[www.latimes.com]

Just noticed this after posting on the other side.

A distant cousin of Al Gore, he despised politicians. An outspoken defender of alternate lifestyles with an acerbic tongue, he wrote the original Ben Hur with the protagonists as male lovers. Hollywood and Charlton Heston couldn't handle that and rewrote his script.

Someone posted this on FB and my heart stopped for a second. I'm so sorry we have lost him!

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"Stop thinking about art works as objects, and start thinking about them as triggers for experiences." ~ Brian Eno

It's sad, but he was quite old. A pioneer in his day.

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rj
AKA
Vreemac, Moth of the Future

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RgrF
Just noticed this after posting on the other side.

A distant cousin of Al Gore, he despised politicians. An outspoken defender of alternate lifestyles with an acerbic tongue, he wrote the original Ben Hur with the protagonists as male lovers. Hollywood and Charlton Heston couldn't handle that and rewrote his script.

Lew Wallace wrote the original Ben Hur. Vidal was one of several screenwriters for the 1959 film version. His actual contribution is still in question but most film historians discount his claim as Vidal's revisionist history.

Still a highly talented writer who will be missed.

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You can tell a lot about a woman by her hands...
- For example, if they are wrapped around your throat she's probably slightly upset.

And let's not minimize his role in bringing a young Lily Tomlin to fame.

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Embarassing myself on the Internet since 1978.

"The United States was founded by the brightest people in the country -- and we haven't seen them since."

from [www.guardian.co.uk]

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[www.giyf.com]

Gad. Someone else who has been around all my life now gone.
Sorry to hear this on more than one level.

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Be here now. Be someplace else later. Is that so complicated?
Zen is not easy. It takes effort to attain nothingness. And then what do you have? Bupkes.

Western Massachusetts

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Ombligo

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RgrF
Just noticed this after posting on the other side.

A distant cousin of Al Gore, he despised politicians. An outspoken defender of alternate lifestyles with an acerbic tongue, he wrote the original Ben Hur with the protagonists as male lovers. Hollywood and Charlton Heston couldn't handle that and rewrote his script.

Lew Wallace wrote the original Ben Hur. Vidal was one of several screenwriters for the 1959 film version. His actual contribution is still in question but most film historians discount his claim as Vidal's revisionist history.

Still a highly talented writer who will be missed.

I miswrote when I said "write", he was brought in to "adapt" Wallace's work for the screen. His adaption was rewritten after being submitted for studio approval. It's said the studio went so far as to never show Vidal's adaption to Heston for fear of the ensuing heart attack.

It's a sign of something that the RUSH item above collected more comments than this thread.

This was a very big deal to me but sadly it seems to not be the case for most people. It took the media outlets, even the "liberal" or "literary" ones, hours and hours to get anything onto Facebook about it, which honestly shocked the heck out of me. Our Enoch Pratt library was the only FB face I subscribe to that noted it in a timely manner.

I guess elegant prose and rapier wit are forgotten attributes in this country.

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"Stop thinking about art works as objects, and start thinking about them as triggers for experiences." ~ Brian Eno