Elaine Dundy: 1921-2008

Elaine Dundy was an American novelist, biographer, journalist, actress and playwright. She was born and raised in New York, where she attended drama school with future stars such as Tony Curtis and Rod Steiger. Working as an actress in Paris and London, she met the theatre critic Kenneth Tynan - two weeks later they were living together, and within the year she had cabled home: “Have married Englishman. Letter follows.” The couple rapidly became part of the theatrical and film elite of London and Hollywood, travelling and socialising with the likes of Ernest Hemingway, Orson Welles, Tennessee Williams and Gore Vidal.

Her first novel The Dud Avocado (1958) was an immediate hit, with Groucho Marx writing in a letter: “I had to tell someone (and it might as well be you as you’re the author) how much I enjoyed The Dud Avocado. It made me laugh, scream and guffaw (which, incidentally, is a great name for a law firm)”. It was reissued as an NYRB Classic in 2007 to immense critical and popular success, and is currently under option as a feature film. Elaine went on to establish a successful career as an author, publishing further novels The Old Man and Me (1964; to be reissued by NYRB in 2008) and The Injured Party (1974), and a play, My Place (1962). She has written for the New York Times and the Guardian, and recently has proven herself a sensitive and accomplished biographer; her book Elvis and Gladys (1985) was described by the Boston Globe as “nothing less than the best Elvis book yet”. Her books are respected for their independent views, attention to detail and thorough research, and other works include Finch, Bloody Finch: A Biography of Peter Finch (1980), Ferriday, Louisiana (1991) and her autobiography Life Itself! (2001). She also contributed to various newspapers and magazines on both sides of the Atlantic, including the Guardian, American Vogue and Harpers & Queen.

Elaine divided much of her time between London and Los Angeles, and settled on the West Coast for her final years. She died suddenly of a heart attack on 1 May 2008, whilst working on an ambitious triple biography of Hank Williams, Patsy Cline and Elvis. She was fondly remembered in full page obituaries in the Guardian, Times and Independent as well as the New York Times, and Gore Vidal spoke glowingly of her on BBC Radio 4's 'Last Word'. For more on her life and work, see www.elainedundy.com.

Recent books:

The Dud Avocado (NYRB: 2007)
The Old Man and Me (Virago: 2005)
Life Itself! (Virago: 2002)