According to Humanist Examiner, Michael Stone, author Gore Vidal, 86, died on Tuesday, July 31, 2012.
Multi-talented Gore Vidal
Vidal, Wikipedia states, was a liberal author, playwright, essayist, screenwriter, and political activist. He also ran for political office twice and was a longtime political critic.
Plays, Films, TV, Broadway
Vidal wrote plays, films, and television series. The Best Man (1960) and Visit to a Small Planet (1955), were both broadway and film successes.
Politics
Biographer Fred Kaplan stated that Vidal, at 16, dropped both of his first two names saying he wanted a sharp, distinctive name, appropriate for an aspiring author or national political leader.
“I wasn’t going to write as Gene since there was already one. I didn’t want to use the Junior.” – Gore Vidal
A Newsweek critic said this about Vidal in the past,
“[He, Gore Vidal] is the best all-around American man of letters since Edmund Wilson.
He began his writing career in 1946, aged nineteen, with the publication of the military novel Williwaw, based upon his Alaskan Harbor Detachment duty. The novel was the first about World War II and proved a success for Vidal.”
Dies at Home – Condolences
Vidal died at his home in Hollywood Hills, California on July 31st of complications from pneumonia.
Condolences go to Vidal’s family, friends and fans.
