America's biographer and our foremost man of letters, someone who, unfashionably, still insists that ancient Rome and Athens still have much to teach to our tech-obsessed times, young aviator, WWII veteran, novelist, essayist, book reviewer, former owner of what might possibly be the world's coolest house, Hollywood actor (now on Blu-Ray!), vigorous TV debater, sadly unsuccessful political candidate, self-effacing "funster" narrator of hilariously crappy NSFW videos about crappy books, Family Guy and Simpsons character, Gore Vidal is also one of Opera Chic's style icons.
In his long life he effortlessly went from preppy, Exeter/St. Albans young man of D.C.'s aristocracy to successful playwright with a Upstate NY buen retiro (see photo above) to expat novelist, always a sharp, bespoke dresser of great elegance and wit. A man of commitment, he also enjoys his first tumbler of Scotch around 11AM, still.
OC's liberal readers might experience more than a few frissons of enjoyment watching this recent interview: "I spent three years in Alaska in WWII... I ended up with a titanium knee", with catty impersonation of the current governor of Alaska.
One thing Opera Chic especially loves about this -- obviously very narcissistic -- man is that what to OC are his two greatest books are -- at their core -- essentially about the two men he loved the most, Jimmy Trimble from St. Albans and Howard Austen from the rest of his life. Where we learn that the King of Snark -- if he didn't invent it personally, it's certainly Vidal who made it into an art -- is, at core, a teddy bear of a man.
More Gore after the jump (click below...)
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