A good many books are interesting, but far fewer are charming. That, however, is what Wear and Tear is. Tracy Tynan is the only child of the celebrated British drama critic Kenneth Tynan, the wittiest 20th-century critic in any genre, and his American wife Elaine Dundy, author of the novel The Dud Avocado and a biography of the actor Peter Finch. The children of celebrities tend to have a hard time of it, especially if one parent (in this case both) acquired fame through literature. As a Harvard student, I befriended Vincent Cronin, son of the popular novelist A. J. Cronin, and John Russell, son of the philosopher Bertrand Russell. Both were bright and amiable, but neither made history. Neither trying to emulate nor straining not to prevents an apple from falling far from the tree.
Little Tracy Tynan had the onus not only of famous but famously embattled parents, who fought almost constantly, their favored weapons being hurled furniture. (Luckily, they were either expert dodgers or had rotten aim.) Their daughter had every opportunity to grow up a mess or failure, but Tracy overcame both handicaps, becoming instead a successful costume designer in Hollywood, working on many movies, often for major stars—some more, some less, tractable. Her childhood years were fraught not only by parental combat, but also by frequent uprooting and repeated separations from closest chums. As a daughter of the Tynans, egregious celebrity hounds, she got to know numerous stellar figures in show business and the arts. This left its mark—as did, later on, education at Sarah Lawrence, probably the most art- and showbiz-oriented academic institution in the land.
