Dennis McDougal (November 25, 1947 – March 22, 2025) was an American author and newspaper journalist, who has been called "L.A.'s No. 1 muckraker".[1] His bookPrivileged Son was described as "illuminating reading for anyone interested in 20th-century Los Angeles or modern-day newspapering" byThe New York Times.[2]
McDougal was originally fromPasadena, California. After attending public school in the Los Angeles suburb ofLynwood, he received a bachelor of arts degree in English fromUniversity of California, Los Angeles, where he later earned a master's degree in journalism.
A native ofSouthern California, he lived nearMemphis, Tennessee. McDougal died of injuries sustained in a traffic collision at a hospital in Palm Springs, California, on March 22, 2025, at the age of 77.[3]
From 1967 to 1969, McDougal was on active duty with theNaval Reserves. He served aboard theU.S.S.Annapolis in theSouth China Sea.[4] In an interview with bloggerLuke Ford, McDougal recalls his experience, much of which formed the basis for his first fiction novel,The Candlestickmaker, published in 2011:
...The captain of our ship had a predilection for taking the recruiting slogan – join the Navy and see the world – seriously. We'd go out and do our 30–60 days tossing messages back and forth from the mainland to Hawaii and then we'd go on R&R. We did that a lot. He took us all over the Far East.[5]
Before turning his attention full-time to writing books in 1993, McDougal reported on the glitzy and occasionally corrupt aspects of Hollywood as a staff writer for ten years at theLos Angeles Times, while previously working as a staff writer forThe Riverside Press-Enterprise (1973–77) andThe Long Beach Press-Telegram (1977–1981). From 2002 to 2006, he worked as a contributor forThe New York Times.
In 2007, the controversy surrounding his bookPrivileged Son: Otis Chandler and the Rise and Fall of theLos Angeles Times Dynasty—the newspaper McDougal once worked for—was discussed in an interview with McDougal onNPR'sMorning Edition.[6]The New York Times in a review called McDougal's book "illuminating reading for anyone interested in 20th-century Los Angeles or modern-day newspapering."[2]
Between books, McDougal was a producer forCNN during theO. J. Simpson trial, where he was responsible for tracking down witnesses, relatives, and acquaintances for interviews as well as documents and public records for use on camera as the trial unfolded.
In 2014, Turner Publishing Co. released McDougal's biography of Bob Dylan,Dylan: The Biography.Perfect Sound Forever magazine wrote that "McDougal answers many questions about Dylan's life and times and provides insight about it.[10]
As of 2023, McDougal was the author of 13 books:[13]
Angel of Darkness (1991) - A cult classic about Southern California serial murdererRandy Kraft, the mild-mannered computer whiz by day and lust killer at night, who holds the dubious distinction of being one of the most prolific murderers (approximately 67 victims) in modern U.S. history.
Fatal Subtraction: How Hollywood Really Does Business (with Pierce O'Donnell) (1992) - An inside look at Hollywood's landmarkArt Buchwald v. Paramount trial, theComing to America lawsuit that unveiled Hollywood's sleazy accounting practices and changed forever the way studios conduct business.
In the Best of Families (1994) - The "Best Fact Crime" in theMystery Writers of America'sEdgar Award nominee, this book recounts the descent into murderous madness of the family of Roy Miller,Ronald Reagan's attorney.[14]
Mother's Day (1998) - The best-selling saga of a Sacramento mother of six who enticed two of her sons into a monstrous plot to torture and murder her own two daughters.
The Yosemite Murders (2000) - InYosemite National Park,Cary Stayner commits murder after murder as law enforcement scrambles to decipher anything that will save hapless vacationers.
Privileged Son (2001) - A biography ofLos Angeles Times publisherOtis Chandler,[7] and winner of theFordham University Anne M. Sperber Award as the nation's best media biography in 2002Privileged Son was later adapted into a PBS American experience documentary titledInventing L.A.: The Chandlers and Their Times.[15] In 2007, McDougal discussed his book onNPR'sMorning Edition.[6]
Blood Cold, McDougal andMary Murphy (2002) - Former child actor, acclaimed star ofIn Cold Blood and iconic 1970s TV detective inBaretta,Robert Blake metBonny Lee Bakley at a party and slept with her the same night. A Hollywood parasite and con artist known for elaborate Internet sex scams and a shameless pursuit of money and fame, Bakley wanted to marry a star and by the late 1990s, Blake was her target: a troubled has-been coasting on the fumes of past success. Six months after their quickie wedding, Bakley was shot to death in a parked car on a dark Hollywood side street, and the No. 1 suspect was Blake.
Five Easy Decades: How Jack Nicholson Became the Biggest Movie Star in Modern Times (2008) - A biography about the life of American film starJack Nicholson.
The Candlestickmaker (2011) - A work of fiction, based on McDougal's own experiences serving in theUS Navy during theVietnam War.
Operation White Rabbit: LSD, the DEA and the Fate of the Acid King (2020) -Skyhorse Publishing.
Citizen Wynn: A Sin City Saga of Power, Lust, and Blind Ambition (2024) - This unauthorized biography is the cautionary saga of uber-wealthy casino kingSteve Wynn, who built a global gambling empire on fantasy, grift, and misogyny before hubris and #MeToo brought him down. (Rare Bird Books)[16]
