BREAKING: Gore Vidal dead at 86

[Adenoid_Hynkel]

Last edited Wed Aug 1, 2012, 12:19 AM - Edit history (4)

As posted on Facebook:
""Gore Vidal's family has announced that he passed away today, July 31, 2012, in Los Angeles. He was 86."

No news link yet, but his official page confirms it.
http://www.gorevidalnow.com/
------
UPDATE: His page had an "In memoriam" up briefly as well, but has now gone blank
still no confirmation from other sources

---
Chicago Tribune confirms via Twitter and now AP

[RZM]

1. He lived a long life and certainly said his piece

RIP, Gore.

[MrSlayer]

2. He will be missed.

A needed voice is silenced.

R.I.P.

[HiPointDem]

3. rip

[nanabugg]

4. RIP

[siligut]

5. Goodspeed

Thank you for having been here.

[Canuckistanian]

6. Oh, no

Another voice silenced.

RIP, Mr, Vidal.

[malaise]

7. Damn

Sad news

[Tikki]

8. I admired him..

It was so very beautiful outside in L A today, I hope he felt
the sun and the breeze before he passed.



RIP

Tikki

[spanone]

9. such an interesting, talented person.

[virgogal]

10. His political debates with William F Buckley Jr made television worthwhile.The Golden Age of TV.

[Taverner]

11. RIP Brickley Paste

You were the real deal

[Poll_Blind]

48. That movie is even more relevant now than it ever was. RIP, Mr. Vidal. nt

PB

[Adenoid_Hynkel]

51. I think the first time I heard the 'frog in boiling water' analogy used

was when Vidal ad libbed it in his character's scene

[arcane1]

69. What's this reference?

I only know of him through his books

[Adenoid_Hynkel]

73. "Bob Roberts"

A wonderful mockumentary by Tim Robbins from 1992.

[arcane1]

74. Ah, cool. Thanks! :)

[Taverner]

78. Check it out, it's kind of a Lefty "must see" movie

IN 92 he predicts Dubya....

It is amazing how right that movie got it

[arcane1]

80. After checking out the info on IMDB, it's now on my list

Thanks again!

[Taverner]

77. He played a statesman Senator in "Bob Roberts"

[Raster]

12. NO!!! A giant has fallen.

[limpyhobbler]

13. So long and thanks. nt

[Make7]

14. Sad news. ( n/t )

[Lucky Luciano]

15. RIP

[leveymg]

16. One of those few truly interesting men. You're already missed, Gore.

[DainBramaged]

17. Rest in Peace sir, you will be missed.

Thank you for your life.

[Vidar]

18. RIP Mr. Vidal

[nolabear]

19. Wow. An era truly ends.

RIP Mr. Vidal.

[kentuck]

20. I am so sorry to hear this.

There is an empty feeling with his passing.

[smirkymonkey]

63. I feel the same - like there is such a void.

I won't say who else I wish it had been.

[davekriss]

21. RIP. I'll miss his voice. :(

[jsmirman]

22. Wow

My family knew him well.

Man, life is crazy. My first thought was, "my dad will be crushed." Then I remembered my dad passed away over a year ago.

Gore could be snippy, but he was some kind of giant.

My dad was, pretty much, the best guy ever, so you will forgive me when I say that Gore was one of his favorite names to drop.

So in my dad's finest tradition, Gore, I'm name dropping you tonight.

RIP Dad, and RIP Gore. My dad will be bugging you to discuss literature with him by tomorrow.

[yardwork]

30. I'm sorry for your loss. I hope that your father and Gore Vidal are having a great conversation!

[jsmirman]

39. Thanks so much

Gore is pretending to be gracious with his time but is actually greatly amused (that's how those conversations usually went)

[Le Taz Hot]

23. Magnificent Mind

I used to watch Mr. Veedal and Mr. Fubuckley (Boomer reference) on Firing Line on Sunday mornings. I was in my early to mid-teens at the time and only understood about 20% of what was being said but I was always fascinated by these two powerhouses going head to head.

You will be missed, sir.

[LongTomH]

75. The Ancient Days: When you were allowed to have truly literate commentators on TV...

...not talking haircuts! We should mourn the loss of those days, as well as the loss of the giants.

[RagAss]

24. RIP

[jaysunb]

25. RIP

Glad to have lived in his era.

[DJFrey]

26. books

Great writer - read several of his books.

[yardwork]

27. Rest in Peace, Gore Vidal.

[Odin2005]

28. Oh no!

[chollybocker]

29. Oof.

Great loss. RIP Mr. Vidal.

[NJCher]

31. Gore Vidal introduced me to

what being a good citizen is about. I recall when I was little, I wondered why he was always critical of the American government. When I asked that question of an adult, the answer was that if we don't criticize, things never get better.

I was told that was the role of an active participant in a democracy.

I was lucky to get that answer and might not be so lucky as a child today, especially if I lived in the midwest or the south.

No RIPs for me to Mr. Vidal. He's on to the next big adventure and a magnificent one it will be.


Cher

[Gregorian]

57. That is just great. So positive.

It's important to me to have read your statements. To think that criticism could be positive. It's what I am, but what has caused me so much depression in my life. I'm learning that I'm just fine. But it takes Gores, and posts like yours to keep me believing it.

[20score]

32. Sorry to hear this news!

[davidwparker]

33. RIP n/t

[glinda]

34. Safe journey.

[HarveyDarkey]

35. Wikipedia also says so

but no indication from the Google news page.

[Adenoid_Hynkel]

37. and now his official page has gone blank

premature report?

[HarveyDarkey]

46. Multiple sources now

May you rest in peace sir. Your wisdom is irreplaceable.

[Avalux]

36. Amazing, wise man. Rest in Peace. n/t

[joshcryer]

38. Damn. :( RIP.

[bayareaboy]

40. Could you imagine Mr Videl ...

having a talk with Mittens and his horsy wife.

He would tear a new ...well you know.

and I really mean that with all due respect after seeing him at the Demo convention in 1968.

[cal04]

41. RIP. Gore Vidal, iconoclastic writer, has died at 86

Gore Vidal, iconoclastic writer, has died at 86
http://www.latimes.com/features/books/jacketcopy/la-jc-writer-gore-vidal-86-has-died-20120731,0,3728239.story

Vidal died Tuesday at his home in the Hollywood Hills of complications of pneumonia, said nephew Burr Steers.

Vidal was a literary juggernaut who wrote 25 novels, including historical works such as “Lincoln” and “Burr” and satires such as “Myra Breckinridge” and “Duluth.” He was also a prolific essayist whose pieces on politics, sexuality, religion and literature -- once described as “elegantly sustained demolition derbies” -- both delighted and inflamed and in 1993 earned him a National Book Award for his massive “United States Essays, 1952-1992.”

[DeSwiss]

42. RIP

[7wo7rees]

43. RIP GV.

United States of Amnesia

The Masses are Asses.

[Hissyspit]

44. Just saw "The Best Man" revival on Broadway. Good stuff.

Last edited Wed Aug 1, 2012, 10:00 AM - Edit history (1)

Rest in Peace.

[zentrum]

45. Will not forget you n/t

[Egalitarian Thug]

47. Such a loss, damn. n/t

[Spitfire of ATJ]

49. I liked his take on those who opposed the feminist movement

He said the idea of a woman working and supporting herself and her children without a man was considered to be a treat to marriage and the religious role for women by men who expect women to be dependent and subservient to them.

[zappaman]

50. Awww man...RIP n/t

[LuvNewcastle]

52. Thank you, Mr. Vidal.

[Adenoid_Hynkel]

53. I thought he was especially good in "The U.S. vs. John Lennon"

[scarletwoman]

54. Damn. Damn, damn, damn...

[Gregorian]

55. A fair chunk of common sense reality is gone now.

One of the good.

[arely staircase]

56. a national treasure is gone. one of americas finest and greatest minds nt

[CaliforniaPeggy]

58. Safe passage to him...

And my deepest condolences to all who loved him.

[burrowowl]

59. RIP!

A Great Man!

[Lint Head]

60. So matter of fact and intelligent. I loved to watch him and listen to his take on the world.

[Zorra]

61. Occupy Heaven, sir".

The corporate grip on opinion in the United States is one of the wonders of the Western world. No First World country has ever managed to eliminate so entirely from its media all objectivity - much less dissent"
Gore Vidal

[Tippy]

62. RIP....

[joeybee12]

64. RIP...fantastic mind...fantastic life...RIP

[B Calm]

65. RIP

[malaise]

66. Gore Vidal was a man of convictions that were always

linked to freedom

[many a good man]

67. A true traitor to his class!

He knew the 1% at a very deep level and was superb at exposing them.

He was America's finest essayist of my lifetime and great writer of historical novels. Everyone must read his American History series of historical novels to get the inside story of how this country was built and how it is run. I also highly recommend Julian and Creation.

His acerbic wit and keen insight into the ruling class make him an American treasure who will never be forgotten.

[AngryAmish]

68. I'll always remember his commercials for Intellivision back in the day

[TheManInTheMac]

71. I think that was George Plimpton.

[FourScore]

70. RIP

[Green_Lantern]

72. He was great in the film Bob Roberts...

I love this movie.

[Green_Lantern]

76. Vidal was suave and collected Buckley looked like a drunken serial killer

nt

[Guy Whitey Corngood]

79. I read Creation last year. I think I remember saying in an interview it was

his favorite work of fiction. He was one of the best. Although he was too civilized for it. I wish he would have knocked Buckley's teeth out.

Here's apartial list of his work from Wiki:

Essays and non-fictionRocking the Boat (1963)
Reflections Upon a Sinking Ship (1969)
Sex, Death and Money (1969) (paperback compilation)
Homage to Daniel Shays (1972)
Matters of Fact and of Fiction (1977)
Views from a Window Co-Editor (1981)
The Second American Revolution (1983)
Vidal In Venice (1985) ISBN 0-671-60691-3
Armageddon? (1987) (UK only)
At Home (1988)
A View From The Diner's Club (1991) (UK only)
Screening History (1992) ISBN 0-233-98803-3
Decline and Fall of the American Empire (1992) ISBN 1-878825-00-3
United States: Essays 1952–1992 (1993) ISBN 0-7679-0806-6 — National Book Award[36]
Palimpsest: a memoir (1995) ISBN 0-679-44038-0
Virgin Islands (1997) (UK only)
The American Presidency (1998) ISBN 1-878825-15-1
Sexually Speaking: Collected Sex Writings (1999)
The Last Empire: essays 1992–2000 (2001) ISBN 0-375-72639-X (there is also a much shorter UK edition)
Perpetual War for Perpetual Peace or How We Came To Be So Hated, Thunder's Mouth Press, 2002, (2002) ISBN 1-56025-405-X
Dreaming War: Blood for Oil and the Cheney-Bush Junta, Thunder's Mouth Press, (2002) ISBN 1-56025-502-1
Inventing a Nation: Washington, Adams, Jefferson (2003) ISBN 0-300-10171-6
Imperial America: Reflections on the United States of Amnesia (2004) ISBN 1-56025-744-X
Point to Point Navigation: A Memoir (2006) ISBN 0-385-51721-1
The Selected Essays of Gore Vidal (2008) ISBN 0-385-52484-6
Gore Vidal: Snapshots in History's Glare (2009) ISBN 0-8109-5049-9
[edit] PlaysVisit to a Small Planet (1957) ISBN 0-8222-1211-0
The Best Man (1960)
On the March to the Sea (1960–1961, 2004)
Romulus (adapted from Friedrich Dürrenmatt's 1950 play Romulus der Große) (1962)
Weekend (1968)
Drawing Room Comedy (1970)
An Evening with Richard Nixon (1970) ISBN 0-394-71869-0
On the March to the Sea (2005)
[edit] NovelsWilliwaw (1946) ISBN 0-226-85585-6
In a Yellow Wood (1947)
The City and the Pillar (1948) ISBN 1-4000-3037-4
The Season of Comfort (1949) ISBN 0-233-98971-4
A Search for the King (1950) ISBN 0-345-25455-4
Dark Green, Bright Red (1950) ISBN 0-233-98913-7 (prophecy of the Guatemala coup d'état of 1954, see "In the Lair of the Octopus" Dreaming War)
The Judgment of Paris (1952) ISBN 0-345-33458-2
Messiah (1954) ISBN 0-14-118039-0
A Thirsty Evil (1956) (short stories)
Julian (1964) ISBN 0-375-72706-X
Washington, D.C. (1967) ISBN 0-316-90257-8
Myra Breckinridge (1968) ISBN 1-125-97948-8
Two Sisters (1970) ISBN 0-434-82958-7
Burr (1973) ISBN 0-375-70873-1
Myron (1974) ISBN 0-586-04300-4
1876 (1976) ISBN 0-375-70872-3
Kalki (1978) ISBN 0-14-118037-4
Creation (1981) ISBN 0-349-10475-1
Duluth (1983) ISBN 0-394-52738-0
Lincoln (1984) ISBN 0-375-70876-6
Empire (1987) ISBN 0-375-70874-X
Hollywood (1990) ISBN 0-375-70875-8
Live from Golgotha: The Gospel according to Gore Vidal (1992) ISBN 0-14-023119-6
The Smithsonian Institution (1998) ISBN 0-375-50121-5
The Golden Age (2000) ISBN 0-375-72481-8
Clouds and Eclipses: The Collected Short Stories (2006) (short stories, this is the same collection as A Thirsty Evil (1956), with one previously unpublished short story — Clouds and Eclipses — added)
[edit] ScreenplaysClimax!: Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde (1954) (TV adaptation)
The Catered Affair (1956)
I Accuse! (1958)
The Scapegoat (1959)
Ben Hur (1959) (uncredited)
Suddenly, Last Summer (1959)
The Best Man (1964)
Is Paris Burning? (1966)
Last of the Mobile Hot Shots (1970)
Caligula (1979)
Dress Gray (1986)
The Sicilian (1987) (uncredited)
Billy the Kid (1989)
Dimenticare Palermo (1989)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gore_Vidal

[LongTomH]

81. Gore Vidal's IMDB page

His IMDB page lists him as a writer for 41 screenplays or teleplays and, an actor in 12 movies or TV series. He appeared as himself 77 times.

I particularly remember his narration of the documentary about the life and death of Abraham Lincoln. I remember how his voice broke when he narrated the account of Lincoln's death. Lincoln was an historical figure that Vidal truly admired.

[NuttyFluffers]

82. SAD! =(

aww, he was most fun. excellent author, playwright, and political commentator. lived life from the inside circuit and had the temerity to expose its hypocritical dirty laundry. aw, i miss him already.