Vidal, Gore, 1925-2012

Gore Vidal was born Eugene Luther Gore Vidal in West Point, New York, on October 3, 1925, to Eugene Luther and Nina Vidal. Vidal shortened his name during his teen years to honor his maternal grandfather. After his parents divorced, Vidal lived with his mother and her new husband in northern Virginia and attended a series of boarding schools.

After graduating from Phillips Exeter Academy in 1943, Vidal joined the U.S. Army Reserve at age 17. Vidal wrote his first novel, Williwaw (1946), while in the hospital recovering from hypothermia. After being discharged from the army, Vidal went to work as an editor for E. P. Dutton and published his second novel, In a Yellow Wood (1947).

Vidal moved to a small house in Antigua, Guatemala, where he finished his next novel, The City and the Pillar (1948), whose homosexual theme was controversial. Many fellow authors praised Vidal's book while several critics and reviewers lambasted the work; the New York Times refused to review the work for almost 10 years.

Vidal traveled between Europe and New York for a period, publishing many works that were well received abroad, including A Search for the King (1950), Dark Green, Bright Red (1950), The Judgment of Paris (1952), and Messiah (1954). Despite his success abroad, Vidal's work was continuously ignored by the American press.

Vidal started writing mystery novels under the pseudonym of Edgar Box, and the Box novels were generally well received by American readers. Vidal then turned to television as a new medium and would go on to write 20 teledramas. Vidal accepted an offer from MGM to see how movies were made in the old studio system, and whilst in Hollywood wrote screenplays for several films.

Vidal's mother divorced his stepfather, Hugh D. Auchincloss, in the 1940s. Auchincloss remarried to Janet Lee Bouvier, whose daughter Jacqueline moved into Vidal's old room. When Jacqueline married John F. Kennedy later in life, Kennedy was excited to meet his wife's famous literary connection. Vidal's experiences with the backstage workings of the 1960 Democratic National Convention later inspired him to write the screenplay The Best Man (1964). After a brief stint in the political world, Vidal moved to Italy to escape the constricting Washington D.C. atmosphere and to work on his latest novel, Julian (1964).

Vidal experimented with many types of literary genres, writing works as varied as Washington D.C. (1967), the controversial Myra Breckinridge (1968), many novels concerning American history, and several satires including Duluth (1983).Vidal also attempted a political career, but failed to get elected to Congress in New York's 29th district in 1960. He also lost a gubernatorial election in California in 1982. He also appeared as an actor in several movies.

Gore's early novels focused on the protagonists' homosexuality. He held the controversial belief that all people are bi-sexual and that society pressures us into picking just one, homosexual or heterosexual. Because of his openness about sexuality, early in his career, Vidal was blackballed and had to use pseudonyms like "Edgar Box" and "Cameron Kay" to get his works published. Because of his matter-of-fact treatment of same sex relations in his writings, Vidal is considered an early champion of sexual liberation.

In 1950 Vidal met Howard Austen, who became his life partner for over 53 years. Vidal died of pneumonia in his house in Hollywood, California on 31 July 2012.