| "Better Death in Venice than life in Hollywood." Truman Capote, Too Brief a Treat: The Letters of Truman Capote Truman Capote delivered that quip in a letter to a friend in New York during his first trip to California in 1947. How strange that in thirty-seven years it would become prophetic. On August, 25, 1984, a drug and alcohol ravaged Truman Capote passed away at the Bel Air home of his great friend Joanne Carson. Joanne was the second wife of legendary Tonight Show host Johnny Carson, but they had been divorced for over a decade by Capote’s death in 1984. [She is sometimes confused with his third wife whose name was unfortunately similar: "Joanna."] |  Too Brief a Treat |
Upon learning of the circumstances surrounding Capote's passing, Gore Vidal, Truman's erstwhile friend and full-time nemesis, thoughtfully sent a condolence note—only not to the bereaved Joanne, but to her ex-husband Johnny. He wrote:
“You know, John, I know how upset you must be by Joanne’s publicity coup in having Capote die in her house. Out of friendship to you, I promise I’ll die in yours.”
Vidal’s droll promise went unfulfilled. Carson died in 2005, seven years before Vidal passed away in 2012.
Via: Truman Capote in which Various Friends, Enemies, Acquaintances, and Detractors Recall His Turbulent Career
“You know, John, I know how upset you must be by Joanne’s publicity coup in having Capote die in her house. Out of friendship to you, I promise I’ll die in yours.”
Vidal’s droll promise went unfulfilled. Carson died in 2005, seven years before Vidal passed away in 2012.
Via: Truman Capote in which Various Friends, Enemies, Acquaintances, and Detractors Recall His Turbulent Career
Gore Vidal with Johnny and Joanne Carson at Ravello, Shortly Before Their Divorce
Photo Credit: Snapshots in History's Glare
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