Valley of the Dolls The screenplay was written by Helen Deutsch ("National Velvet") and Dorothy Kingsley ("Seven Brides for Seven Brothers"), and produced by Robson and David Weisbart. Reviews were scathing, but the film was an enormous box-office hit, becoming the sixth most popular of the year with $44 million at the domestic box office. Susann, who had a cameo as a news reporter, hated the film, reportedly telling director Robson that it was "a piece of shit." The novel was adapted for television in 1981 as "Jacqueline Susann's Valley of the Dolls", a mini-series executive-produced by Susann's widower Irving Mansfield and directed by
Once Is Not Enough frontal nudity, in a complex story which reflects the social upheavals of the late 1960s and early 1970s. Jacqueline Susann initially called the novel "The Big Man", but changed her mind after visiting comedian Joe E. Lewis on his deathbed. Lewis, who had famously said, "You only live once - but if you work it right, once is enough," apparently reconsidered, for he told Susann, "Once is "not" enough." Susann was diagnosed with cancer two months before the book's scheduled publication date. Her usual efforts at promotion—including a grueling book tour—had to be curtailed. But Susann soldiered on; as her