Jacqueline Susann
Encyclopedia
Jacqueline Susann was an American author known for her best-selling novels. Her most notable work was Valley of the Dolls
, a book that broke sales records and spawned an Oscar-nominated 1967 film
and a short-lived TV series.
to Robert Susann, a portrait painter, and Rose Jans, a schoolteacher. In school, Susann was an intelligent but lazy student. She scored the highest on her class's IQ test, a 140, prompting her mother to predict that she would someday become a good writer. Susann had other ideas and instead had aspirations of being an actress. Susann's rocky relationship with her hard-to-please mother, as well as her starry-eyed view of her roguish father, would later be woven into her novels.
By the time Susann entered high school, she was dabbling in drugs and had earned the reputation of being a party girl. Although her parents hoped she would enter college, Susann left for New York City after graduating from West Philadelphia High School
in 1936 to pursue an acting career.
, Susann landed bit parts in movies, plays (such as The Women), and commercials. A year later, she landed a decent theatrical job playing a lingerie model, earning $25.00 a week. While in New York City, Susann met a press agent, Irving Mansfield (né Mandelbaum). The two dated despite the fact that Susann was not sexually attracted to Mansfield. In turn, Mansfield wooed Susann by placing items and photos of her in theater and society sections of New York newspapers. The ploy worked, and the couple married on April 2, 1939, at Har Zion Temple in Philadelphia.
After the wedding, Mansfield went on to manage Susann's career. Mansfield made sure Susann was placed in news columns, and she soon was a regular on The Morey Amsterdam Show
. She then got a spot in the Broadway
show A Lady Says Yes, starring Carole Landis
and Jack Albertson
. The following year, Susann wrote her first play, Lovely Me, for production on Broadway. It closed after only 37 performances.
Despite Mansfield's devotion to Susann, rumors of her infidelities surfaced throughout their marriage. One of Susann's first affairs was with actor/comedian/singer Eddie Cantor
. Cantor hired Susann for a role in the touring production of the play, Banjo Eyes. Cantor dumped Susann after his wife discovered the affair and demanded that he quit the play. In 1942, Susann met comedian Joe E. Lewis
and the two began an affair. Susann fell hard for Lewis which prompted her to write Mansfield a "Dear John" letter
shortly after he was drafted by the United States Army
in 1943. When Lewis learned that Susann and Mansfield separated and that Susann intended for her and Lewis to marry, he applied for a USO
position, and was sent to New Guinea
.
In late 1944, Mansfield and Susann got back together, and in 1946, the couple had a son whom they named Guy. At age three, Guy was diagnosed as autistic
. The following year, Guy was committed to an institution where he remains to this day. Mansfield and Susann told no one of their son's true condition. The couple told friends that Guy was asthmatic, and placed in a school in Arizona
for the healthy climate. For the rest of her life, Susann was tormented with guilt over institutionalizing her son.
. The two reportedly had an affair and some claim that Susann modeled the Jennifer North character in her novel Valley of the Dolls after Landis. According to Susann's biographer, the affair had begun when Landis bought her earrings and a fur coat, Susann later describing to her female friends how "sensual it had been when she and Carole had stroked and kissed each other's breasts". However, in 1945, Landis married her third husband, Broadway producer W. Horace Schmidlapp
, to whom Susann had introduced her. There are also reports that Susann had an affair with the fashion designer Coco Chanel
in 1959, and she repeatedly attempted to start a physical relationship with the Broadway stage and film actress Ethel Merman
. These allegations have not been confirmed, and most of Susann's friends and colleagues dismiss them.
called Jacqueline Susann's Open Door
but the show lasted less than two months.
In 1955, Susann acquired her poodle Josephine, and a contract to be the fashion commentator for "Schiffli Lace" on the Night Time, New York program. Susann wrote, starred in, and produced two live commercials every night. She continued to be the "Schiffli Girl" until 1961.
In the early 1960s, Susann tried writing a show business and illegal drug exposé that she intended to call The Pink Dolls. However, she changed her mind and wrote her first successful book, Every Night, Josephine!, which was based on her experiences with her poodle. She sometimes dressed the dog in outfits to match her own. Although this book was widely viewed as a novelty
, it sold well enough for her to write and publish her second book, the novel Valley of the Dolls
.
Around that time, Susann developed breast cancer
. She had a mastectomy
on December 27, 1962, but she kept the cancer a secret. Despite her illness, Susann had determined that she would become a bestselling author, and she began writing her first novel, Valley of the Dolls.
Valley of the Dolls became the number one best-selling novel in the United States for many weeks. Next, she followed up this great success with her best-selling follow-up novels, The Love Machine, published in 1969, and Once Is Not Enough
, published in 1973, the year before her death.
was initially rejected by some publishers; however, Susann persisted, and when the novel was published on February 10, 1966, it was an immediate hit. The subject matter was considered inappropriate by many people in the general public at that time, and it was a mixture of soap-opera style story-telling with bold, non-traditional characters. The story was a roman á clef
of sorts, with characters in the novel reportedly based on real-life celebrities such as Judy Garland
and Ethel Merman
.
Valley of the Dolls broke some sales records with approximately 30 million copies sold as a novel. As popular as Valley of the Dolls was, many contemporary authors dismissed Susann's writing talents. The novelist Gore Vidal
said, "She doesn't write, she types!" Critics attacked her by saying Susann, "typed on a cash register." Susann responded to literary critics by saying, "As a writer no one's gonna tell me how to write. I'm gonna write the way I wanna write!" Part of this novel's success stemmed from Susann and Mansfield's tireless effort to promote it. The couple traveled worldwide (especially where English is the predominant language) promoting the novel and her following novels on talk shows and in hundreds of bookstores. Wherever Susann went on her cross-country tours, she signed each copy of her book that was available. She wrote down the name and address of every person she met and reportedly, later on sent thank-you cards to everyone.
In 1967, the book was adapted into the film of the same name
starring Patty Duke
, Barbara Parkins
, and Sharon Tate
. Susann made a cameo appearance in the film as a reporter at the scene of Jennifer North's suicide. Valley of the Dolls was a widespread commercial hit, but the film was largely panned by film critics. Audiences laughed at some of the dramatic scenes. Susann herself hated the film, and walked out of its premiere.
summer series, This Is Show Business
(formerly a regular program on CBS
). The later episodes were produced by her former husband Irving Mansfield.
Susann and Mansfield enjoyed the fame that her books garnered. Susann went on to publish several more novels, all in a similar vein to Valley of the Dolls. She also made frequent appearances on television, particularly as a guest on talk show
s. Her pointed repartee added spice to the programs on which she was featured.
However, not everyone was a fan. On July 24, 1969, author Truman Capote
, himself a talk show regular and a controversial figure, created a media storm when he appeared on The Tonight Show
. Capote stated that Susann looked like "a truck driver in drag." Susann threatened to sue Capote and NBC
-TV over that and other comments. In turn, Capote apologized "to truck drivers everywhere." Johnny Carson
gave Susann the chance to fire back at Capote, and Carson asked her on the air, "What do you think of Truman?" Susann quipped, "Truman...Truman," "I think history will prove he's one of the best Presidents we've had."
on January 11, 1973, hoping to resolve the cough before her upcoming book tour which was to begin in March. Susann remained there five days while tests were being run. X-Rays revealed a nodular lesion in the right lung area. She was transferred to Mount Sinai
, a larger hospital with more extensive facilities, for a bronchoscopy and biopsy. On January 18 Susann was diagnosed with metastatic breast cancer, though there was evidently some debate among the doctors about whether it was an original and separate lung cancer, requiring perhaps more surgery but fewer chemicals.
Susann was given only months to live yet persisted to go on a book tour for Once Is Not Enough. Like her other books, it was a success, in this case being the second best-selling novel of 1973 in the United States.
When she was admitted to the hospital for the last time, she remained in a coma
for seven weeks before dying at the age of 56. Her last words to Mansfield were, "Hiya, doll. Let's get the hell outta here."
, on whom Susann had had a crush in her youth.
Susann's last novel, Dolores, is a thinly-veiled presentation on the life of Jacqueline Kennedy
. It was published in 1976. A condensed version of the novel was published in the Ladies' Home Journal
, under the title "Jackie by Jackie." When her severe illness prevented Susann from completing Dolores, her close friend and fellow writer Rex Reed
anonymously took over.
In 1987, a biography of Susann by Barbara Seaman
, Lovely Me, was published. The book was, in part, the basis for the year 2000 movie, Isn't She Great?
, which stars Bette Midler
as Jacqueline Susann and Nathan Lane
as Irving Mansfield. Marlo Thomas
played Susann in the play, Paper Doll, which also starred F. Murray Abraham
as Mansfield. Michele Lee
and Peter Riegert
played Susann and Mansfield in the made-for-TV movie, Scandalous Me: The Jacqueline Susann Story.
Before her death, Susann had planned a direct sequel to Valley of the Dolls. In 2001, author Rae Lawrence wrote the novel Shadow of the Dolls, which was based on the notes that Susann left for her intended sequel.
The movie Beyond the Valley of the Dolls
was never intended to be a sequel to the movie Valley of the Dolls, but rather to be a somewhat independent work, but also a spoof of Valley of the Dolls.
Valley of the Dolls
Valley of the Dolls is a novel by American writer Jacqueline Susann, published in 1966. The "dolls" within the title is a slang term for downers, barbiturates used as sleep aids....
, a book that broke sales records and spawned an Oscar-nominated 1967 film
Valley of the Dolls (film)
The soundtrack was released in 1967. Dionne Warwick sang the title track; however, her version is not on the soundtrack. Warwick was signed to Scepter Records at the time and could not contractually appear...
and a short-lived TV series.
Early years
Jacqueline Susann was born in Philadelphia, PennsylvaniaPennsylvania
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...
to Robert Susann, a portrait painter, and Rose Jans, a schoolteacher. In school, Susann was an intelligent but lazy student. She scored the highest on her class's IQ test, a 140, prompting her mother to predict that she would someday become a good writer. Susann had other ideas and instead had aspirations of being an actress. Susann's rocky relationship with her hard-to-please mother, as well as her starry-eyed view of her roguish father, would later be woven into her novels.
By the time Susann entered high school, she was dabbling in drugs and had earned the reputation of being a party girl. Although her parents hoped she would enter college, Susann left for New York City after graduating from West Philadelphia High School
West Philadelphia High School
West Philadelphia High School is a secondary school located in the West Philadelphia section of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.The school was completed on November 1, 1912. and occupies an entire city block between 47th and 48th streets, between Walnut Street and Locust Street...
in 1936 to pursue an acting career.
Acting career and personal life
Arriving in New York CityNew York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
, Susann landed bit parts in movies, plays (such as The Women), and commercials. A year later, she landed a decent theatrical job playing a lingerie model, earning $25.00 a week. While in New York City, Susann met a press agent, Irving Mansfield (né Mandelbaum). The two dated despite the fact that Susann was not sexually attracted to Mansfield. In turn, Mansfield wooed Susann by placing items and photos of her in theater and society sections of New York newspapers. The ploy worked, and the couple married on April 2, 1939, at Har Zion Temple in Philadelphia.
After the wedding, Mansfield went on to manage Susann's career. Mansfield made sure Susann was placed in news columns, and she soon was a regular on The Morey Amsterdam Show
The Morey Amsterdam Show
The Morey Amsterdam Show is an American sitcom which ran from 1948-1949 on CBS Television and 1949-1950 on the DuMont Television Network , for a total of 71 episodes.-Synopsis:...
. She then got a spot in the Broadway
Broadway theatre
Broadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 40 professional theatres with 500 or more seats located in the Theatre District centered along Broadway, and in Lincoln Center, in Manhattan in New York City...
show A Lady Says Yes, starring Carole Landis
Carole Landis
Carole Landis was an American film and stage actress whose break-through role was as the female lead in the 1940 film One Million B.C.. Landis has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, at 1765 Vine Street....
and Jack Albertson
Jack Albertson
Jack Albertson was an American character actor dating to vaudeville. A comedian, dancer, singer, and musician, Albertson is perhaps best known for his roles as Manny Rosen in The Poseidon Adventure , Grandpa Joe in Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory, Amos Slade in the 1981 animated film The Fox...
. The following year, Susann wrote her first play, Lovely Me, for production on Broadway. It closed after only 37 performances.
Despite Mansfield's devotion to Susann, rumors of her infidelities surfaced throughout their marriage. One of Susann's first affairs was with actor/comedian/singer Eddie Cantor
Eddie Cantor
Eddie Cantor was an American "illustrated song" performer, comedian, dancer, singer, actor and songwriter...
. Cantor hired Susann for a role in the touring production of the play, Banjo Eyes. Cantor dumped Susann after his wife discovered the affair and demanded that he quit the play. In 1942, Susann met comedian Joe E. Lewis
Joe E. Lewis
Joe E. Lewis , born Joseph Klewan in New York City, was an American comedian and singer.-Biography:...
and the two began an affair. Susann fell hard for Lewis which prompted her to write Mansfield a "Dear John" letter
Dear John letter
A "Dear John letter" is a letter written to a husband or boyfriend by his wife or girlfriend to inform him their relationship is over, usually because the author has found another lover. Dear John Letters are often written out of an inability or unwillingness to inform the person face to face...
shortly after he was drafted by the United States Army
United States Army
The United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...
in 1943. When Lewis learned that Susann and Mansfield separated and that Susann intended for her and Lewis to marry, he applied for a USO
United Service Organizations
The United Service Organizations Inc. is a private, nonprofit organization that provides morale and recreational services to members of the U.S. military, with programs in 160 centers worldwide. Since 1941, it has worked in partnership with the Department of Defense , and has provided support and...
position, and was sent to New Guinea
New Guinea
New Guinea is the world's second largest island, after Greenland, covering a land area of 786,000 km2. Located in the southwest Pacific Ocean, it lies geographically to the east of the Malay Archipelago, with which it is sometimes included as part of a greater Indo-Australian Archipelago...
.
In late 1944, Mansfield and Susann got back together, and in 1946, the couple had a son whom they named Guy. At age three, Guy was diagnosed as autistic
Autism
Autism is a disorder of neural development characterized by impaired social interaction and communication, and by restricted and repetitive behavior. These signs all begin before a child is three years old. Autism affects information processing in the brain by altering how nerve cells and their...
. The following year, Guy was committed to an institution where he remains to this day. Mansfield and Susann told no one of their son's true condition. The couple told friends that Guy was asthmatic, and placed in a school in Arizona
Arizona
Arizona ; is a state located in the southwestern region of the United States. It is also part of the western United States and the mountain west. The capital and largest city is Phoenix...
for the healthy climate. For the rest of her life, Susann was tormented with guilt over institutionalizing her son.
Sexuality
For decades, rumors have persisted that Susann was bisexual. The rumors began around 1945 when Susann appeared in A Lady Says Yes, with Carole LandisCarole Landis
Carole Landis was an American film and stage actress whose break-through role was as the female lead in the 1940 film One Million B.C.. Landis has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, at 1765 Vine Street....
. The two reportedly had an affair and some claim that Susann modeled the Jennifer North character in her novel Valley of the Dolls after Landis. According to Susann's biographer, the affair had begun when Landis bought her earrings and a fur coat, Susann later describing to her female friends how "sensual it had been when she and Carole had stroked and kissed each other's breasts". However, in 1945, Landis married her third husband, Broadway producer W. Horace Schmidlapp
W. Horace Schmidlapp
W. Horace Schmidlapp was an American Broadway actor and producer, and was the fourth husband of actress Carole Landis.- External links :*...
, to whom Susann had introduced her. There are also reports that Susann had an affair with the fashion designer Coco Chanel
Coco Chanel
Gabrielle Bonheur "Coco" Chanel was a pioneering French fashion designer whose modernist thought, menswear-inspired fashions, and pursuit of expensive simplicity made her an important figure in 20th-century fashion. She was the founder of one of the most famous fashion brands, Chanel...
in 1959, and she repeatedly attempted to start a physical relationship with the Broadway stage and film actress Ethel Merman
Ethel Merman
Ethel Merman was an American actress and singer. Known primarily for her powerful voice and roles in musical theatre, she has been called "the undisputed First Lady of the musical comedy stage." Among the many standards introduced by Merman in Broadway musicals are "I Got Rhythm", "Everything's...
. These allegations have not been confirmed, and most of Susann's friends and colleagues dismiss them.
Writing and TV career
In 1951, Susann hosted a talk show on the DuMont Television NetworkDuMont Television Network
The DuMont Television Network, also known as the DuMont Network, DuMont, Du Mont, or Dumont was one of the world's pioneer commercial television networks, rivalling NBC for the distinction of being first overall. It began operation in the United States in 1946. It was owned by DuMont...
called Jacqueline Susann's Open Door
Jacqueline Susann's Open Door
Jacqueline Susann's Open Door was 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. She would go on...
but the show lasted less than two months.
In 1955, Susann acquired her poodle Josephine, and a contract to be the fashion commentator for "Schiffli Lace" on the Night Time, New York program. Susann wrote, starred in, and produced two live commercials every night. She continued to be the "Schiffli Girl" until 1961.
In the early 1960s, Susann tried writing a show business and illegal drug exposé that she intended to call The Pink Dolls. However, she changed her mind and wrote her first successful book, Every Night, Josephine!, which was based on her experiences with her poodle. She sometimes dressed the dog in outfits to match her own. Although this book was widely viewed as a novelty
Novelty
Novelty is the quality of being new, or following from that, of being striking, original or unusual. Although it may be said to have an objective dimension Novelty (derived from Latin word novus for "new") is the quality of being new, or following from that, of being striking, original or unusual....
, it sold well enough for her to write and publish her second book, the novel Valley of the Dolls
Valley of the Dolls
Valley of the Dolls is a novel by American writer Jacqueline Susann, published in 1966. The "dolls" within the title is a slang term for downers, barbiturates used as sleep aids....
.
Around that time, Susann developed breast cancer
Breast cancer
Breast cancer is cancer originating from breast tissue, most commonly from the inner lining of milk ducts or the lobules that supply the ducts with milk. Cancers originating from ducts are known as ductal carcinomas; those originating from lobules are known as lobular carcinomas...
. She had a mastectomy
Mastectomy
Mastectomy is the medical term for the surgical removal of one or both breasts, partially or completely. Mastectomy is usually done to treat breast cancer; in some cases, women and some men believed to be at high risk of breast cancer have the operation prophylactically, that is, to prevent cancer...
on December 27, 1962, but she kept the cancer a secret. Despite her illness, Susann had determined that she would become a bestselling author, and she began writing her first novel, Valley of the Dolls.
Valley of the Dolls became the number one best-selling novel in the United States for many weeks. Next, she followed up this great success with her best-selling follow-up novels, The Love Machine, published in 1969, and Once Is Not Enough
Once Is Not Enough
Once Is Not Enough is a 1973 novel by Jacqueline Susann. It was the #2 best-selling novel of 1973 in the United States. It was made into a 1975 film Once Is Not Enough, Jacqueline Susann's Once Is Not Enough, directed by Guy Green and starring Kirk Douglas, Deborah Raffin, David Janssen and Brenda...
, published in 1973, the year before her death.
Valley of the Dolls
Valley of the DollsValley of the Dolls
Valley of the Dolls is a novel by American writer Jacqueline Susann, published in 1966. The "dolls" within the title is a slang term for downers, barbiturates used as sleep aids....
was initially rejected by some publishers; however, Susann persisted, and when the novel was published on February 10, 1966, it was an immediate hit. The subject matter was considered inappropriate by many people in the general public at that time, and it was a mixture of soap-opera style story-telling with bold, non-traditional characters. The story was a roman á clef
Roman à clef
Roman à clef or roman à clé , French for "novel with a key", is a phrase used to describe a novel about real life, overlaid with a façade of fiction. The fictitious names in the novel represent real people, and the "key" is the relationship between the nonfiction and the fiction...
of sorts, with characters in the novel reportedly based on real-life celebrities such as Judy Garland
Judy Garland
Judy Garland was an American actress and singer. Through a career that spanned 45 of her 47 years and for her renowned contralto voice, she attained international stardom as an actress in musical and dramatic roles, as a recording artist and on the concert stage...
and Ethel Merman
Ethel Merman
Ethel Merman was an American actress and singer. Known primarily for her powerful voice and roles in musical theatre, she has been called "the undisputed First Lady of the musical comedy stage." Among the many standards introduced by Merman in Broadway musicals are "I Got Rhythm", "Everything's...
.
Valley of the Dolls broke some sales records with approximately 30 million copies sold as a novel. As popular as Valley of the Dolls was, many contemporary authors dismissed Susann's writing talents. The novelist Gore Vidal
Gore Vidal
Gore Vidal is an American author, playwright, essayist, screenwriter, and political activist. His third novel, The City and the Pillar , outraged mainstream critics as one of the first major American novels to feature unambiguous homosexuality...
said, "She doesn't write, she types!" Critics attacked her by saying Susann, "typed on a cash register." Susann responded to literary critics by saying, "As a writer no one's gonna tell me how to write. I'm gonna write the way I wanna write!" Part of this novel's success stemmed from Susann and Mansfield's tireless effort to promote it. The couple traveled worldwide (especially where English is the predominant language) promoting the novel and her following novels on talk shows and in hundreds of bookstores. Wherever Susann went on her cross-country tours, she signed each copy of her book that was available. She wrote down the name and address of every person she met and reportedly, later on sent thank-you cards to everyone.
In 1967, the book was adapted into the film of the same name
Valley of the Dolls (film)
The soundtrack was released in 1967. Dionne Warwick sang the title track; however, her version is not on the soundtrack. Warwick was signed to Scepter Records at the time and could not contractually appear...
starring Patty Duke
Patty Duke
Anna Marie "Patty" Duke is an American actress of stage, film, and television. First becoming famous as a child star, winning an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress at age 16, and later starring in her eponymous sitcom for three years, she progressed to more mature roles upon playing Neely...
, Barbara Parkins
Barbara Parkins
Barbara Parkins is a Canadian television and film actress.-Early life and rise to stardom:Parkins was born in Vancouver, British Columbia. At the age of sixteen, she and her mother moved to Los Angeles, where she enrolled at Hollywood High School and began to study acting, tap, ballet, and...
, and Sharon Tate
Sharon Tate
Sharon Marie Tate was an American actress. During the 1960s she played small television roles before appearing in several films. After receiving positive reviews for her comedic performances, she was hailed as one of Hollywood's promising newcomers and was nominated for a Golden Globe Award for...
. Susann made a cameo appearance in the film as a reporter at the scene of Jennifer North's suicide. Valley of the Dolls was a widespread commercial hit, but the film was largely panned by film critics. Audiences laughed at some of the dramatic scenes. Susann herself hated the film, and walked out of its premiere.
Fame
In 1956, Susann became a panelist on an NBCNBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
summer series, This Is Show Business
This Is Show Business
This Is Show Business is an American panel discussion program about the entertainment industry, hosted by Clifton Fadiman, which aired on CBS Television from July 15, 1949 to March 9, 1954, and then again as a summer series on NBC Television from June 26 to September 11, 1956.-Overview:Guest...
(formerly a regular program on CBS
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
). The later episodes were produced by her former husband Irving Mansfield.
Susann and Mansfield enjoyed the fame that her books garnered. Susann went on to publish several more novels, all in a similar vein to Valley of the Dolls. She also made frequent appearances on television, particularly as a guest on talk show
Talk show
A talk show or chat show is a television program or radio program where one person discuss various topics put forth by a talk show host....
s. Her pointed repartee added spice to the programs on which she was featured.
However, not everyone was a fan. On July 24, 1969, author Truman Capote
Truman Capote
Truman Streckfus Persons , known as Truman Capote , was an American author, many of whose short stories, novels, plays, and nonfiction are recognized literary classics, including the novella Breakfast at Tiffany's and the true crime novel In Cold Blood , which he labeled a "nonfiction novel." At...
, himself a talk show regular and a controversial figure, created a media storm when he appeared on The Tonight Show
The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson
The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson is a talk show hosted by Johnny Carson under the Tonight Show franchise from 1962 to 1992. It originally aired during late-night....
. Capote stated that Susann looked like "a truck driver in drag." Susann threatened to sue Capote and NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
-TV over that and other comments. In turn, Capote apologized "to truck drivers everywhere." Johnny Carson
Johnny Carson
John William "Johnny" Carson was an American television host and comedian, known as host of The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson for 30 years . Carson received six Emmy Awards including the Governor Award and a 1985 Peabody Award; he was inducted into the Television Academy Hall of Fame in 1987...
gave Susann the chance to fire back at Capote, and Carson asked her on the air, "What do you think of Truman?" Susann quipped, "Truman...Truman," "I think history will prove he's one of the best Presidents we've had."
Later years and death
After suffering from a persistently bad cough as well as breathing problems for quite some time, Susann checked into Doctors HospitalDoctors Hospital (Manhattan, New York)
Doctors Hospital was a hospital located at 170 East End Ave, between 87th and 88th Streets opposite Gracie Mansion in the Yorkville neighborhood of Manhattan. The 14 floor Hospital founded in 1929 as Doctor's Hospital was acquired by Beth Israel Medical Center in 1987. In 2001, the medical...
on January 11, 1973, hoping to resolve the cough before her upcoming book tour which was to begin in March. Susann remained there five days while tests were being run. X-Rays revealed a nodular lesion in the right lung area. She was transferred to Mount Sinai
Mount Sinai Hospital, New York
Mount Sinai Hospital, founded in 1852, is one of the oldest and largest teaching hospitals in the United States. In 2011-2012, Mount Sinai Hospital was ranked as one of America's best hospitals by U.S...
, a larger hospital with more extensive facilities, for a bronchoscopy and biopsy. On January 18 Susann was diagnosed with metastatic breast cancer, though there was evidently some debate among the doctors about whether it was an original and separate lung cancer, requiring perhaps more surgery but fewer chemicals.
Susann was given only months to live yet persisted to go on a book tour for Once Is Not Enough. Like her other books, it was a success, in this case being the second best-selling novel of 1973 in the United States.
When she was admitted to the hospital for the last time, she remained in a coma
Coma
In medicine, a coma is a state of unconsciousness, lasting more than 6 hours in which a person cannot be awakened, fails to respond normally to painful stimuli, light or sound, lacks a normal sleep-wake cycle and does not initiate voluntary actions. A person in a state of coma is described as...
for seven weeks before dying at the age of 56. Her last words to Mansfield were, "Hiya, doll. Let's get the hell outta here."
Posthumous works
In the late 1970s, Susann's romance/science fiction novel Yargo was published. Written in the late 1950s, the novel is a radical and somewhat bizarre departure from her later works. It is likely that it was only published due to the continuing interest in Susann's writings. Those who knew Susann noticed a strong physical resemblance between Yargo and the actor Yul BrynnerYul Brynner
Yul Brynner was a Russian-born actor of stage and film. He was best known for his portrayal of Mongkut, king of Siam, in the Rodgers and Hammerstein musical The King and I, for which he won an Academy Award for Best Actor for the film version; he also played the role more than 4,500 times on...
, on whom Susann had had a crush in her youth.
Susann's last novel, Dolores, is a thinly-veiled presentation on the life of Jacqueline Kennedy
Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis
Jacqueline Lee Bouvier "Jackie" Kennedy Onassis was the wife of the 35th President of the United States, John F. Kennedy, and served as First Lady of the United States during his presidency from 1961 until his assassination in 1963. Five years later she married Greek shipping magnate Aristotle...
. It was published in 1976. A condensed version of the novel was published in the Ladies' Home Journal
Ladies' Home Journal
Ladies' Home Journal is an American magazine which first appeared on February 16, 1883, and eventually became one of the leading women's magazines of the 20th century in the United States...
, under the title "Jackie by Jackie." When her severe illness prevented Susann from completing Dolores, her close friend and fellow writer Rex Reed
Rex Reed
Rex Taylor Reed is an American film critic and former co-host of the syndicated television show At the Movies. He currently writes the column "On the Town with Rex Reed" for The New York Observer.-Life and career:...
anonymously took over.
In 1987, a biography of Susann by Barbara Seaman
Barbara Seaman
Barbara Seaman was an American author, activist, and journalist, and a principal founder of the women's health feminism movement.-Early years:Seaman, whose parents, Henry J...
, Lovely Me, was published. The book was, in part, the basis for the year 2000 movie, Isn't She Great?
Isn't She Great
Isn't She Great is a 2000 American biographical film.A highly fictionalized account of the life and career of best-selling author Jacqueline Susann, the Universal Pictures release focuses on her early struggles as an aspiring actress relentlessly hungry for fame, her relationship with press agent...
, which stars Bette Midler
Bette Midler
Bette Midler is an American singer, actress, and comedian, also known by her informal stage name, The Divine Miss M. She became famous as a cabaret and concert headliner, and went on to star in successful and acclaimed films such as The Rose, Ruthless People, Beaches, and For The Boys...
as Jacqueline Susann and Nathan Lane
Nathan Lane
Nathan Lane is an American actor of stage and screen. He is best known for his roles as Mendy in The Lisbon Traviata, Albert in The Birdcage, Max Bialystock in the musical The Producers, Ernie Smuntz in MouseHunt, Nathan Detroit in Guys and Dolls, Pseudolus in A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to...
as Irving Mansfield. Marlo Thomas
Marlo Thomas
Margaret Julia “Marlo” Thomas is an American actress, producer, and social activist known for her starring role on the TV series That Girl . She also serves as National Outreach Director for St. Jude Children's Research Hospital...
played Susann in the play, Paper Doll, which also starred F. Murray Abraham
F. Murray Abraham
Fahrid Murray Abraham is an American actor. He became known during the 1980s after winning the Academy Award for Best Actor for his role as Antonio Salieri in Amadeus. He has appeared in many roles, both leading and supporting, in films such as All the President's Men and Scarface...
as Mansfield. Michele Lee
Michele Lee
Michele Lee is an American singer, dancer, actress, producer, director and frequent game show panelist of the 1970s. She is best-known for her role as Karen Cooper Fairgate MacKenzie on the 1980s prime-time soap opera, Knots Landing...
and Peter Riegert
Peter Riegert
Peter Riegert is an American actor, screenwriter, and film director, best known for his role as Boon from Animal House and crooked New Jersey State Assemblyman Ronald Zellman on the HBO original series The Sopranos.-Early life:...
played Susann and Mansfield in the made-for-TV movie, Scandalous Me: The Jacqueline Susann Story.
Before her death, Susann had planned a direct sequel to Valley of the Dolls. In 2001, author Rae Lawrence wrote the novel Shadow of the Dolls, which was based on the notes that Susann left for her intended sequel.
The movie Beyond the Valley of the Dolls
Beyond the Valley of the Dolls
Beyond the Valley of the Dolls is a 1970 American schlock melodrama film starring Dolly Read, Cynthia Myers, Marcia McBroom, John LaZar, Michael Blodgett and David Gurian...
was never intended to be a sequel to the movie Valley of the Dolls, but rather to be a somewhat independent work, but also a spoof of Valley of the Dolls.
Books
- Every Night, Josephine! (1963) ISBN 0-14-303434-0
- Valley of the DollsValley of the DollsValley of the Dolls is a novel by American writer Jacqueline Susann, published in 1966. The "dolls" within the title is a slang term for downers, barbiturates used as sleep aids....
(1966) ISBN 0-8021-3519-6 - The Love Machine (1969) ISBN 0-8021-3544-7
- Once Is Not EnoughOnce Is Not EnoughOnce Is Not Enough is a 1973 novel by Jacqueline Susann. It was the #2 best-selling novel of 1973 in the United States. It was made into a 1975 film Once Is Not Enough, Jacqueline Susann's Once Is Not Enough, directed by Guy Green and starring Kirk Douglas, Deborah Raffin, David Janssen and Brenda...
(1973) ISBN 0-8021-3545-5 - DoloresDolores (Susann novel)Dolores is Jacqueline Susann's last novel. She supposedly modeled the character of Dolores after Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis ....
(1976) ISBN 0-553-20958-2 - Yargo (1979) sci-fi romance ISBN 0-553-12855-8 and ISBN 0-552-11019-1