Anne's friendship for the chance at a sexual relationship with Allen's father. Anne also befriends Jennifer North,
462-422: A client in the process) but quickly begins a new one with a teenaged up-and-coming singer. Though Anne finally admits to herself that Lyon will never stop having affairs, she assures herself that she will eventually fall out of love and become numb to all of her pain before reaching for her ‘dolls’ again. Susann had apparently been thinking about the novel for some time. Some years earlier, she had begun Underneath
539-434: A diagnosis of lung cancer, and immediately began cobalt treatments and daily chemotherapy injections. According to Irving Mansfield, there was some disagreement between doctors as to whether this was a metastatic breast cancer or an original lung cancer; accurate evaluation would determine the plan of treatment and subsequent prognosis. Despite the grueling treatment, Susann's cancer spread, and she entered Doctors Hospital for
616-452: A four-word book title. In 1967, the book was adapted into a film of the same name , directed by Mark Robson ( Peyton Place ), and starring Barbara Parkins as Anne, Patty Duke as Neely, Paul Burke (Lyon), Sharon Tate (Jennifer), and Susan Hayward (Helen). The screenplay was written by Helen Deutsch ( National Velvet ) and Dorothy Kingsley ( Seven Brides for Seven Brothers ), and produced by Robson and David Weisbart . Like
693-401: A full recovery. Still, the studio fires her from the production and replaces her with the boss's young lover. Anne reconnects with Neely; Kevin suggests resurrecting Neely's career by having her sing on a televised spectacular for his brand. Neely at first refuses but following a successful supper-club performance and a run-in with a belligerent Helen she agrees. Unable to cope with the demands of
770-613: A good actress. Be a people watcher." In New York, on June 2, 1937, aged 18, Susann landed a small role in the Broadway company of The Women , the "caustic" comedy of manners by Clare Boothe that had opened on December 26, 1936, and would run for 657 performances. She subsequently appeared in such Broadway shows as The Girl from Wyoming (1938), My Fair Ladies (1941), Blossom Time (revival, 1943), Jackpot (1944), and in A Lady Says Yes (1945), which starred Hollywood siren Carole Landis . Only one of her shows following The Women
847-458: A hole inside of me." In the 2023 tactical first-person shooter game Ready or Not , one of the levels involving a child sexual abuse sting bears the name of the novel. Marlo Thomas and Ted Bessell play Charades in a November 27, 1969 episode of THAT GIRL (season 4, episode 11, “Kiss That Girl Goodbye”). He correctly guesses “Valley of the Dolls” after she’s only given him the clues of it being
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#1732793679934924-644: A kindhearted young actress famous for her attractive figure. On the night of the show's opening, Anne and Lyon consummate their feelings, and Anne and Allen break up. The production is a massive success. Neely enjoys a meteoric rise to fame and moves to California to begin a film career. Anne's mother dies and she returns to her hometown with Lyon, who wants to quit the agency, live in Anne's family home, and write novels. Though Anne loves Lyon deeply, she refuses to move back to Massachusetts. Lyon breaks up with Anne and moves to England to write, leaving Anne heartbroken. Though Anne takes years to move on, she eventually becomes
1001-534: A mini-series executive-produced by Susann's widower, Irving Mansfield , and directed by Walter Grauman . This version stars Catherine Hicks , Lisa Hartman , and Veronica Hamel . In 1994 a late-night, syndicated television soap opera, Valley of the Dolls , ran for one season and 65 episodes. The premise was a loose adaptation of the novel. BBC Radio 4 broadcast a 15-episode dramatisation scripted by Yvonne Antrobus over three weeks in August and September 2005. It
1078-476: A model for beauty products and starts dating the cosmetics company owner, the older, wealthy Kevin Gillmore. Meanwhile Jennifer begins a relationship with the childish, sex-obsessed singer Tony Polar, but their romance is frequently interrupted by his domineering older sister, Miriam. Jennifer pressures Tony into marrying her and quickly falls pregnant. After reuniting with an increasingly unsympathetic Neely, who
1155-594: A now-incompetent Tony Polar. Anne works with Henry to get Lyon to abandon his non-starter career as a writer and become a partner at the agency, with Henry lending Lyon money that secretly comes from Anne. Lyon is initially put off by Neely, who has become obese, but successfully plots her career comeback. Anne and Lyon get married and Anne quickly becomes pregnant, but her happiness is short-lived when Neely demands that Lyon escort her everywhere on her comeback tour. Lyon learns from Neely about how Anne secretly lent him money and feels outraged and emasculated. He and Neely begin
1232-538: A sequel was rushed into development by Fox in early 1968. Susann provided a title for the film, Beyond the Valley of the Dolls , and a treatment that involved Anne Welles moving into television journalism while attempting to raise her teenage daughter, Julie, as a single mother following another rocky love affair with Lyon Burke. After a year's work by two screenwriters did not result in a script Fox executives wanted to produce, Susann and her husband, Irving Mansfield, who
1309-437: A son whom they named Guy Hildy Mansfield, "Hildy" being for cabaret singer Hildegarde , who was the boy's godmother. At the age of three, Guy was diagnosed as severely autistic , and eventually had to be institutionalized; Susann and Mansfield did not reveal the true reason for his absence from home, fearing that he would be stigmatized should he eventually recover. The heartbreak from seeing their son in an institution reportedly
1386-402: A theme: "Then I start asking, what kind of a personality? And because I have a good ear, I unconsciously pick up certain people". Susann dedicated the book to her poodle Josephine, and to her husband Irving Mansfield. The book was published by Bernard Geis Associates on February 10, 1966, and "took off like a Cape Canaveral space shot". Publishers Weekly , in an advance review, called
1463-567: A total of 65 weeks on the list, the book became the best selling novel of 1966. By the time of Susann's death in 1974, it had entered the Guinness Book of World Records as the best selling novel in publishing history, with more than 17 million copies sold. By 2016, the book had sold more than 31 million copies. In 1967, the book was adapted into the film of the same name, starring Barbara Parkins as Anne, Patty Duke as Neely, Sharon Tate as Jennifer, and Susan Hayward as Helen Lawson,
1540-456: Is a good writer, but I wouldn't want to shake hands with him." Not everyone was a fan. Gore Vidal said, "She doesn't write, she types." In July 1969, Truman Capote appeared on The Tonight Show and announced that Susann looked "like a truck driver in drag." On Susann's next visit to the show, Johnny Carson gave her a chance to respond to Capote by asking, "What do you think of Truman?" Susann quipped, "I think history will prove he's one of
1617-501: Is aptly titled, as it languishes deep in the shadow of the original... Susann's original still packs a wallop; the sequel is a pulled punch." Susann's second novel, The Love Machine , is the story of Robin Stone, a ruthless but tormented executive in the cut-throat world of 1960s network television, and three women who love him: Amanda, the doomed fashion model; Maggie, the independent television personality turned movie actress; and Judith,
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#17327936799341694-428: Is excited to get married and have a child. But a routine test reveals that she has breast cancer and will require a mastectomy and the treatment will likely render her infertile. After her fiancé says he doesn't want children and makes a comment suggesting he's only interested in her body Jennifer becomes convinced that she will never be loved for who she is. She leaves the hospital and commits suicide. Neely reappears in
1771-479: Is in the midst of an affair, Jennifer becomes dependent on ‘dolls’, amphetamines and barbiturates , to calm her frayed nerves. Finally Miriam reveals why she opposed Jennifer and Tony's relationship: Tony has developmental disabilities and the baby will likely inherit them. Devastated, Jennifer has an abortion and agrees to divorce Tony. Jennifer then moves to Europe and finds work in art house films , which, owing to her nudity, are considered softcore pornography in
1848-792: The Adelphi Theatre on December 25, 1946. Said to be an "audience-pleaser," the play nonetheless closed after just 37 performances. Four years later, Susann and Cole wrote another play, Cock of the Walk , which was to open on Broadway with Oscar -winning actor James Dunn . For reasons that remain unclear, the play was not produced. In 1970, Susann made a brief return to the stage when she appeared in Blanche Yurka 's off-Broadway revival of Jean Giraudoux 's The Madwoman of Chaillot . Clive Barnes in The New York Times panned
1925-459: The Journal , was cut, but the excised material was restored for the book publication on July 8, 1976. Despite harsh reviews and the absence of Susann as a promotional tool, the book spent 25 weeks on The New York Times Best Seller list (seven consecutive weeks at #2), and became the third highest-selling novel of 1976. Yargo , Susann's romantic science fiction novel written during the 1950s,
2002-608: The New York International Fringe Festival in 2008. Susann is mentioned by name (along with Harold Robbins ) in Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home by Admiral James T. Kirk . His first officer, Spock , then comments that Susann was one of the 20th century "giants" of literature. She is mentioned by name in the chorus of the song "Adult Books" by the band X . The song is featured on their 1981 album Wild Gift . In
2079-465: The X-rated film resulted in an ultimately successful lawsuit from Susann and varying levels of embarrassment from future Fox regimes over the film's uses of nudity and violence. Because of the legal issues with Susann, the characters of Anne and Lyon were renamed and recast without Parkins and Burke. The novel was re-adapted by Fox for television in 1981 as Jacqueline Susann's Valley of the Dolls ,
2156-575: The Dolls, the Most Beloved Bad Book and Movie of All Time . Jacqueline Susann%27s Open Door Jacqueline Susann's Open Door is an American discussion show hosted by Jacqueline Susann , later to become famous as the author of Valley of the Dolls . It aired nationally on the DuMont Television Network between May 7 and June 18, 1951. Each week Susann would interview celebrities. Sam Chase's review of
2233-633: The Pancake , a show-business novel, with her actress friend Beatrice Cole (c. 1910–1999). Later, she considered writing a novel about drug usage in show business to be called The Pink Dolls . Valley of the Dolls is considered a roman à clef , with its characters based on famous figures such as Judy Garland , Carole Landis , Dean Martin , and Ethel Merman . In 1973, after the publication of her third novel, Susann said: "They can keep calling it that roman à clef . It'll only make my books sell. I don't care". Susann insisted that she began each book with
2310-572: The TV series Endeavour (season 6, episode 2, "Apollo"), Susann is mentioned. One of the characters says: "I had a solitary dinner and took Jacqueline Susann to bed." Valley of the Dolls (novel) In 1945 beautiful ingenue Anne Welles moves to New York City to escape the ennui of her Massachusetts hometown. She finds work as a secretary to Henry Bellamy, an entertainment lawyer , and befriends Neely O'Hara, an ebullient vaudevillian and aspiring stage actress. Henry's employee, Lyon Burke, returns to
2387-450: The Tate house, which contradicts Susann's account. After suffering from a persistent cough, Susann, who was concerned about her upcoming book tour in support of Once Is Not Enough , checked into Doctors Hospital on January 11, 1973. Test results showed a nodular lesion in her right lung; she was transferred to Mount Sinai Hospital for a bronchoscopy and biopsy. On January 18, she received
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2464-469: The United States. By 1950 Neely has become a celebrated actress enjoying a lucrative film career and twin sons with her second husband. However long workdays and the stress over her husband's infidelity (with both men and women) keep her dependent on ‘dolls’ and she is becoming increasingly unpopular with the studio because of her tantrums and walkouts. Neely accidentally overdoses on pills but makes
2541-437: The age of 44, Susann was diagnosed with breast cancer , and underwent a radical mastectomy . During her recuperation, she made a pact with God: if she were given ten more years of life, she would prove herself to be the best-selling writer in the world. With her diagnosis, Susann felt an urgency to make money as quickly as possible, to ensure her son would be properly looked after for the rest of his life. On August 8, 1969, she
2618-409: The agency after World War II , and Anne quickly falls in love with him despite Henry's warning. Meanwhile Anne goes on some dates with a small-time salesman named Allen Cooper. Allen suddenly reveals that he is a millionaire pretending to be a normal person in order to make sure Anne's feelings are genuine. He proposes to Anne and their love story becomes a media sensation. Anne befriends Helen Lawson,
2695-399: The aging Broadway legend. Susann made a cameo appearance as a reporter at the scene of Jennifer North's suicide. Valley of the Dolls received scathing reviews, but was a widespread commercial success, becoming the sixth highest-grossing film of its year with $ 44.4 million at the domestic box office, a huge amount for its time. Susann herself hated the film; after its November premiere aboard
2772-430: The best presidents we've had." On April 2, 1939, Susann married press agent Irving Mansfield , who had impressed her by successfully placing "items" about her in the theater and society pages of New York newspapers. Despite persistent rumors of infidelity on Susann's part, she and Mansfield were devoted to each other and remained married until her death in 1974. On December 6, 1946, Susann gave birth to their only child,
2849-459: The book away and scolds them, saying the book is a "trashy" one for adults and "not for children!" In Malcolm in the Middle season 3 episode 5, Eric's bunk-mate criticizes the book's ending. In 2012, Marina and The Diamonds released her Electra Heart album, the tenth trackon the album is named 'Valley of the Dolls', one of the lyrics is as follows; "in the valley of the dolls, we sleep, got
2926-520: The book had sold more than 31 million copies. In Kurt Vonnegut 's Slaughterhouse-Five , when Billy Pilgrim is brought to Tralfamadore for the first time and asks for reading material, he is given The Valley of The Dolls, which is the only physical copy of an English-speaking book the Tralfamadorians have aboard their spaceship. In Black Mirror season 6 episode 3, " Beyond the Sea ",
3003-399: The book to "popcorn... a kernel of an idea... exploded into bite-sized nothingness," while Time magazine complained that the book "lacks Valley's primitive vigor. Film rights were sold to Columbia Pictures for a then-record $ 1.5 million. Directed by Jack Haley, Jr. , the film adaptation was released in 1971, starring Dyan Cannon , Robert Ryan , and John Phillip Law . Irving Mansfield
3080-560: The book was a runaway commercial success. On May 8, 1966, in its ninth week on the list, the book reached #1 on the New York Times Best Seller List, where it remained for 28 consecutive weeks. With a total of 65 weeks on the list, the book became the best-selling novel of 1966. By the time of Susann's death in 1974, it had entered the Guinness Book of World Records as the best-selling novel in publishing history, with more than 17 million copies sold. By 2016,
3157-685: The book's "nearly 500 steadily monotonous pages"), but sales were spectacular: the book spent 36 weeks on The New York Times Best Seller list , eight of which were at #1, and became the second highest-selling novel of 1973. Susann, with this book, made publishing history as the first writer to have three consecutive number one novels on the Times list. The book was filmed in 1975 by Guy Green as Jacqueline Susann's Once Is Not Enough , with Kirk Douglas , Alexis Smith , Melina Mercouri , Brenda Vaccaro (in an Oscar -nominated performance), and Deborah Raffin . The film, executive-produced by Irving Mansfield,
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3234-408: The book, although the reviews were scathing, the film was an enormous box-office hit, becoming the sixth most popular of the year with $ 44 million at the domestic box office. Susann, who had a cameo in the film as a news reporter, hated the film. The film became a celebrated cult classic in later years, often cited as a key example of camp in cinema. Because of the success of the film adaptation,
3311-471: The character of Lana is seen reading the book. In the Stephen King novel Billy Summers , the character Alice Maxwell makes reference to the book. In State of Grace Season 2 Episode 12, main characters Hannah and Grace are at a bookstore looking at the book's cover and pondering what it's about. Just as they're starting to take a peek inside the book to find out, Grace's mother Tattie snatches
3388-410: The dashing Lyon Burke; Neely O'Hara, an ebullient vaudevillian who becomes a Hollywood star and self-destructs; and Jennifer North, a showgirl with little talent but a gorgeous face and figure, who becomes a friend to both. All three women fall prey to the "dolls," amphetamines and barbiturates , a euphemism Susann coined. The book was published by Bernard Geis on February 10, 1966, and "took off like
3465-416: The entertainment pages of major newspapers, and Mansfield tested her book covers to see how they appeared on television. She even served coffee and doughnuts to the truck drivers who would be delivering her books. She lavished attention on booksellers, sending them thank you notes, and even bought copies of her book for bookstore clerks. "A new book is like a new brand of detergent," she said. "You have to let
3542-499: The fame that her books brought. "Confrontational, sassy, [and] entertaining," she appeared frequently on television, especially on talk shows. When asked what Ethel Merman thought of Valley of the Dolls , Susann responded, "We didn't speak before the book came out. Let's just say that now we're not speaking louder." Referring to Philip Roth and his best-selling novel Portnoy's Complaint , notorious for its graphic descriptions of masturbation, she said to Johnny Carson , " Philip Roth
3619-481: The fifth grade, she scored 140 on an IQ test, the highest in her school. An only child and devoted to her father, Susann was determined to carry on the family name. She decided to be an actress, despite the advice of a teacher who said, "Jackie should be a writer. She breaks all the rules, but it works." In 1936, after graduating from West Philadelphia High School , she left for New York to pursue an acting career. Her father told her, "If you're going to be an actress, be
3696-465: The insecure wife of the network founder. Like Valley , the book was considered a roman à clef , with Robin reportedly based on former CBS president James Aubrey . Published by Simon & Schuster on May 14, 1969, the book was an immediate success: it spent 32 weeks (13 weeks at #1) on The New York Times Best Seller list , and was the third highest-selling novel of its year. Reviews were not favorable; one reviewer in The New York Times compared
3773-505: The last time, on August 20, 1974, her 56th birthday. After days lapsing in and out of a coma, she died on September 21. Her last words to Mansfield were, "Hey, doll, let's get the hell out of here." She was survived by her husband, her son, and her mother. Jacqueline Susann is acknowledged to be the first "brand-name" novelist, a novelist who sells independent of critical attention. With her husband, Irving Mansfield, Susann revolutionized book promotion, and they are widely credited with creating
3850-508: The midst of Jennifer's funeral. She has lost her voice, apparently from psychological issues. After bungling a self-harm attempt Neely becomes institutionalized, which a guilty Anne pays for. Meanwhile Lyon returns to New York and reconnects with Anne, much to the chagrin of Kevin. Anne is unable to overcome her passion for Lyon and the two begin an affair. Kevin eventually learns of this and breaks up with Anne. Some time later Neely finds her voice again after an impromptu sanitarium performance with
3927-455: The modern-day book tour. Michael Korda , editor of Susann's Love Machine said in 1995 that, prior to Susann, "people weren't so much interested in selling books as they were in publishing them." To what had once been considered a "gentleman's profession," she brought a show business sensibility. She toured extensively in support of each book, making appearances at bookstores and on countless television and radio shows. Her books were advertised on
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#17327936799344004-535: The novel "big, brilliant and sensational", if "poorly written". The book received largely negative reviews. Feminist Gloria Steinem criticized the book in the New York Herald Tribune , as did The New York Times . Time magazine called it the "Dirty Book of the Month", and said: "It might more accurately be described as a highly effective sedative, a living doll". Despite the poor reviews,
4081-407: The original spelling. Because his surname was never legally changed, his daughter was born Jacqueline Susan, as confirmed in the 1920 and 1930 US census, and her father's record in the U.S. Social Security Applications and Claims Index, 1936–2007. Nevertheless, she used her mother's version of the family surname. As a child, her teachers reported that she was an inattentive but imaginative student. In
4158-421: The passenger liner, Princess Italia , she confronted the film's director, Mark Robson , and stated, "This picture is a piece of shit." In 2001, author Rae Lawrence published a continuation of Valley of the Dolls , titled Jacqueline Susann's Shadow of the Dolls (Crown), which was reputedly based on notes left by Susann for an intended sequel. In its review, Publishers Weekly stated, "This tedious, tame sequel
4235-452: The premise of which was to help people—most of whom had experienced hardships—find jobs. She appeared in such series as Danger (CBS), Studio One (CBS), and Suspense (CBS), but found herself typecast: "I got cast as what I looked like—a glamorous divorcée who gets stabbed or strangled." In the summer of 1956, she appeared in NBC's revival of the panel show This Is Show Business , which
4312-470: The production was a hit with audiences. Fran Drescher was reportedly cast for the Broadway production, but that production was cancelled. Susann was also the subject of a one-woman play by Paul Minx called See How Beautiful I Am: The Return of Jackie Susann , during which a dying Susann discusses her life and career. The show was performed as part of the Edinburgh Festival in 2001 as well as
4389-544: The production; of the cast, he praised only Yurka, but he did mention that "Jacqueline Susann looks a great deal prettier than the publicity stills on her book jackets might lead you to believe." From 1948 to 1950, Susann appeared on The Morey Amsterdam Show , a comedy series (telecast first on CBS, then on DuMont), in which she played Lola (later Jackie) the Cigarette Girl to Amsterdam 's nightclub emcee. In 1951, she hosted Jacqueline Susann's Open Door (DuMont),
4466-479: The program in the June 2, 1951, issue of Billboard illustrated the significance of the program's title: "Purpose of the show is to try to open the door to a job for people with capabilities who have had difficulties getting themselves located. ... Two of her [Susann's] guests, for instance, were a gal in a wheelchair who desired a steno post and a spry 84-year-old gal who'd been a receptionist. ... Third door-opening
4543-433: The public know about it. What's wrong with that?" In 1998, Susann was played by actress Michele Lee in the television film Scandalous Me: The Jacqueline Susann Story ( USA ), based on Barbara Seaman 's biography Lovely Me: The Life of Jacqueline Susann . Peter Riegert played Mansfield; also in the cast was Barbara Parkins (who played Anne in the 1967 film adaptation of Valley ) as agent Annie Laurie Williams. The film
4620-512: The rehearsals, she overdoses to avoid performing. To Anne's distress Neely disappears to Europe. Jennifer, in Europe, is pressured to undergo plastic surgery; as she has always lied about her true age she is now ten years older than her claimed age of 27. Unhappy with her European career and boyfriend, she returns to the United States. Three years later she becomes engaged to an older senator, who she believes loves her for more than her body, and she
4697-419: The reviewer in The New York Times . Time magazine called it the "Dirty Book of the Month," and said, "it might more accurately be described as a highly effective sedative, a living doll." Despite the poor reviews, the book was a commercial juggernaut. On May 8, 1966, in its ninth week on the list, the book reached #1 on The New York Times Best Seller list , where it remained for 28 consecutive weeks. With
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#17327936799344774-544: The world is far different from the one she had left. January contends with the social upheavals of the late 1960s and early 1970s in a graphic, driving story. Susann was candid about the theme of the book, stating that it was one of "mental and spiritual incest". After her death, film critic Andrew Sarris pointed out that "If there is any single key to the oeuvre of Jacqueline Susann it is to be found in an extended Electra complex ." As with her previous novels, reviews were negative (a writer for The New York Times complained of
4851-444: Was a hit: Banjo Eyes (1941), starring Eddie Cantor , ran for 126 performances. Together with a friend, actress Beatrice Cole, Susann wrote a play called The Temporary Mrs. Smith , a comedy about a one-time movie actress whose former husbands interfere with her scheme to marry a man of wealth. Retitled Lovely Me , the play, directed by actress Jessie Royce Landis , and starring Luba Malina and Mischa Auer , opened on Broadway at
4928-467: Was accompanied by the subject herself; often she and Josephine wore matching outfits. Even after publishing her novels, Susann cited Josephine! as her favorite of her own books. Valley of the Dolls spans twenty years (1945–1965) in the lives of three young women: Anne Welles, the New England beauty who liberates herself from her staid small town by coming to New York, where she falls in love with
5005-405: Was attached as producer, were removed from the project. Beyond the Valley of the Dolls was instead made and released in 1970 as an unofficial sequel/musical-comedy parody of the first film. Sexploitation filmmaker Russ Meyer produced and directed Beyond from a screenplay by his friend, Chicago Sun-Times film critic Roger Ebert . While a modest box-office hit and later a cult classic,
5082-471: Was born on August 20, 1918, at Lankenau Medical Center in Wynnewood, Pennsylvania , the only child of a Jewish couple: Robert Susan, a Wilno, Imperial Russia (now Vilnius, Lithuania )-born portrait painter, and his wife, Rose ( née Jans), a public school teacher. It was Rose who added the second "n" to her husband's surname in order to make pronunciation easier for her students; Robert Susan retained
5159-508: Was executive producer but the film was a critical and commercial flop. Susann, who had loathed the film version of Valley , believed this adaptation was even worse. Susann's third novel, Once Is Not Enough , was published by Morrow on March 20, 1973. Once is the story of January Wayne, daughter of a famous film and stage producer, who is hospitalized in Switzerland for three years. When she returns home to New York City, she finds that
5236-661: Was invited to visit Sharon Tate at her house for a dinner party she was holding, as Susann was residing nearby at the Beverly Hills Hotel. However, she elected not to go when Rex Reed dropped in for a visit; the next day, she was horrified to hear about the murder that occurred in the Tate residence . She reflected on this years later, stating "It could all have happened a lot sooner if we'd gone to Sharon's that night." Later investigators found multiple witnesses who declared that no party had been planned for that evening at
5313-462: Was joined on the air by her poodle, Josephine. Susann energetically promoted the product and made personal appearances on its behalf. One night in the early 1960s, as she was leaving a New York restaurant, Susann heard someone shout, "There's the Schiffli girl!" Susann, realizing that 25 years of hard work had culminated only in recognition as the "Schiffli girl," was discouraged. She later appeared in
5390-509: Was not a critical favorite, but was a commercial success, grossing $ 15.7 million (the equivalent of $ 65.2 million in 2016).) Susann's final work was a novella , Dolores , a roman à clef about Jacqueline Kennedy , originally written for the February 1974 issue of the Ladies' Home Journal (which became the best-selling issue in the magazine's history). Susann's manuscript, too long for
5467-565: Was not well-received critically and was a box office bomb, with a worldwide gross of just $ 3 million on a $ 44 million budget. Film critic Roger Ebert wrote, "Jackie Susann deserved better." Midler was nominated for a Razzie award as Worst Actress for her performance. In November 2001, Paper Doll , a play by Mark Hampton and Barbara Zitwer , premiered at the Pittsburgh Public Theater , with Marlo Thomas as Susann and F. Murray Abraham as Mansfield. Reviews were mixed, but
5544-446: Was not well-reviewed, with Variety writing, "None of the storied genius that Susann exhibited in promoting herself along with her books is much in evidence. ... [it is] a movie that broadly captures all of the famed author's flaws but none of her essence." Scandalous Me was followed in 2000 by the theatrical film Isn't She Great , based on a New Yorker profile by Michael Korda , with Bette Midler and Nathan Lane . The film
5621-463: Was part of the Woman's Hour programme's ongoing fifteen-minute daily drama slot, and has been rebroadcast several times on BBC Radio 4 Extra in three 70-minute omnibus episodes. The creation of the novel, film and the never-made film sequel meant to star Parkins and Burke are the subjects of an acclaimed 2020 non-fiction book written by Stephen Rebello , Dolls! Dolls! Dolls!: Deep Inside Valley of
5698-538: Was produced by her husband. In addition to her acting and hosting work, Susann did commercials. In 1955, she became spokesperson for the Schiffli Lace and Embroidery Institute . Over the next six years, she wrote, produced, and starred in commercials that aired during such shows as New York's local Night Beat (DuMont's WABN), with Mike Wallace , and then nationally on such shows as The Mike Wallace Interview (ABC) and The Ben Hecht Show (ABC). Sometimes she
5775-457: Was published in February 1979 as a paperback original by Bantam Books. The novel is a radical departure from the works that made her famous. During the 1970s, Susann had spoken of future works. They included a novel about brothers who have their show business start in vaudeville, to be called The Comedy Twins ; a novel about a poetess, The Heroine ; a continuation of the story of Neely O'Hara's sons; and her autobiography. Jacqueline Susann enjoyed
5852-472: Was sought for a lad who wanted a production job with a newspaper, ad agency or magazine because his gal was getting tired of waiting for him." Chase also noted the roles of celebrities who were interviewed: "Regular feature on the show will be appearance of a guest celeb who will tell how tough it was to get doors open for himself once." Walter Winchell wrote in his syndicated newspaper column published May 30, 1951, " Jacqueline Susann's Open Door (via WABD)
5929-601: Was the impetus for her consuming pills for the rest of her life. Reportedly, Susann and Mansfield rarely missed a week visiting their son. In 1954, the Mansfields adopted a black, half-toy half- miniature poodle , whom they named Josephine, in honor of comedian Joe E. Lewis . Josephine became the subject of Susann's first published book, and was to be the subject of a sequel, Good Night, Sweet Princess , which Josephine did not live to write. Josephine died on January 6, 1970, just days before her sixteenth birthday. In 1962, at
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