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. 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.
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. Her powerfully energetic stage and screen image are closer to those of Betty Hutton. Like Neely, Hutton had an ingenue role in a musical (Panama Hattie) opposite Merman — and had her one song cut from production by Merman, exactly as Lawson does to ingenue Terry King in the novel, because it drew attention away from the star. Garland was originally cast in the movie as Lawson, until her constant tardiness on the set and disapproval of the script 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. Susann was well acquainted with institutions and mental hospitals because of her struggle to find an acceptable milieu for her autistic son. 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. Her involvement with Senator Adams is comparable to Monroe's rumored affair with John F. Kennedy. The character of Tony Polar, the mentally impaired singer, was rumored to be based on Frank Sinatra, but Susann herself was quoted in her biography Lovely Me 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.
Read more about this topic: Valley Of The Dolls
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