wright and political commentator Gore Vidal passed away in his home in the Hollywood Hills last night. His nephew Burr Steers, who said he had died of complications from pneumonia, though he had suffered from heart ailments for some time, confirmed the news.
Gore is most famous for his pioneering work in 1948 “The City and the Pillar”, which was one of the first American novels to feature homosexuality in both a prominent and positive way.
In his earlier years, Gore served in the US Army during World War II, which inspired him to write his first novel “Williwaw”. His later novels included the famous Myra Breckinridge, which explored sexuality, transsexuality and gender roles.
He was later known best as a political commentator, being an outspoken critic of both the Iraq and Afghanistan wars and former President George W Bush. He once classed the former President as “the stupidest man in the United States”.
He unsuccessfully ran for political office on two occasions, once for a congress seat in New York State in 1960 and then again in 1982 for the senate in California.
Whilst his funeral arrangements have yet to be confirmed, it is believed he will be cremated and laid to rest with his partner of 53 years, Howard Austin, who died in 2003.
