Along with the historical novels for which he is best known ( Julian, Burr, Lincoln), Vidal wrote television plays, Broadway comedies, mystery novels under the pseudonym Edgar Box, campy romps such as Myra Breckinridge and Duluth, and political dramas ( The Best Man and An Evening With Richard Nixon). In addition to covering Vidal's private life, the book is almost a crash course on Vidal's work over a long, productive career. In time, Vidal agreed with Parini to publish the biography after his death and provided him access to numerous contacts and the kind of rich material few biographers ever have. Parini declined at the time, knowing that he wouldn’t be free to tell the whole story while Vidal was still living. In the early ’90s, Vidal asked Parini to write his biography. Kennedy and longtime friend Tennessee Williams. Other photos show Vidal at home with Howard Austen, his lifelong companion on the set of The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson, which he appeared on frequently with Gay Talese, Sontag and Norman Mailer before a benefit reading by all four and several with both then-Sen. Vidal cultivated the rich and famous, and his guests in Italy included Princess Margaret, Susan Sarandon and Tim Robbins, Andy Warhol, Mick and Bianca Jagger, Sting, Dick Cavett and Hillary Clinton. Parini was often with Vidal when distinguished visitors showed up at his home in Italy, a fabulous five-story villa hanging on the edge of a cliff.
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