Gore Vidal

Gore Vidal

Gore Vidal is an American author, playwright, essayist, screenwriter, and political activist. His third novel, The City and the Pillar , outraged mainstream critics as one of the first major American novels to feature unambiguous homosexuality. He also ran for political office twice and has been a longtime political critic. Vidal was born Eugene Luther Gore Vidal in West Point, New York, the only child of 1st Lieutenant Eugene Luther Vidal and Nina Gore . He was born in the Cadet Hospital of the United States Military Academy, where his father was the first aeronautics instructor, and was...
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quick facts
Birthdate:October 3, 1925
Birthplace:West Point, New York
Age:86
Education:Phillips Exeter Academy
Religion:Atheism
Also known as:Eugene Luther Gore Vidal, Edgar Box

Honors and Awards

YearAwardWork
1993 National Book Award for Nonfiction United States: Essays 1952-1992
1982 National Book Critics Circle Award for Criticism The Second American Revolution and Other Essays
1989 Ambassador Book Award for American Arts and Letters At Home: Essays 1982-1988
1978 Nominated - Nebula Award for Best Novel Kalki
1995 Nominated - Lambda Literary Award for Gay Men's Biography/Autobiography Palimpsest: A Memoir
1993 Nominated - National Book Award for Nonfiction United States: Essays 1952-1992
1970 Nominated - National Book Award for Arts and Letters Reflections Upon a Sinking Ship
1974 Nominated - National Book Award for Fiction Burr
1979 Nominated - Locus Award for Best Novel Kalki
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Written works by Gore Vidal

TitlePublishedGenre
Burr 1973 History
Myra Breckinridge 1968 Novel
The City and the Pillar 1948 Novel
1876 1976 History
Lincoln 1984 Novel
The Smithsonian Institution 1998 Novel
Empire 1987 Novel
Washington, D.C. 1967 Novel
Kalki 1978 Novel
Julian 1964 Historical novel
Myron Science Fiction
Creation 1981 Historical novel
The Golden Age 2000 Historical novel
Live from Golgotha: the Gospel according to Gore Vidal 1992 Comedy
Messiah 1999 Thriller
Duluth Novel
Hollywood 1990 Novel
United States: Essays 1952-1992 Non-fiction
The Best Man
Imperial America
The Judgement of Paris
Armageddon?
Das ist nicht Amerika!
Death Before Bedtime
Season of Comfort
Virgin Islands
Great American Families
At Home: Essays 1982-1988 1989 Non-fiction
En Directo del Golgota
Una Memoria
Patria E Imperio
The United States
View From the Diners Club
Juliano - El Apostata
La mort l'aime chaud
The Best Man
Institucion Smithsoniana, La
Where Joy Resides
Dreaming War
Ewiger Krieg für ewigen Frieden. Wie Amerika den Hass erntet, den es gesät hat
Gore Vidal: Sexually Speaking
La Invencion de una Nacion
Ricardo Corazon de Leon
Sonando La Guerra
Clouds and Eclipses
Two Sisters
Imperio
A Search for the King
Death likes it hot
Williwaw
Julian. Roman
Sexualmente Hablando
Inventing a Nation
Three by Vidal
Death in Fifth Position
The Judgment of Paris
U S Essays 1952-92
Das goldene Zeitalter
Live for Golgotha
Berg and Vidal
Creacion
A Thirsty Evil
Three by Box
Weekend
City and Pillar
At Home
Matters of Fact&fiction
La Ciudad y El Pilar de Sal
Washington D.C
Dangerous Voyage
Verde Oscuro, Rojo Vivo/Dark Green, Bright Red
The Last Empire
Mesias
Death before Bedtime
En Busca del Rey
The Best TV Plays
Dark Green, Bright Red
Point to Point Navigation
Hollywood
Three by Box
Death in the fifth position
Muerte en la quinta posición
Pink Triangle and Yellow Star and Other Essays
Bocksgesang. Antworten auf Fragen vor und nach dem 11. September
Palimpsest
MATERS FACT&FICTN V516
In a Yellow Wood
La Mort en cinquième position
El Juicio de Paris
Un garçon près de la rivière
The Second American Revolution and Other Essays 1982 Essay
Palimpsest: A Memoir 1995 Memoir
Sex is politics
Two Sisters
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Gore Vidal quotes

  • The theater needs continual reminders that there is nothing more debasing than the work of those who do well what is not worth doing at all.

    - Gore Vidal
  • Never have children, only grand children.

    - Gore Vidal
  • There is something about a bureaucrat that does not like a poem.

    - Gore Vidal
  • It makes no difference whom you vote for -- the two parties are really one party representing four percent of the people.

    - Gore Vidal
  • Style is knowing who you are, what to say, and not giving a damn.

    - Gore Vidal

Movies with appearances by Gore Vidal

TitleReleasedRatedGenre
Salinger 2011 Documentary
Shrink 2009 R (USA) Indie
Murder, Spies, & Voting Lies 2008 Documentary
Obscene 2007 Documentary
Inside Deep Throat 2005 NC-17 (USA) Documentary
Why We Fight 2005 PG-13 (USA) Private military company
One Bright Shining Moment: The Forgotten Summer of George McGovern 2005 Documentary
The Peace! 2003 Documentary
Gattaca 1997 PG-13 (USA) Film noir
With Honors 1994 PG-13 (USA) Comedy
Bob Roberts 1992 R (USA) Mockumentary
Gore Vidal: The Man Who Said No 1983 Documentary
Suddenly, Last Summer 1959 Black-and-white
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Works by Gore Vidal adapted to film

The Best Man
The Best Man
Release date:April 5, 1964
Directed by:Franklin Schaffner
Genre:Black-and-white
Adapted from:The Best Man
Myra Breckinridge
Myra Breckinridge
Release date:June 24, 1970
Directed by:Mike Sarne
Genre:Comedy
Adapted from:Myra Breckinridge
Rated:R (USA)
Gore Vidal's Lincoln
Gore Vidal's Lincoln
Release date:March 27, 1988
Directed by:Lamont Johnson
Genre:Historical drama
Adapted from:Lincoln

People who influenced Gore Vidal

Thomas Mann
Thomas Mann

Thomas Mann was a German novelist, short story writer, social critic, philanthropist, essayist, and 1929 Nobel Prize laureate, known for his series of highly symbolic and ironic epic novels and novellas, noted for their insight into the psychology of the artist and the intellectual. His analysis...
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Henry James
Henry James

Henry James, OM – 28 February 1916 was an American-born writer, regarded as one of the key figures of 19th-century literary realism. He was the son of Henry James, Sr., a clergyman, and the brother of philosopher and psychologist William James and diarist Alice James. James alternated...
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Mark Twain
Mark Twain

Samuel Langhorne Clemens , better known by his pen name Mark Twain, was an American author and humorist. He is most noted for his novels, The Adventures of Tom Sawyer , and its sequel, Adventures of Huckleberry Finn , the latter often called "the Great American Novel." Twain grew up in Hannibal,...
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Michel de Montaigne
Michel de Montaigne

Lord Michel Eyquem de Montaigne , February 28, 1533 – September 13, 1592, was one of the most influential writers of the French Renaissance, known for popularising the essay as a literary genre and is popularly thought of as the father of Modern Skepticism. He became famous for his...
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Apuleius
Apuleius

Apuleius was a Latin prose writer. He was Numidian Berber, from Madaurus . He studied Platonist philosophy in Athens; travelled to Italy, Asia Minor and Egypt; and was an initiate in several cults or mysteries. The most famous incident in his life was when he was accused of using magic to gain the...
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Peers of Gore Vidal

Anaïs Nin
Anaïs Nin

Anaïs Nin was a French-Cuban author, based at first in France and later in the United States, who published her journals, which span more than...
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Frequently Asked Questions

  • Q:
    In which television program did Gore Vidal play a guest role?
  • A:
    He joined "The Simpsons" in one of the show's episodes.
  • Q:
    Which school did Gore Vidal attend?
  • A:
    Gore Vidal went to Phillips Exeter Academy.
  • Q:
    For which awards has Gore Vidal been nominated?
  • A:
    Award nominations include:
    - Nebula Award for Best Novel for the book "Kalki"
  • Q:
    Who is credited for their influence on Gore Vidal?
  • A:
    Thomas Mann, Henry James, Mark Twain, Michel de Montaigne and Apuleius influenced Gore Vidal.
  • Q:
    Which book titles have been written by author, Gore Vidal?
  • A:
    Well known written works include -
    - Myra Breckinridge
    - Creation
    - The Golden Age
    - The Smithsonian Institution
    - Myron
    - Kalki
    - Burr
  • Q:
    What is Gore Vidal quoted as saying?
  • A:
    One notable quote is, "The last best hope of earth, two trillion dollars in debt, is spinning out of control, and all we can do is stare at a flickering cathode-ray tube as Ollie answers questions on TV while the press, resolutely irrelevant as ever, asks politicians if they have committed adultery. From V-J Day 1945 to this has been, my fellow countrymen, a perfect nightmare."
  • Q:
    Where was Gore Vidal born?
  • A:
    Gore Vidal was born in West Point.
Gore Vidal
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