Gore Vidal

Writer

October 3, 1925 (86 years)

† July 31, 2012

West Point, New York, USA

Biography

Eugene Luther Gore Vidal (born Eugene Louis Vidal; October 3, 1925 – July 31, 2012) was an American writer and public intellectual known for his epigrammatic wit. His novels and essays interrogated the social and cultural sexual norms he perceived as driving American life. Beyond literature, Vidal was heavily involved in politics. He unsuccessfully sought office twice as a Democratic Party candidate, first in 1960 to the U.S. House of Representatives (for New York), and later in 1982 to the U.S.…

Filmography

3.8

Climax!

Climax! is an American anthology series that aired on CBS from 1954 to 1958. The series was hosted by William Lundigan and later co-hosted by Mary Costa. It was one of the few CBS programs of that era to be broadcast in color. Many of the episodes were performed and broadcast live.

5.4

Studio One

An American radio–television anthology series, created in 1947 by Canadian director Fletcher Markle, who came to CBS from the CBC. Studio One, presented by Westinghouse, was one of the first of the anthology TV programs. The episodes were often abridged remakes of movies from years gone by and many future well-known television and movie actors appeared in the productions.

5.1

Suspense

An anthology series adapted from the radio program of the same name. Like the radio program, many scripts were adaptations of literary classics by well-known authors. Classic authors such as Edgar Allan Poe, Agatha Christie, and Charles Dickens all had stories adapted for the series, while contemporary authors such as Roald Dahl and Gore Vidal also contributed.

7.2

Theatre 625

Theatre 625 is a British television drama anthology series, produced by the BBC and transmitted on BBC2 from 1964 to 1968. It was one of the first regular programmes in the line-up of the channel, and the title referred to its production and transmission being in the higher-definition 625-line format, which only BBC2 used at the time.

6.0

Caligula

After the death of the paranoid emperor Tiberius, Caligula, his heir, seizes power and plunges the empire into a bloody spiral of madness and depravity.

6.8

Startime

Startime, an anthology of drama, comedy and variety, was one of the first American television shows broadcast in color.

6.0

Goodyear Television Playhouse

The Goodyear Television Playhouse is an American anthology series that was telecast live on NBC from 1951 to 1957 during the "Golden Age of Television". Sponsored by Goodyear, Goodyear alternated sponsorship with Philco, and the Philco Television Playhouse was seen on alternate weeks. In 1955, the title was shortened to The Goodyear Playhouse and it aired on alternate weeks with The Alcoa Hour. The three series were essentially the same, with the only real difference being the name of the sponsor. Producer Fred Coe nurtured and encouraged a group of young, mostly unknown writers that included Robert Alan Aurthur, George Baxt, Paddy Chayefsky, Horton Foote, Howard Richardson, Tad Mosel and Gore Vidal. Notable productions included Chayefsky's Marty starring Rod Steiger, Chayefsky's The Bachelor Party, Vidal's Visit to a Small Planet, Richardson's Ark of Safety and Foote's The Trip to Bountiful. From 1957 to 1960, it became a taped, half-hour series titled Goodyear Theater, seen on Mondays at 9:30pm.

9.0

The Further Adventures of Ellery Queen

Make way for the reluctant detective. It's Ellery Queen, the suave, debonair and brilliant hero of the new, live, full-hour detective show. George Nader plays the stalwart writer turned investigator.

7.2

Is Paris Burning?

Near the end of World War II, General Dietrich von Choltitz receives orders to burn down Paris if it becomes clear the Allies are going to invade, or if he's unable to maintain control of the city. After much contemplation, Choltitz ignores orders, enraging the Germans and giving hope to various resistance factions that the city will be liberated. Choltitz, alongside Swedish diplomat Raoul Nordling, helps a leader organise his forces.

5.2

The Sicilian

Egocentric bandit Salvatore Giuliano fights the Church, the Mafia, and the landed gentry while leading a populist movement for Sicilian independence.

5.3

Visit to a Small Planet

The weirdest alien of the galaxy pays a visit to Earth... Jerry Lewis is Kreton, a childish alien who, against his teacher's will leaves his planet to visit the Earth, and lands in the backyard of a famous television journalist who doesn't believe in UFOs and aliens. Wanting to study humans but not able to fully understand them, Kreton makes a mess out of it, generating a lot of comic situations.

7.5

Lincoln

The life of Abraham Lincoln, from his election as President of the United States to the time of his assassination. Based on Gore Vidal's historical novel.

7.3

Suddenly, Last Summer

The only son of wealthy widow Violet Venable dies while on vacation with his cousin Catherine. What the girl saw was so horrible that she went insane; now Mrs. Venable wants Catherine lobotomized to cover up the truth.

5.1

Dress Gray

When a cadet at a military academy is found dead, the assumption is it was an accident. But the autopsy reveals that's not the case and that he's a homosexual and the last person he was with someone before he died and that someone is an academy upperclassman. The commandant wanting to protect the academy's good name tries to keep it quiet and hopefully no one will care about it. But the cadet comes from a prominent family and his father knows it couldn't have been an accident. And his sister knows one of the upper class men who knew his brother. And he learns the truth of her brother's death when he spoke to the academy doctor. Later when the commandant learns of this he orders the man brought to him and tells him to forget what he learned. But he sets out to find out the truth. At the same time the commandant gets some info that might implicate him.

6.8

The Scapegoat

An Englishman in France unwittingly is placed into the identity, and steps into the vacated life, of a look-alike French nobleman.

6.0

Armchair Theatre

Armchair Theatre is a British television drama anthology series of single plays that ran on the ITV network from 1956 to 1974. It was originally produced by Associated British Corporation, and later by Thames Television from mid-1968.

6.8

The Night of the Generals

A German intelligence officer investigates a prostitute's killing in Warsaw during World War II. He lands on three major Nazi generals as suspects, two of whom are also involved in a plot to kill Adolf Hitler.

4.5

Myra Breckinridge

Myron Breckinridge flies to Europe to get a sex-change operation and is transformed into the beautiful Myra. She travels to Hollywood, meets up with her rich Uncle Buck and, claiming to be Myron's widow, demands money. Instead, Buck gives Myra a job in his acting school. There, Myra meets aspiring actor Rusty and his girlfriend, Mary Ann. With Myra as catalyst, the trio begin to outrageously expand their sexual horizons.

6.0

The Left Handed Gun

When a crooked sheriff murders his employer, William "Billy the Kid" Bonney decides to avenge the death by killing the man responsible, throwing the lives of everyone around him into turmoil, and endangering the General Amnesty set up by Governor Wallace to bring peace to the New Mexico Territory.

7.3

The Best Man

The other party is in disarray. Five men vie for the party nomination for president. No one has a majority as the first ballot closes and the front-runners begin to decide how badly they want the job.