born Oct. 3, 1925, West Point, N.Y., U.S.
prolific American novelist, playwright, and essayist, noted for his irreverent and intellectually adroit novels.
Vidal graduated from Philips Exeter Academy in New Hampshire in 1943 and served in the U.S. Army in World War II. Thereafter he resided in many parts of the world—the east and west coasts of the United States, Europe, North Africa, and Central America. His first novel, Williwaw (1946), which was based on his wartime experiences, was praised by the critics, and his third novel, The City and the Pillar (1948), shocked the public with its direct and unadorned examination of a homosexual main character. Vidal’s next five novels, including Messiah (1954), were received coolly by critics and were commercial failures. Abandoning novels, he turned to writing plays for the stage, television, and motion pictures and was successful in all three media. His best-known dramatic works from the next decade were Visit to a Small Planet (produced for television, 1955; on Broadway, 1957; for film, 1960) and The Best Man (play, 1960; film, 1964).
Vidal returned to writing novels with Julian (1964), a sympathetic fictional portrait of Julian the Apostate, the 4th-century pagan Roman emperor who opposed Christianity. Washington, D.C. (1967), an ironic examination of political morality in the U.S. capital, was followed by several popular novels that vividly re-created prominent figures and events in American history—Burr (1974), 1876 (1976), and Lincoln (1984). Lincoln is a compelling portrait of President Abraham Lincoln’s complex personality as viewed through the eyes of some of his closest associates during the American Civil War. Another success was the comedy Myra Breckinridge (1968), in which Vidal lampooned both transsexuality and contemporary American culture. In Rocking the Boat (1962), Reflections upon a Sinking Ship (1969), The Second American Revolution (1982), and other essay collections, he incisively analyzed contemporary American politics and government. Vidal was noted for his outspoken political opinions and for the witty and satirical observations he was wont to make as a guest on talk shows.
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