R.I.P.: Gore Vidal (THE BEST MAN, etc.)

[erik]

Well, it's happened again; another good one has left the scene. This time, it is legendary writer and playwright Gore Vidal, known for novels like Lincoln and Myra Breckenridge, as well as the play The Best Man (made into a movie in 1964 with Henry Fonda and Cliff Robertson), and televised feuds with his political opposite William Buckley. Vidal had been suffering from illnesses for a while, and was 86. More here:

todayentertainment.today.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/08/01/13060511-celebrated-author-playwright-gore-vidal-dies-at-86?lite

[Partridge]

Yes, I was just reading about him at the link below and was surprised at
the many ignorant and hateful comments, thinking NY Times readers
are usually more intelligent-- then realized I was on the CNN site:

www.cnn.com/2012/08/01/showbiz/gore-vidal-death/index.html

[erik]

To be totally honest, Vidal was an extremely cantankerous but vigorous liberal who didn't care whose buttons he pushed on the Far Right as long as he pushed them. If he could handle an arch-conservative like Buckley, who was basically his equal on the Other Side, he could have handled those ignorant peons on CNN with no sweat (IMHO).

[Partridge]

As a youngster, I always enjoyed seeing Gore Vidal on TV, whether it
was on Dick Cavett or Mary Hartman Mary Hartman. Now all my
favorite writers are gone- Heinlein, Dick, Vidal.

[erik]

Vidal also often had that gift that seems to be lacking in a lot of Americans: that great sense of Irony. Not very many have it any more, certainly not on the Far Right (IMHO).

[Deleted]

He sure had a great caustic wit.. i.e...
"The three worst words in the English Language 'Joyce Carol Oates'.. ouch!

[Richard W]

You got that right, Robert! (And can I even name the number of JCO novels I've started but have been unable to finish?)

One book of Vidal's that I really enjoyed (as opposed to endured -- see Burr) was Kalki, his sci-fi satire about religion, religious cults and the end of the world. It's largely forgotten now and no one even mentions it when listing his works, but it was fun and funny and wicked. Worthy of seeking out.

[erik]

The movie version of THE BEST MAN has aired on TV out here in L.A. a number of times this year (on digital channel 5.2); and while certain aspects of it are dated (we are, after all, talking about 1964 [natch!]), it somehow still resonates with Vidal's often caustic wit and sharp political insight. If you can find it anywhere on VHS or DVD, please do so; it's terribly underrated (IMHO).