Gore Vidal(1925-2012)
- Writer
- Actor
Gore Vidal was born Eugene Louis Vidal in 1925 in West Point, New York, to Nina (Gore) and West Point aeronautics instructor and aviation pioneer Eugene Luther Vidal. The Vidals endured a rocky marriage divorcing
ten years after Gore's birth. Young Gore spent much of his childhood
with his blind grandfather, Senator T.P. Gore of Oklahoma. Vidal would later become the
confidant of
Jacqueline Kennedy when
Jackie's mother married his former stepfather, Hugh D. Auchincloss.
After graduating from Phillips Exeter Academy in 1943, Gore joined the
US Army Reserves. Some of his Army experiences inspired his first
novel, Williwaw, which was published when he was just 19. He dedicated
the novel to J.T., a deceased prep-school friend. Subsequent novels
would prominently feature gay male characters, and Gore found soon
found his books had staying power on bestseller lists. In 1960, he
unsuccessfully ran for Congress, backed by celebrity supporters like
Paul Newman & Vidal's ex-fiancé
Joanne Woodward. Another
unsuccessful foray into politics would occur in 1982 when he ran for
governor of California. In addition to being an accomplished writer, he
is also a novice actor. His biggest roles to date have been in
Gattaca (1997),
Bob Roberts (1992), and
With Honors (1994).