13 min read
Reading time
2,447
Words
Published
66
Film credits
67
Books
4
Awards
Gore Vidal published his first novel Williwaw at age 19 in 1944. He became a bestselling author with works like Myra Breckinridge and Burr, and won the National Book Award twice. Vidal also wrote for film, including an uncredited script for Ben-Hur 1959, and acted in movies such as Gattaca 1997. He ran for Congress in 1960 and for governor of California in 1982.
Names, aliases, and relatives of Gore Vidal — birth name, kin, and personal ties.
Gore Vidal by the numbers — life, work, and family.
Gore Vidal — early life, career, personal life, and legacy.
Gore Vidal published his first novel Williwaw at age 19 in 1944, drawing on his Army Reserve service. He was born Eugene Louis Vidal on October 3, 1925 at West Point, New York, where his father was an aeronautics instructor. His parents divorced when he was ten, and he lived with his blind grandfather, Senator T.P. Gore of Oklahoma. He attended Sidwell Friends School and St. Albans School, then graduated from Phillips Exeter Academy in 1943 before joining the US Army Reserves.
Vidal’s early novel Williwaw 1944 drew on his Army service. His 1948 novel The City and the Pillar caused controversy for its frank portrayal of homosexuality. He wrote under pseudonyms Edgar Box and Cameron Kay for mystery novels. In 1960, he ran for Congress with backing from Paul Newman and Joanne Woodward. Vidal turned to screenwriting, contributing uncredited material to Ben-Hur 1959. His best-selling novel Myra Breckinridge 1968 was adapted into a film. He acted in Bob Roberts 1992, With Honors 1994, and Gattaca 1997. Vidal ran for governor of California in 1982, and won a National Book Award in 1993 for his essay collection United States: Essays 1952-1992.
Vidal was briefly engaged to actress Joanne Woodward, who broke it off to marry Paul Newman; the three remained close friends and even lived together for a time. In 1950, he met Howard Austen at a New York bathhouse, and they became lifelong partners until Austen’s death in November 2003. Vidal was a confidant of Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, whose mother married Vidal’s stepfather. He had four goddaughters through the Woodward-Newman family, often quipping Always a godfather, never a god.
Gore Vidal’s legacy rests on novels such as Myra Breckinridge 1968 and Burr 1973, and his National Book Award-winning essay collection United States: Essays 1952-1992 1993. He was an intimate friend of playwright Tennessee Williams and co-founded the U.S. Peace Party with Benjamin Spock in 1967. His uncredited script for Ben-Hur 1959 remains a Hollywood legend. Vidal was a persistent political candidate, running for Congress in 1960 and governor of California in 1982. He is remembered as a sharp critic of American politics and a master of the essay.
The complete filmography of Gore Vidal — every film, TV show, and documentary credit, ranked by popularity.
Every award, honor, and recognition received by Gore Vidal — Grammys, hall-of-fame inductions, civic honors, lifetime achievements.
Gore Vidal's bibliography — every authored, edited, and co-written book, ranked by edition count.
A wall of memorable lines from Gore Vidal — lyrics, interviews, and off-the-cuff remarks captured over a lifetime.
A Talent for Drama Is Not a Talent for Writing, but Is an Ability to Articulate Human Relationships.
The Idea of a Good Society Is Something You Do Not Need a Religion and Eternal Punishment to Buttress; You Need a Religion If You Are Terrified of Death.
I’m a Born Again Atheist.
Politics Is Made up of Two Words: Poli, Which Is Greek for Many, and Tics, Which Are Bloodsucking Insects.
I Find Stupidity Very Exciting. and I’m Excited All Day Long.
Style Is Knowing Who You Are, What You Want to Say and Not Giving a Damn.
To Write a Script Today Means Working for a Committee of People Who Know Nothing About Movies, as Opposed, Say, to Real Estate or the Higher Art of Bookkeeping.
Homophobia Is Fed into Every Child in the United States at Birth. It Is Unrelenting, It Never Lets Up. They Asked a Whole Raft of High School Boys Across the Country a Couple Years Ago, One of Those Polls About What They Would Most Like to Be in Life, and What They Would Hate to Be, and so Forth, and What They Would Most Hate to Be Was Homosexual. There Wasn’t Anyone, Not One, Who Just Skipped the Question. They All Said ‘Oh No, That’s the Worst Thing You Could Be.’
I Don’t Go to Movies for Love, Do You?
It’s Realism. Life Is Mostly Luck!
The Protocols for Impeachment Are Meant to Be Used. of Course Dick Cheney Should Be Impeached, and Then I Would Impeach the President. They Are Guilty of High Crimes Against the Constitution of the United States. We Have a Bad Government, Just Out of Control. We Have Turned into a Very Ugly, Totalitarian Society.
My Grandmother Would Say, If It’s in the Newspapers, It’s Just Not True. That Was Our Automatic Take.
William Faulkner Told Me Not to Fall into the Trap F. Scott Fitzgerald Did. He Thought You Could Make Something Out of a Movie. You Can’t. Go, Get the Money, Go Home, Write Your Books.
The Best Thing About Being Anglophone Is That You Have Two Countries.
Shit Has Its Own Integrity.
But John F. Kennedy Had Great Charm. so Has Barack Obama. He’s Better Educated Than Jack. and He’s Been a Working Senator. Jack Never Went to the Office He Wanted the Presidency and His Father Bought It for Him.
The George W. Bush People Have Virtually Got Rid of Magna Carta and Habeas Corpus. in a Normal Republic I Would Probably Have Raised an Army and Overthrown Them. It Will Take a Hundred Years to Put It All Back.
Those Presidential Ninnies Should Stick to Throwing Out Baseballs and Leave the Important Matters to Serious People.
Little-known facts about Gore Vidal — origins, oddities, and behind-the-scenes details from a public life.
Thomas Gore, Vidal’s maternal grandfather, helped create Oklahoma and was its first U.S. Senator. He lost his sight in two accidents as a youth and was completely blind, but still pursued politics, earning the nickname The Blind Cowboy.
Joanne Woodward broke her brief engagement to Vidal to marry Paul Newman. The couple remained close friends with Vidal and even lived with him at a Los Angeles estate.
Vidal and Tennessee Williams were close friends and lived together in Italy. As a joke, Vidal would name Marriage Is a Private Affair 1944 as his favorite movie because Williams contributed to its screenplay uncredited.
Vidal shared a stepfather with Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis; when her mother married Hugh Auchincloss she moved into Vidal’s old bedroom. Vidal and John F. Kennedy were reportedly good friends who bonded over disliking relatives.
In 1950, Vidal met Howard Austen at a New York bathhouse; they remained partners until Austen’s death in 2003. Vidal stated they were never intimate again after their first meeting.
On June 23, 1967, Vidal co-founded the U.S. Peace Party with Benjamin Spock, which later became the Peace and Freedom Party.
Despite the shared surname, Vidal and Vice President Al Gore are not related; research shows no common Gore ancestors back to the 1700s.
Vidal’s father, Eugene Luther Vidal, helped start three airlines and had a relationship with Amelia Earhart. Through Earhart’s recommendation, he became Director of Aeronautics under FDR and appeared on the cover of Time magazine on December 18, 1933. He was also a football star at West Point and competed in the decathlon at the 1920 Antwerp Olympics.
Vidal contributed to the screenplay of Ben-Hur 1959 but was uncredited due to a dispute; producer Sam Zimbalist had promised him and Christopher Fry credit but died before arbitration. Karl Tunberg received sole credit and later lost the Oscar, which many attributed to the controversy.
During his 1982 run for California governor, Vidal quipped that competing against incumbent Jerry Brown was too good to pass up because Brown was a Zen space cadet.
Vidal had four goddaughters through the Newman family: Elinor, Melissa, Claire Newman, and Eva Amurri. He famously said, Always a godfather, never a god.
Vidal wrote an unsold script for a TV movie The Magical Monarch of Mo based on L. Frank Baum’s novel, intended for Groucho Marx.
Vidal published works under the pseudonyms Edgar Box, Katherine Everard, and Cameron Kay.
Vidal was disappointed that Jerry Lewis starred in the film adaptation of his play Visit to a Small Planet 1960; he had been promised David Niven.
Vidal took his mother’s maiden name Gore to honor his grandfather, Senator Thomas Gore.
At age ten in 1936, Vidal appeared in a Pathé Newsreel landing his father’s light aircraft.
In 1993, Vidal won the National Book Award for his essay collection United States: Essays 1952-1992.
In 1976, Vidal accepted the Oscar on behalf of Frank Pierson for Best Original Screenplay.
A Washington, D.C. TV station named its horror movie host Gore Dival in the early 1970s, a pun on his name.
Vidal’s nephew Burr Steers is related to Aaron Burr, the subject of Vidal’s 1973 novel Burr.
A 1995 BBC documentary Gore Vidal’s Gore Vidal includes posters of films he contributed to without credit, such as Ben-Hur and The Night of the Generals 1967.
In 1960, Vidal was nominated for a Tony Award for Best Play for The Best Man.
Vidal’s paternal grandfather Felix Luther Vidal was born in Wisconsin to Austrian and Swiss immigrants. His ancestry also includes German, Scottish, English, Scots-Irish, and Irish.
Vidal was born on a Saturday at 10:00 AM EST at West Point, after his mother went into labor at a football game. The attending physician, Major Howard Snyder, later became Surgeon General and Eisenhower’s physician.
Vidal’s nephew is Eric Vidal.
A biography of Vidal appears in Contemporary Authors New Revision Series, Vol. 132.
The correct pronunciation of Vidal rhymes with Hi Pal, not with vee-dahl.
Director Joseph Losey wanted to adapt Vidal’s novel Burr into a film, but it never materialized. Vidal also wrote a screenplay for Julian that nearly starred Albert Finney in the 1970s, but it also fell through.
Quick answers to the questions readers ask most about Gore Vidal.
Celebrities similar to Gore Vidal — same craft, ranked by reach.
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