Jacqueline Susann of her own books. "Valley of the Dolls" spans twenty years (1945–1965) in the lives of three young women: Anne Welles, the New England beauty who liberates herself from her staid small town by coming to New York, where she falls in love with the dashing Lyon Burke; Neely O'Hara, an ebullient vaudevillian who becomes a Hollywood star and self-destructs; and Jennifer North, a showgirl with little talent but a gorgeous face and figure, who becomes a friend to both. All three women fall prey to the "dolls," amphetamines and barbiturates, a euphemism which Susann coined. The book was published
Jacqueline Susann and hosting work, Susann did commercials. In 1955, she became spokesperson for the Schiffli Lace and Embroidery Institute. Over the next six years, she wrote, produced, and starred in commercials which aired during such shows as New York's local "Night Beat" (DuMont's WABN), with Mike Wallace, and then nationally on such shows as "The Mike Wallace Interview" (ABC) and "The Ben Hecht Show" (ABC). Sometimes she was joined on the air by her poodle, Josephine. Susann energetically promoted the product, and made personal appearances on its behalf. One night in the early 1960s, as she was leaving a New York