VALLEY OF THE DOLLS

'''Valley of the Dolls''' is the title of a best selling novel by Jacqueline Susann, published in 1966. It is widely considered one of the most commercially successful novels of all time. In 1967 it was adapted into a dramatic film of the same name which was directed by Mark Robson, and stars Barbara Parkins, Sharon Tate, and Patty Duke. This was followed by a 1994 late-night, syndicated television soap opera which also took the same name and premise.
''Valley of the Dolls'' was an instant success when it was first published. Since then it has sold more than 30 million copies. As the first roman à clef by a female author to achieve this level of sales in America, it led the way for other authors such as Jackie Collins to depict the private lives of the real-life rich and famous under a veneer of fiction.

Contents

Plot summary

Background

See also

Plot summary

The novel begins immediately after the end of World War 2 and chronicles the story of three young women who embark on careers that bring them to the dizzying heights of fame and eventual self-destruction. Anne Welles has recently arrived from New England with hopes of success in New York City, and she is working for an agency that represents legendary Broadway star Helen Lawson. Neely O'Hara aka Ethel Agnes O'Neil is a plucky kid with undeniable talent and vaudeville background who lives downstairs from Anne. Jennifer North, a beautiful blonde with limited talent who is squired around by rich men, is appearing in the chorus. The three women become fast friends, and share a bond of ambition and the tendency to be involved with the wrong men.
Later, Jennifer goes to Hollywood with her husband, nightclub singer and playboy Tony Polar, who is revealed to be mentally retarded. Tony's half-sister Miriam explains that Tony's condition is congenital, convincing Jennifer to have an abortion, although Jennifer had planned to keep the child after divorcing Polar for unfaithfulness. In contrast to the film version where Jennifer finds herself working in "art movies" to pay Polar's medical bills, Miriam pays Tony's hospital expenses out of his own savings. Jennifer decides independently to do French art house films, since she is only highly regarded for her body and is desperate for money owing to her mother's unceasing demands. Jennifer's real ambition is to have children on whom she will lavish the approval and affection she was denied by her family. Stress and smoking make her an insomniac, and she uses the "dolls" (barbiturates) sparingly as sleep aids.
Anne fares the best of all three, becoming a highly successful model. Eventually, Anne falls under the allure of the "dolls" and uses them to escape the reality of her relationship with her lover, who continues to have affairs after their marriage, including with Neely. Jennifer tries to turn her back on her "art movie" career and forms a relationship with a young Senator, but when diagnosed with breast cancer and told she must have a mastectomy, she finds that even this man cares only for her body and is horrified at the thought of her losing her breasts. Rather than face mutilation alone, she commits suicide with an overdose of "dolls". Neely is given one more chance to straighten up and resume her career, but the attraction of the "dolls" is too strong, and she seems to spiral into a final decline.
Anne stays with Lyon despite his affair with Neely. By the end of the book, Anne has become increasingly under the influence of the "dolls" to dull the pain of Lyon's continued dalliances with other women.

Background

Much of the narrative is drawn from the author's experiences and observations as a struggling actress in the Hollywood of the early forties. The character of Neely O'Hara with her excess of talent coupled with her self-destructive alcoholism and dependency on prescription drugs, is said to be based upon Judy Garland, although her powerfully energetic stage and screen image are closer to those of Betty Hutton. Helen Lawson, the aging stage actress who befriends and uses Anne, is based closely on Ethel Merman, whom Susann had known personally and reportedly had been sexually involved with. Garland was originally cast in the movie as Lawson, until Garland's unpredictable behavior led to her dismissal and Susan Hayward replaced her.
O'Hara's treatment in the sanitariums is a milder version of the fate that befell actress Frances Farmer. The tragic character of Jennifer North is said to be based upon actress/pin-up girl Carole Landis, who had been romantically involved with Susann in their Hollywood days. Like Jennifer, Landis was seen as an ambitious blonde with little real talent, and after a series of failed relationships and a career that had quickly stagnated, she committed suicide with an overdose of barbiturates. Certain aspects of her personality resemble those of Marilyn Monroe, particularly her actual yet often overlooked intelligence. The character of Tony Polar is rumored to be based on Frank Sinatra, but Susann herself was quoted in her biography saying that she got the idea for Polar when she tried to interview Dean Martin after one of his shows; he was too engrossed in a comic book to pay attention to her.

See also

★ ''Beyond the Valley of the Dolls'', a 1970 satirical pastiche

★ ''Valley of the Dolls'', a 2004 song by Scottish electronic musician Mylo