Biography
Eugene Luther Gore Vidal (born Eugene Louis Vidal; October 3, 1925 – July 31, 2012) was an American writer and public intellectual known for his epigrammatic wit. His novels and essays interrogated the social and cultural sexual norms he perceived as driving American life. Beyond literature, Vidal was heavily involved in politics. He unsuccessfully sought office twice as a Democratic Party candidate, first in 1960 to the U.S. House of Representatives (for New York), and later in 1982 to the U.S....
Known For
Complete Filmography
Best of Enemies
2015
as Self
A documentary about the legendary series of nationally televised debates in 1968 between two great public intellectuals, the liberal Gore Vidal and th...
Salinger
2013
as Self - Writer
An in-depth investigation into the private world of the American writer J. D. Salinger (1919-2010), who lived most of his life behind the impenetrable...
Gore Vidal: The United States of Amnesia
2013
as Self
Anchored by intimate, one-on-one interviews with the man himself, Nicholas Wrathall’s new documentary is a fascinating and wholly entertaining tribute...
Valentino's Ghost
2013
as Self
The documentary exposes the ways in which America's foreign policy agenda in the Middle East drives the U.S. media's portrayals of Arabs and Muslims. ...
Paul Bowles: The Cage Door Is Always Open
2013
as Self
The American composer and author Paul Bowles was a man with a great deal of charisma and influence. When he moved to Tangier, Morocco, in 1949, half t...
Norman Mailer: The American
2012
as Self
A provocateur, a rebel, a performer, and a true American, Norman Mailer never stopped giving people something to talk about. This documentary goes be...
The Strange History of Don't Ask, Don't Tell
2011
as Self
The strange history of the now abandoned American 1993-bill, «Don't ask, don't tell» where sexual orientation was a "non-talk" policy in the American ...
Public Speaking
2010
as Self (archive footage)
A feature-length documentary starring Fran Lebowitz, a writer known for her unique take on modern life. The film weaves together extemporaneous monolo...
Standing Army
2010
as Self
Standing Army, directed by Enrico Parenti and Thomas Fazi, is an award-winning documentary film about the global network of U.S. military bases, the i...
Shrink
2009
as George Charles
Unable to cope with a recent personal tragedy, LA's top celebrity shrink turns into a pothead with no concern for his appearance and a creeping sense ...
Obscene
2008
as Self
A look at the life and work of American publisher Barney Rosset, who struggled to bring controversial works like "Tropic of Cancer" and "Naked Lunch" ...
Zero: An Investigation Into 9/11
2008
as Self
ZERO: An Investigation into 9/11 has one central thesis: that the official version of the events surrounding the attacks on 9/11 cannot be true. This ...
The U.S. vs. John Lennon
2006
as Self
A documentary on the life of John Lennon, with a focus on the time in his life when he transformed from a musician into an antiwar activist.
Global Haywire
2006
as Self
Documentary about the state of the modern world.
Revisiting Brideshead
2005
as Self
Documentary with an affectionate look back at the classic Granada TV dramatisation of Evelyn Waugh's famous novel "Brideshead Revisited".
One Bright Shining Moment: The Forgotten Summer of George McGovern
2005
as Self
ONE BRIGHT SHINING MOMENT retraces George McGovern's bold presidential campaign of 1972 - a grassroots campaign that fought for peace and justice, and...
Trailer for a Remake of Gore Vidal's Caligula
2005
as Self
This is a short film based on the 1979 film of the same name. The film is stylized with the actors wearing modernized robes and Roman jewelry and fema...
Trailer for a Remake of Gore Vidal's Caligula
2005
Writer
This is a short film based on the 1979 film of the same name. The film is stylized with the actors wearing modernized robes and Roman jewelry and fema...
Middle Sexes: Redefining He and She
2005
as Narrator (Voice)
Examines the diversity of human sexual and gender variance around the globe, with commentary by scientific experts and first-hand accounts of people w...
Inside Deep Throat
2005
as Self
In 1972, a seemingly typical shoestring budget pornographic film was made in a Florida hotel: "Deep Throat," starring Linda Lovelace. This film would ...
Why We Fight
2005
as Self - Author, "Imperial America"
Is American foreign policy dominated by the idea of military supremacy? Has the military become too important in American life? Jarecki's shrewd and i...
High Tech Lincoln
2005
as Self
Take an unforgettable look at the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum in Springfield, Illinois, which includes a special effects theater, ...
Thinking XXX
2004
as Self
For a book project, photographer Timothy Greenfield-Sanders took photographs of 30 stars of adult movies, each pair of photographs in the same pose, c...
The Education of Gore Vidal
2003
as Self
A contrarian and wickedly funny man, this PBS American Masters special explores Gore Vidal's extraordinary life and work, joining him at his cliff-sid...
Federico Fellini - Through the Eyes of Others
2003
as Self
Documentary about Federico Fellini
Igby Goes Down
2002
as First School Headmaster (uncredited)
Igby Slocumb, a rebellious and sarcastic 17-year-old boy, is at war with the stifling world of old money privilege he was born into. With a schizophre...
The Cockettes
2002
as Self (archive footage)
Documentary about the gender-bending San Francisco performance group who became a pop culture phenomenon in the early 1970s.
Rescued from the Closet
2001
as Self
Rescued from the Closet is a 2001 documentary consisting of interviews originally recorded for the 1995 film The Celluloid Closet. It explores the his...
Gattaca
1997
as Director Josef
Vincent is an all-too-human man who dares to defy a system obsessed with genetic perfection. He is an "In-Valid" who assumes the identity of a member ...
Shadow Conspiracy
1997
as Page
Bobby Bishop is a special assistant to the President of the United States. Accidentally, he meets his friend professor Pochenko on the street. Pochenk...
The Celluloid Closet
1996
as Self
What "That's Entertainment" did for movie musicals, "The Celluloid Closet" does for Hollywood homosexuality, as this exuberant, eye-opening movie serv...
Tennessee Williams: Orpheus of the American Stage
1994
as Self
A study of Tennessee Williams's life and work as a whole, ranging from his youth in Mississippi and in St. Louis to success and acclaim, followed by t...
In Search of Oz
1994
as Self
BBC 2 produced this documentary on the Oz books of L. Frank Baum and the films and fantasies that they inspired, particularly the first book `The Wond...
With Honors
1994
as Prof. Pitkannan
Convinced he'll graduate with honors because of his thesis paper, a stuffy Harvard student finds his paper being held hostage by a homeless man, who m...
Ben-Hur: The Making of an Epic
1993
as Self - Author
The story of how the classic epic "Ben-Hur" was made.
The Great Depression: A Job at Ford's
1993
as Self
Just before the advent of the Great Depression, Henry Ford controlled the most important company in the most important industry in the booming America...
Bob Roberts
1992
as Senator Brickley Paiste
Millionaire conservative Bob Roberts launches an insurgent campaign against incumbent senator Brickley Paiste, firing up crowds at his rallies by sing...
The Palermo Connection
1990
Screenplay
Carmine Bonavia wins election as the mayor of New York on a promise to legalize drugs. After the election, he marries Carrie and goes to his ancestral...
Gore Vidal's Billy the Kid
1989
as Preacher (uncredited)
Gore Vidal's historical novel is brought to life in this television production of Turner Network Television's Billy the Kid.
Gore Vidal's Billy the Kid
1989
Writer
Gore Vidal's historical novel is brought to life in this television production of Turner Network Television's Billy the Kid.
The Sicilian
1987
Screenplay
Egocentric bandit Salvatore Giuliano fights the Church, the Mafia, and the landed gentry while leading a populist movement for Sicilian independence.
Gore Vidal: The Man Who Said No
1984
as Self
In 1982, Gore Vidal, one of America's greatest writers, challenged the American political establishment, and Jerry Brown, in his campaign for the Cali...
A Documentary on the Making of 'Gore Vidal's Caligula'
1981
as Self - Writer
A Documentary on the Making of 'Gore Vidal's Caligula'
Caligula
1979
Original Story
After the death of the paranoid emperor Tiberius, Caligula, his heir, seizes power and plunges the empire into a bloody spiral of madness and depravit...
Roma
1972
as Gore Vidal (uncredited)
A virtually plotless, gaudy, impressionistic portrait of Rome through the eyes of one of its most famous citizens.
Myra Breckinridge
1970
Novel
Myron Breckinridge flies to Europe to get a sex-change operation and is transformed into the beautiful Myra. She travels to Hollywood, meets up with h...
Last of the Mobile Hot Shots
1970
Writer
A new bride gets caught between her decadent husband and his black half-brother.
The Homosexuals
1967
as Self
On March 7, 1967, 40 million Americans tuned in to watch CBS Reports: The Homosexuals, network television’s first documentary on homosexuality. Near t...
The Night of the Generals
1967
Screenplay
A German intelligence officer investigates a prostitute's killing in Warsaw during World War II. He lands on three major Nazi generals as suspects, tw...
Is Paris Burning?
1966
Screenplay
Near the end of World War II, Gen. Dietrich von Choltitz receives orders to burn down Paris if it becomes clear the Allies are going to invade, or if ...
The Best Man
1964
as Delegate (uncredited)
The other party is in disarray. Five men vie for the party nomination for president. No one has a majority as the first ballot closes and the front-ru...
The Best Man
1964
Story, Screenplay
The other party is in disarray. Five men vie for the party nomination for president. No one has a majority as the first ballot closes and the front-ru...
Visit to a Small Planet
1960
Theatre Play
The weirdest alien of the galaxy pays a visit to Earth... Jerry Lewis is Kreton, a childish alien who, against his teacher's will leaves his planet t...
Suddenly, Last Summer
1959
as Audience Member at Operation (uncredited)
The only son of wealthy widow Violet Venable dies while on vacation with his cousin Catherine. What the girl saw was so horrible that she went insane;...
Suddenly, Last Summer
1959
Screenplay
The only son of wealthy widow Violet Venable dies while on vacation with his cousin Catherine. What the girl saw was so horrible that she went insane;...
The Scapegoat
1959
Adaptation
An Englishman in France unwittingly is placed into the identity, and steps into the vacated life, of a look-alike French nobleman.
The Left Handed Gun
1958
Theatre Play
When a crooked sheriff murders his employer, William "Billy the Kid" Bonney decides to avenge the death by killing the man responsible, throwing the l...
I Accuse!
1958
Screenplay
Alfred Dreyfus, a German-Jewish captain serving in the French Army, is falsely accused of treason and made a scapegoat for military espionage in an ac...
The Catered Affair
1956
Screenplay
An Irish cabby in the Bronx watches his wife go overboard planning their daughter's wedding.
Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde
1955
Writer
Adaptation of Robert Louis Stevenson's classic. Part of Chrysler sponsored series "Climax!"
Summer Pavilion
1955
Writer
In an old Louisiana plantation, the furnishings and the once great family are fading fast.The matriarch desperately tries to hold on to the gazebo tha...
Dark Possession
1954
Writer
A woman is accused by a poison-pen letter of murdering her husband.
Ritual in Transfigured Time
1946
as Man (uncredited)
A social event choreographed in the manner of a dance, illuminated by concepts drawn from Greek legend; one of filmmaker Maya Deren's most intriguing ...
Ten Year Old Boy Pilot
1936
as Himself
Ten year old boy pilot called Gore Vidal. A young boy learns how to fly new kind of aeroplane with simple controls. M/S of boy, Gene, standing in fr...