One of the more unfortunate tales out of Hollywood is the early death of Poltergiest (1982) star Dominique Dunne. The daughter of film producer and journalist Dominick Dunne and ranching heiress Ellen Griffin, and the sister of actor and director, Griffin Dunne, Dominique was almost born to be in Hollywood, though she actually started her grown-up life as a translator at the Italian Trade Commission. She eventually studied acting for a while at Colorado State University, and nabbed her first role as Cathy Robinson in the TV move Diary of a Teenage Hitchhiker (1979) with Dick Van Patten and Charlene Tilton. She went on to score multiple roles in various primetime television series, and got her big film break when she was cast as older sister Dana Freeeling in Steven Spielberg’s blockbuster hit Poltergeist (1982), where she flashes her white panties in front of a supernatural tornado. Dominique received great reviews for her part in the film, but unfortunately, was unable to cash in on her success. The same year the movie was released, the brunette starlet was murdered at the hands of a violent ex-boyfriend, chef John Thomas Sweeney. The two had a whirlwind affair, with him turning jealous, violent, and abusive. Her last appearance on screen was in a 1982 episode of Hill Street Blues, shot in 1981. The star played Cindy, an abuse victim, and due to a violent choking from Sweeney the day before, she needed no makeup for the role; the bruises you see on screen are real. Dominique broke up with Sweeney after this, but he showed up at her home on October 30, dragged the actress to a neighbor’s property, and strangled her. She lingered for five days in a coma, and died on November 4, 1982. Mr. Skin is still in mourning.
