Add a Memory
Make a Donation
Penned plays, scripts, novels, essays
Gore Vidal, 86, a celebrated writer, cultural gadfly and occasional political candidate, died of pneumonia Tuesday at his Hollywood Hills, Calif., home, according to a nephew.
Known for his urbanity and wit "Every time a friend succeeds, I die a little" Mr. VidalVidal had a literary career spanning more than 60 years, and he once said that he hoped to be remembered as "the person who wrote the best sentences of his time."
He was an astonishingly versatile man of letters and nearly the last major writer of the modern era to have served in World War II. Having resolved at age 20 to live by his pen, Mr. VidalVidal produced plays for television and Broadway, including the classic political drama "The Best Man." He helped script such movies as the 1959 epic "Ben-Hur" and gained notoriety for the campy novel "Myra Breckinridge," about a transsexual film enthusiast.
VidalMr. Vidal won plaudits from scholars, critics and ordinary readers for historical novels such as the best-selling "Julian," "Burr" and "Lincoln," and English critic Jonathan Keates called him "the 20th century's finest essayist."
"United States," which gathers Mr. Vidal'sVidal's essays on art, politics and himself, received the 1993 National Book Award.
In print or on television he was a frequent talk-show guest the worldly Mr. VidalVidal provoked controversy with his laissez-faire attitude toward every sort of sexuality, his well-reasoned disgust with what he called American imperialism and his sophisticated cynicism about love, religion, patriotism and other sacred cows.
Shunned mother 25 years
Mr. VidalVidal was born Oct. 3, 1925, at West Point, N.Y., where his father, Eugene Vidal, was teaching aeronautics at the military academy.
His mother, Nina, was the socialite daughter of U.S. Sen. T.P. Gore of Oklahoma. Christened Eugene Luther Gore Vidal, the writer later lopped off the first two names "for political as well as for aesthetic reasons."
He said that "this often has been gleefully interpreted as a rejection of my father, whom I liked, in order to become my mother, whom I disliked."
In fact, so great was his antagonism toward his mother that Mr. VidalVidal stopped seeing her during the last 25 years of her life. He hero-worshipped his father, a former Olympic athlete in the decathlon.
VidalMr. Vidal spent much of his childhood in Washington and was particularly attached to his grandfather. The senator was blind, so the boy spent many hours reading to him aloud, thus inaugurating his lifelong passion for learning and books.
In his childhood, Mr. VidalVidal loved L. Frank Baum's stories about Oz, Edgar Rice Burroughs' Tarzan adventures, the fantasies of E. Nesbit, and every sort of history.
VidalMr. Vidal attended St. Albans School, where he fell in love with a fellow student named Jimmie Trimble, who was killed in combat on Iwo Jima during World War II.
In his memoirs "Palimpsest" (1995) and "Point to Point Navigation" (2006), Mr. VidalVidal makes clear that this youthful passion, cut short by Trimble's death, marked his entire life: He never truly loved anyone again, although he would enjoy hundreds of sexual encounters, most of them with anonymous strangers.
Although Mr. VidalVidal maintained a more than 50-year partnership with his companion Howard Austen, he constantly underscored that the secret of its longevity was "no sex." Austen died in 2003.
Threw high-profile parties
Because most of his fiction of the 1950s proved commercially lackluster, Mr. VidalVidal decided to earn his living largely by writing TV dramas, Broadway plays and movie scripts. He cranked out three mysteries under the pen name Edgar Box, starting with "Death in the Fifth Position" (1952).
With the money from the commercial writing, Mr. VidalVidal paid the mortgage on a grandly pillared Greek-revival manse called Edgewater, located on the banks of the Hudson River near Rhinecliff, N.Y.
There, he threw parties attended by rising literary notables such as Saul Bellow and Norman Mailer, critics Lionel and Diana Trilling, and movie stars Joanne Woodward and Paul Newman (who became his close friends).
Over time, the writer's circle of high-profile acquaintances included John F. Kennedy and Britain's Princess Margaret, although he was closer to composer and writer Paul Bowles and beat legend Jack Kerouac.
In fact, Mr. VidalVidal and Kerouac were physically drawn to each other. While checking into the Chelsea Hotel for a tryst, they signed their real names, and Mr. VidalVidal told the bemused clerk that that page of the hotel registry would one day become famous.
Although Mr. VidalVidal found success as a writer and intellectual, he failed in his attempts to gain political office. He twice ran unsuccessfully in elections, campaigning for Congress in 1960 when he lived at Edgewater and then for the Senate in 1982 when he had taken a residence in California.
Yet politics had been in his blood since childhood: Through his father and grandfather, he had known politicians as powerful as Franklin Roosevelt and as colorful as Louisiana governor Huey Long. His mother's second husband, Hugh D. Auchincloss CQ , was the stepfather to Jacqueline Kennedy. He could count Jimmy Carter and Al Gore as distant cousins.
In his later years Mr. VidalVidal grew even more vehement in his political convictions, speaking out against what he described as American imperialism |after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks and denouncing the invasion of |Iraq.
63 Entries
Prolific genius
Susan M
Student
August 29, 2018
Valenda Newell
September 21, 2016
Rest Gore, until you hear at dawn,
the low, clear reveille of God.
Thank you for your service to this nation.
Harry Simpson
August 1, 2016
Tonya Shepherd
November 21, 2012
I miss his vigorous, courageous, intelligent refusal of all things trite and self-satisfied in American political life. Though patrician in manner, he was a true proponent of full citizenship as protected by the Constitution, regardless of advantages by birth, race, sex, or sexuality. I miss his honesty. I miss him.
Sue Denim
November 17, 2012
Bon voyage, Gore.
Dian Kendrick
August 12, 2012
What a legend. Truly inspirational. He helped me in so many ways. Thank you Gore Viadl. I'll miss your genius.
David Potter
August 9, 2012
Having read a great deal of his work, I can say that his is a talent that will be sorely missed. My condolences to his family and friends, I know your loss is greater.
Claudia Wylie
August 8, 2012
Nina - Sorry for your loss. My thoughts are with you.
Lee Marshall
August 5, 2012
Just like Martha Mitchell, Gore was right. R.I.P.
Jon Addis
August 5, 2012
I am sadden to hear of the loss of your love one. My thoughts and Prayers are with the Family.
~CG~ Atlanta,GA
August 5, 2012
My condolences are for the family and friends of Gore Vidal. May the God of all comfort be with you all at this sad time.
Wanda Henry
August 4, 2012
Thank you Sir.
Dan Lynch
August 4, 2012
Thank you for all
Gardner Phillips
August 4, 2012
May you be comforted in knowing that God, as well as others, care about your feelings at this time.
August 4, 2012
With deepest sympathy to the family during your time of sorrow. Psalms 46:1 says: God is for us a refuge and strength during this difficult time and may God grant you the comfort to endure.
August 4, 2012
WHEN I WAS ABOUT 10 YEARS OLD...AND I HEARD HIS NAME...ON TV --- I THOUGHT IT WAS SPELLED "GORVY DAHL" LOVED HIM FOR 50 YEARS !!! GOODBYE GORVY !!!
KATHRYN LEMON
August 3, 2012
May the God who supplies endurance and comfort”… sustain you in your time of need through prayer, the comfort of fellow believers, and his Word the Bible.–Ro 15:5.
With Deep Sympathy,
L. G.
August 3, 2012
My favorite writer. He could always make me think and laugh. I didn't always agree with him, but more often than not i did. A great man whose voice needs to be heard more than ever.
Brian Fairbanks
August 3, 2012
A friend of a friend, you will be missed.
Robert, Savannah, Ga.
August 3, 2012
Although I never had the pleasure of meeting him, words cannot express what Gore Vidal meant to me. I'll never forget watching him speak with W. Buckley. And, as he often did, he left Buckley frustrated and mute. Mr. Vidal ended with "now thank the guest." Priceless. I was hooked for life. Goodbye friend.
Rachel Arteaga
August 3, 2012
May God have mercy on your soul.
Anna Keys
Louisiana
August 3, 2012
We will miss you.
Mark Haberstroh
August 3, 2012
"Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of His saints."-Psalm 116:15. Gore was a Prince in the midst of the literary aristocracy and there is no heir.
Metropolitan Ephraem Bertolette
August 3, 2012
My deepest condolences to the Vidal family. May the God of peace be with you all. Romans 15:33
ms
August 3, 2012
We lost a true patriot and national treasure.
Pamela Rumble
August 3, 2012
So sorry for your loss. Praying that God will give you peace, comfort and strength during the coming days ahead.
Susan
August 3, 2012
I light a candle ... such a paltry symbolic offering in place of the very real glow this man gave off throughout his prolific and amazing life,
Cassie Ramsay Anderson
August 2, 2012
Just saw Best Man, a true genius. What a loss to the community. Rest Well.
Mike Melvin
August 2, 2012
Our condolences to the Vidal family, May our Heavenly Father, the God of comfort and tender mercies be with you. WIth deep sympathy,
Harts
August 2, 2012
A Great Loss, His Passing Marks The Dark Descent Of The Culture In American
Linda Strasberg
August 2, 2012
Sympathy and kindest regard for the Vidal family. He was a National Treasure and will be greatly missed!
August 2, 2012
RIP. I loved your work.
Sandra L. Gordy
August 2, 2012
Sympathy & kindest regards to the Vidal family & friends. God bless & all. Take care.
Ray Allen
August 2, 2012
With deepest condolences to the Vidal family during your time of grief...Psalm 46:1...God is for us a refuge and strength, A help that is readily to be found during difficult times...May God provide you with peace and comfort to endure the days ahead.
August 2, 2012
To the the family of Gore Vidal - May God give you peace and comfort through his word and the Lord Jesus Christ during this time of sorrow, I know that he will be missed by many.
August 2, 2012
I hope your next life is as entertaining as this one was. You will be fondly remembered dear sir.
Sarah
August 1, 2012
My sympathy on the passing of Mr. Vidal. He was an extraordinary author who wrote with conviction and without fear. He dared to write what would inspire rather than what would simply sell books. America has lost a legendary wordsmith. Gore Vidal's name and works will live on for generations to come.
Curt G. Bichler
August 1, 2012
Sorry for your loss
Tommie
August 1, 2012
My family and I met Mr. Vidal in Ravello in 2010. He was charming and eloquint and I will always remember our meeting a hightlight in my life. He will be missed by all. Our condolences to his family.
Renee DellaBella
August 1, 2012
Iam so sorry for the loss of your loved one. May the God of comfort be with you. Isaiah 59:1
August 1, 2012
As with all great writers your spirit will live on in your works.
Michael V. Rotello
August 1, 2012
/the world looks so boring now, so lacking in charm and grace and wit. Thank you for having shared all this with us. You will be remembered as well in Brazil. -- Megan Becker, Porto Alegre
August 1, 2012
Thank you for sharing a part of your life with us.
Harry Simpson
August 1, 2012
Thank you so much for your writing. You will be missed.
Tami Newmiller
August 1, 2012
a GIANT has passed...time to reform heaven..go for it, Gore..RIP!
J R
August 1, 2012
Your books were an inspiration to many readers your thoughts and statements always interesting you will be missed
Diann Kauffman
August 1, 2012
Karen Jablonski
August 1, 2012
CONDOLENCES TO'
THE VIDAL LEGACY
GORE VIDAL YOU
ARE ONE OF KIND
INSPIRED ADMIRED>
WRITTEN CHAPTER
WONDERFUL BRILLANT
WRIGHTER OF HISTORY~
THANK YOU FOR ALL THE
GREAT HONOR WITH IN
OUR LIFE TIME..
REST IN SERENE SILENCE
UPON A SPIRITUAL NEW JOURNEY@
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Victoria&Andrew VZj
August 1, 2012
One of my favorite authors, master of satire. Today, we can't have intellects like Vidal who tell the truth, due to political correctness. Very sad to see him go.
Dennis Ramsey
August 1, 2012
Even the heavens are too dull to hold you.
Carolyn Hazelwood
August 1, 2012
Farewell to a generous and honest human being! This world will never be the same without you. May you rest in peace, my dear cousin. I will always cherish the letter you sent to me, and be assured that it will be preserved in the Gore ancestry. My prayers and love are with you.
Dr. Carole Gore Donovan
August 1, 2012
Such a loss. Behind the erudition and wit, there was an arresting common sense. We will miss his voice.
Michael Patrick Albano
August 1, 2012
Please accept my sorrow for the loss of your loved one. May God give the family and friends of Gore Vidal the comfort and peace during this difficult time.
moore
August 1, 2012
Gore Vidal was a fine writer, novelist and commentator on American society.We will miss his perceptive comments in this election year.
Thomas Josephi
August 1, 2012
I interviewed Vidal back in 1981 on the day Ronald Reagan was shot. Given the circumstances, we couldn't lay into the new administration, and the result was an absolutely delightful hour of stories and anecdotes. He is missed already.
Roger Gray
August 1, 2012
Gore was first and foremost a fearless soul. He knew and knew that he knew, and he had the grit and literary know-how to effectively express himself on a broad range of topics. He observed as well as anyone the darker musings of mankind. He feared neither life, nor death. And to the end he remained resolute and Thanatoptic.
Gene Edwards
August 1, 2012
A great man who did not hide himself from the truth.
Frank Effenberger
August 1, 2012
You spoke of 'death' thus, my mentor:
“I'm not sentimental about anything. Life flows by, and you flow with it or you don't. Move on and move out.”
? Gore Vidal
I shall move on, but without your sagess, my hero of the written word. Who will tell us "what's what," now that you're no longer among us. Must admit my great sadness upon hearing of your passing. Thank you for having loaned your spirit here as long as you have for all to learn, regardless of far too many minds in our collective consciousness ignoring your profound scholarly voice echoing the truth. However, from me, love for you is always!
Neil E Mac
August 1, 2012
May the God of all comfort give you the comfort needed during this time. Psalm 65:2
August 1, 2012
We lost a national treasure and a true patriot.
Peter Bollen
August 1, 2012
Jean Bare
August 1, 2012
Requiem æternam dona ei, Domine.
Et lux perpetua luceat ei.
Requiescat in pace. Amen.
Wladyslaw Kordas
August 1, 2012
Showing 1 - 63 of 63 results
The nightly ceremony in Washington, D.C. will be dedicated in honor of your loved one on the day of your choosing.
Read moreWhat kind of arrangement is appropriate, where should you send it, and when should you send an alternative?
Read moreWe'll help you find the right words to comfort your family member or loved one during this difficult time.
Read moreIf you’re in charge of handling the affairs for a recently deceased loved one, this guide offers a helpful checklist.
Read moreLegacy's Linnea Crowther discusses how families talk about causes of death in the obituaries they write.
Read moreThey're not a map to follow, but simply a description of what people commonly feel.
Read more