Griffin Dunne finds balance between madcap Hollywood adventures and family tragedy in new memoir

NEW YORK (AP) — Griffin Dunne says he’s grateful his parents raised him with what he affectionately calls “benign neglect" in 1970s and '80s Los Angeles because it encouraged creativity and risk-taking that led to some wild experiences he chronicles in his new memoir.

“The Friday Afternoon Club, A Family Memoir,” out Tuesday from Penguin Press, is filled with raucous tales of growing up in Hollywood — from sneaking into his parents’ dinner parties with guests like Grace Kelly and Frank Sinatra, to Sean Connery saving him from drowning in a pool (see, neglect!), to acting class with Linda Lovelace, and smoking weed with Dennis Hopper.

The actor, producer and director infuses the book with humor, but also covers the tragic aspects of his life: his mother’s early MS diagnosis, his father's (writer Dominick Dunne) addictions, his brother’s mental health challenges and his sister’s murder. Dominique Dunne was 22 and starting a promising acting career (she debuted in “Poltergeist”) when her ex-boyfriend strangled her at her West Hollywood home in 1982. Beyond the impressive name-dropping and pedigree — his aunt and uncle are writers Joan Didion and John Gregory Dunne — Dunne, 69, has a gift for storytelling.

He recently sat down with The Associated Press to discuss fame, his friendship with Carrie Fisher and his complex past. Answers are edited for brevity and clarity.