Faye Dunaway

Easton Press Faye Dunaway books

Looking for Gatsby - signed first edition - 1995

 

Actress Faye Dunaway

Faye Dunaway, a distinguished American actress, was born on January 14, 1941, in Bascom, Florida, USA. Raised in small towns in Florida and Washington, Dunaway developed a passion for acting from an early age. After attending the University of Florida, she pursued further studies at Boston University's School of Fine Arts and later at the American National Theater and Academy in New York City. Dunaway's career began on Broadway, where she gained attention for her performances in plays such as A Man for All Seasons (1961) and After the Fall (1964). Her breakthrough came when she transitioned to film, making her big-screen debut in The Happening (1967). However, it was her role as Bonnie Parker in Arthur Penn's landmark film Bonnie and Clyde (1967) that catapulted Faye Dunaway to stardom. Her portrayal of the infamous outlaw not only earned her critical acclaim but also established her as one of Hollywood's leading actresses. The film's success marked the beginning of a decade during which Dunaway would deliver memorable performances in a series of iconic films.

In 1976, Faye Dunaway earned an Academy Award for Best Actress for her role as Diana Christensen in Network (1976). Her powerful and compelling performance as a ruthless television executive showcased her versatility as an actress and solidified her status as one of the industry's finest talents. Dunaway's filmography includes a range of notable works such as Chinatown (1974), Three Days of the Condor (1975), and Mommie Dearest (1981), in which she portrayed Hollywood legend Joan Crawford. While her career experienced ups and downs, Dunaway remained a respected figure in the entertainment industry, known for her intelligence and intensity on-screen.

In addition to her film career, Faye Dunaway has graced the stage, receiving critical acclaim for her work in productions like A Streetcar Named Desire and Master Class. Her contributions to the arts were further acknowledged when she received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1996. Faye Dunaway's life and career have been marked by her commitment to her craft, her ability to portray complex characters, and her enduring impact on the world of film and theater. Despite the challenges that often accompany a long and diverse career, Dunaway remains an iconic figure in the history of American cinema.

 

Looking for Gatsby

The Hollywood star offers a look at her life, chronicling her rise from poverty to stunning success and candidly discussing her love life and her career.

In Looking for Gatsby a title which perfectly conveys the haunting pursuit of romance that has always been a part of her life Faye Dunaway has written a truly remarkable book. As she probes relentlessly for the truth about herself, she fearlessly confronts her demons, trying to set the record straight about her life, her loves, her work, searching for the events that shaped her, that gave her the drive and the blazing need to escape from a childhood of poverty and turmoil and to succeed so completely as an actress

When she began her acting career, it was in the New York theater. Success came almost immediately, in Hogan's Goat, and fame soon after that, when in only her third film she was cast opposite Warren Beatty in Bonnie and Clyde. Her talent and her enigmatic beauty made her a major international star almost overnight and gave her at last the life she had only dreamed about as a child. But as Faye so openly admits, reality has a way of mocking dreams, and while success and fame came easily, happiness has proven much more elusive. She writes candidly of the men in her life - costars, lovers, husbands - and of the problems of competing needs and constant professional demands that frequently destroy relationships in the world of movie stardom

There have been affairs, of course, some of which have been public knowledge, others discussed here for the first time, among them legendary comedian and satirist Lenny Bruce (about whom she writes movingly) and Italian superstar Marcello Mastroianni (with whom she had a long, stormy affair). She writes intimately of two of her marriages, her first to rock icon Peter Wolf, lead singer of the J. Geils Band, and later to renowned photographer Terry O'Neill, with whom she saw her greatest triumph, their son Liam.
 

Her career has been scarcely less tempestuous, however brilliant. She has appeared in such major successes as Bonnie and Clyde, Chinatown, The Thomas Crown Affair, Mommie Dearest and Network (for which she won an Academy Award as Best Actress) and experienced great disappointments, such as the failure of her 1993 television series.