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Griffin Dunne

Griffin Dunne (born June 8, 1955) is an actor, producer, director, and writer, best known for his role in Martin Scorsese's After Hours. He is the son of Vanity Fair writer Dominick Dunne and heiress Ellen "Lenny" Griffin, and the nephew of writer John Gregory Dunne and Joan Didion. He published his family memoir, The Friday Afternoon Club, in 2024.
Biographical details sourced from Wikipedia, The New York Times and The Guardian.
On LuvemBooks, we've reviewed The Friday Afternoon Club.
1
Books Reviewed

In Griffin Dunne's own words

Griffin Dunne discusses his family memoir, The Friday Afternoon Club, in an interview with Emiko Tamagawa at WBUR's CitySpace.

Uploaded by WBUR CitySpace, Boston, 2024 · Watch on YouTube ·

Also in conversation

Carrie Fisher's initial reaction to Star Wars

Dunne recalls his former roommate Carrie Fisher returning from auditions to report that she had booked a movie in England she predicted would be a ridiculous flop. She mocked her hairstyle as having bagels on her head and joked about ray guns lacking triggers.

Tim Burton stepped aside for Martin Scorsese

Dunne explains that he and producer Amy Robinson had initially attached young animator Tim Burton to direct 'After Hours.' When Martin Scorsese suddenly became interested, Burton graciously withdrew so Scorsese could make the movie.

Also in this interview

On The Friday Afternoon Club

Cover of The Friday Afternoon Club
The Friday Afternoon Club

4.4/5

reader rating · 6,440 ratings

Griffin Dunne's memoir of growing up among Hollywood and Manhattan royalty — son of Dominick Dunne, nephew of Joan Didion — is anchored by the murder of his sister Dominique and the trial that followed. An instant New York Times bestseller praised as "warm and perceptive" by the NYT, it turns celebrity sparkle into a genuinely moving family reckoning.

Reviewed Sep 26, 2026

Ask LuvemBooks about Griffin Dunne

Griffin Dunne — actor, director, and son of Vanity Fair writer Dominick Dunne — turned to memoir with The Friday Afternoon Club, the single book we've reviewed on LuvemBooks. The book uses his insider's view of Hollywood and Manhattan literary royalty (Joan Didion was his aunt) as the frame for a far graver subject: the murder of his sister Dominique and the trial that followed. Readers have responded strongly, giving it a 4.4/5 reader rating on Amazon from over 6,400 ratings.
Where should I start?
Start with The Friday Afternoon Club — it's the only Griffin Dunne book we've reviewed, and it's his defining work as an author. The memoir covers his upbringing in a famous literary and Hollywood family and the tragedy at its center, and it holds a 4.4/5 reader rating on Amazon from 6,440 ratings.
What's their writing style?
Based on The Friday Afternoon Club, Dunne writes with the polish and comic timing you'd expect from someone raised around Didion and the Dunnes — the New York Times called the memoir "warm and perceptive." What distinguishes it is the pivot: celebrity sparkle gives way to a genuinely moving family reckoning centered on his sister Dominique's murder.
Books we've reviewed
We've reviewed 1 Griffin Dunne book. The Friday Afternoon Club: A Family Memoir (2024) — a warm, perceptive account of growing up in a famous literary-Hollywood family, anchored by the murder of his sister Dominique; readers rate it 4.4/5 on Amazon from 6,440 ratings.
What genre do they write?
Griffin Dunne writes memoir. The Friday Afternoon Club is a family memoir, blending Hollywood and literary-world recollection with true-crime-adjacent material around the murder of his sister Dominique and the trial that followed.
What is The Friday Afternoon Club about?
It's Griffin Dunne's memoir of growing up among Hollywood and Manhattan royalty — the son of Dominick Dunne and nephew of Joan Didion. The celebrity recollections are anchored by the murder of his sister Dominique and the trial that followed, turning the book into a family reckoning. It was an instant New York Times bestseller.
What should I read after The Friday Afternoon Club?
The Friday Afternoon Club is the only Griffin Dunne book we've reviewed, so there's no further Dunne title in our coverage to point you to next. Within the book itself, readers interested in the family's literary side can follow its threads toward the world of Joan Didion and John Gregory Dunne, who figure in Dunne's upbringing.
Who is Griffin Dunne?

Who is Griffin Dunne?

Griffin Dunne (born June 8, 1955) is an American actor, producer, director, and writer, best known on screen for his role in Martin Scorsese's After Hours. He comes from a notable literary family: his father was Vanity Fair writer Dominick Dunne, and his aunt and uncle were Joan Didion and John Gregory Dunne. In 2024 he published his family memoir, The Friday Afternoon Club.

Follow up

What is The Friday Afternoon Club about?
What movies has Griffin Dunne been in?

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