>>6135256 (PB)

That's Gore Vidal

a novelist critic and attempted US senator

 

who stood up for Arron Burr - a patriot framed by scummy banker

 

Gore Vidal was the grandson of Oklahoma senator GORE who was a populist.

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Gore

 

Gore Vidal was also related to Jacqueline Bouvier - they were half siblings after Black jack's widow, Jacqueline mother married whats-his-name Louis Auchincloss .

 

Mr Chatterbox remembers:

 

Gore Vidal ran for US Senate himself under the wing of bedgraggled dyke E. Roosevelt, a dodgy old witch.

Gore Vidal lost.

GV was Paul Newman's friend, he didn't have many.

GV had a famous slapping fight with the novelist Norman Mailer in the crib of NY DC socialite Lally Weymouth, Catherine Graham's cadaverous spawn.

 

Not the fight of the century though it was subject of a fine epic poem. Sample:

 

O blame the moon, the harvest moon, which drew

The humors of the Many and the Few

Who ruled the Many, drained their loving cup,

Distressed the seed of priest, and summoned up

The tears of all the apes and bears of hell;

For Mailer hit Vidal: the tale I'll tell,

Great sirs and Gracious Ladies by your leave.

 

and then some more epic lines to -

 

…then briefly, but with violence,it rained,

The night that Lally Weymouth entertained

the popular Lord Weidenfeld, a peer

and publisher.

The party of the year,

by all accounts - most ev'rone was there

The Sister of the Poor and Lazard Freres

The rich, the very rich, the old, the young:

Fair Jacqueline, a dream in green shantung

And even Gore Vidal just in from Rome

O, there were Great Ones in the Weymouth home

When Norman Mailer entered from the hall

Had a drink and then he saw Vidal.

 

Did they embrace? They might have - stop and think

For both were veterans, and fond of drink.

They might have hugged each other black and blue

And cooed endearments like "You rascal you."

For hadn't they shared causes in their time?

Their lives were interknit. They formed a rhyme.

(Besides, at Ceaser's court a man behaves.

To Ceaser they were only pampered slaves

a gladiator and a pedagogue)

 

One went for glory and he went whole hog

He called Society a crooked court

In which all heroes stood accused. In short

He was the High Romantic of his day.

 

and so on.

 

Not to draw this out unnecessarily – a slap occured, someones date cried and Mailer and Vidal both retired claiming victory.

 

Efforts by NY's grub street hacks to promote a rematch between the clowns were amusing but unsuccessful.