“I sent Johnny Carson a message: I promise that I’ll die in your house.”
In a 2006 appearance at 92Y, Gore Vidal shares the story of his reaction to Truman Capote’s death in the house of Joanne Carson, ex-wife of the late-night TV host. Vidal says it was a story Carson always wanted to tell on air but never dared.
This 8 minute clip also includes a reading from his memoir, Point to Point Navigation.
![When Gore Vidal spoke at 92Y’s Unterberg Poetry Center in 2006 he performed dead-on impersonations of Truman Capote, Katherine Hepburn, Tennessee Williams, Clark Gable, Ronald Reagan, George W. Bush, John Quincy Adams and Frederico Fellini. He also left us with some memorable quotes on some memorable topics:
The New York Times: ”The New York Times has given a bad name to self love. They’re out-of-control in love with themselves. And they’re the dreariest paper on earth.”
Truman Capote: “The last time I sat on this stage, I was afflicted by a fly. An awful fly that kept buzzing around my head as I spoke […] After a while, I realized the fly was the late Truman Capote.”
The War on Terror: “We have no war. We have acts of aggression by the president toward other countries. This is all illegal and unconstitutional.”
Conspiracy theories: “I’m not a conspiracy theorist; I’m an analyst. I analyze these things.”
Ronald Reagan: “Ronald Reagan read his speeches with a sense of discovery.”
Contemporary cinema: “Movies are suffering from the second law of thermodynamics […] ‘39 seems to be the greatest year in the history of film. Wonderful stuff was being made. Now just stuff is being made.”
Novels: “Novels are a glorious replacement for life.”
Myra Breckinridge: “I was halfway through Myra Breckinridge before I realized she was a man.”](http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m825rtR8hX1qzsl3do1_500.jpg "When Gore Vidal spoke at 92Y’s Unterberg Poetry Center in 2006 he performed dead-on impersonations of Truman Capote, Katherine Hepburn, Tennessee Williams, Clark Gable, Ronald Reagan, George W. Bush, John Quincy Adams and Frederico Fellini. He also left us with some memorable quotes on some memorable topics:
The New York Times: ”The New York Times has given a bad name to self love. They’re out-of-control in love with themselves. And they’re the dreariest paper on earth.”
Truman Capote: “The last time I sat on this stage, I was afflicted by a fly. An awful fly that kept buzzing around my head as I spoke […] After a while, I realized the fly was the late Truman Capote.”
The War on Terror: “We have no war. We have acts of aggression by the president toward other countries. This is all illegal and unconstitutional.”
Conspiracy theories: “I’m not a conspiracy theorist; I’m an analyst. I analyze these things.”
Ronald Reagan: “Ronald Reagan read his speeches with a sense of discovery.”
Contemporary cinema: “Movies are suffering from the second law of thermodynamics […] ‘39 seems to be the greatest year in the history of film. Wonderful stuff was being made. Now just stuff is being made.”
Novels: “Novels are a glorious replacement for life.”
Myra Breckinridge: “I was halfway through Myra Breckinridge before I realized she was a man.”")
When Gore Vidal spoke at 92Y’s Unterberg Poetry Center in 2006 he performed dead-on impersonations of Truman Capote, Katherine Hepburn, Tennessee Williams, Clark Gable, Ronald Reagan, George W. Bush, John Quincy Adams and Frederico Fellini. He also left us with some memorable quotes on some memorable topics:
The New York Times: ”The New York Times has given a bad name to self love. They’re out-of-control in love with themselves. And they’re the dreariest paper on earth.”
Truman Capote: “The last time I sat on this stage, I was afflicted by a fly. An awful fly that kept buzzing around my head as I spoke […] After a while, I realized the fly was the late Truman Capote.”
The War on Terror: “We have no war. We have acts of aggression by the president toward other countries. This is all illegal and unconstitutional.”
Conspiracy theories: “I’m not a conspiracy theorist; I’m an analyst. I analyze these things.”
Ronald Reagan: “Ronald Reagan read his speeches with a sense of discovery.”
Contemporary cinema: “Movies are suffering from the second law of thermodynamics […] ‘39 seems to be the greatest year in the history of film. Wonderful stuff was being made. Now just stuff is being made.”
Novels: “Novels are a glorious replacement for life.”
Myra Breckinridge: “I was halfway through Myra Breckinridge before I realized she was a man.”
