Writer Gore Vidal Dead at 86

[vienna]

Obituary:

http://www.latimes.com/news/obituari...,4557667.story

Appreciation:

http://www.latimes.com/entertainment...,6325883.story


Gore Vidal was a true one of a kind writer. I have read a great deal of his works and found myself agreeing with him, infuriated by him, educated by him, and appalled by him, sometimes all in the course of just one of his writings. I first saw/heard of him as a young child; I would stay up late, usually sneaking around behind my mother's back to watch late night talk shows like "Steve Allen", "Jack Parr", and, after Parr left television, "Johnny Carson". There was a sort of rotation of very intelligent, witty, and entertaining guests on those shows in those days. I saw people like Oscar Levant, Woody Allen, Norman Mailer, Groucho Marx, William F. Buckley Jr., and Gore Vidal, among others. These persons were always ready with a quick response to whatever subject came up and were always well informed and knowledgeable. By watching these people, I developed a sense of not only humor, but, also a sense of what intelligence could be. Now, on television, talk show are little more than shills for whatever pop culture flavor of the day happens to be in vogue. To watch someone like Vidal dissect, sometimes almost literally, a politicla or social subject was like watching a master surgeon at work. I remember when he was fighting to have his name taken off the screenplay credits for the movie "Caligula" after the producers and directors had butchered his script. The battle was very bitter and Vidal was not above lashing out at the film and the film makers. On the Carson show, Johnny asked him how he felt about the finished film. Vidal answered by saying "Caligula"was the latin word for "turkey"...

Here are two clips of Vidal going up against William F. Buckley Jr.:





Vidal's passing is also the passing of a great literary period in American history. We may never see the likes of Vidal, Mailer, and their contemporaries again...

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