He was known for his reference books on old-time radio and his series of mysteries featuring Denver bookseller and ex-policeman Cliff Janeway.
Born in Brooklyn, New York, in 1942, Dunning moved to his father's hometown of Charleston, South Carolina, at the age of three.
Partly because of trouble with his publishers, in 1984 he stopped writing and opened a store specializing in second-hand and rare books called the Old Algonquin Bookstore.
In 1994 he closed the store and continued it as an internet and mail order business called Old Algonquin Books.
[9] Dunning died on May 23, 2023, at the age of 81, following a long battle with dementia, stemming from a brain tumor diagnosed in 2006.