Eugene Luther Gore Vidal (1925–2012) was an American writer, essayist, playwright, screenwriter, novelist, political critic, and public intellectual renowned for his sharp wit, satirical style, and incisive critiques of American society, politics, culture, and imperialism. Born into a prominent political family—his grandfather was a U.S. Senator from Oklahoma, and his father was an early aviation pioneer and West Point instructor—Vidal grew up in Washington, D.C., immersed in elite circles. He began his literary career young, publishing his debut novel, Williwaw (1946), at age 19, drawing from his World War II service in the U.S. Army in the Aleutian Islands. His third novel, The City and the Pillar (1948), boldly explored homosexuality, sparking controversy and establishing him as a provocative voice challenging social norms. Over a six-decade career, Vidal authored over 24 novels—including historical works such as Burr (1973) and Lincoln (1984)—and more than 200 essays that lambasted U.S. foreign policy, media, sexuality, and the military-industrial complex. He also contributed to screenwriting, working on films like Ben-Hur (1959), and made minor acting appearances. Vidal was a frequent talk-show guest, debater, and outspoken liberal commentator, famously clashing with conservative William F. Buckley Jr. during the 1968 Republican National Convention broadcasts. Politically active, he ran unsuccessfully as a Democratic candidate for the U.S. House of Representatives in New York’s 29th district in 1960 and for the U.S. Senate from California in 1982. His essays, collected in volumes such as The Best Man and Perpetual War for Perpetual Peace, criticized American imperialism and political hypocrisy. Living much of his later life in Italy with his partner Howard Austen, Vidal embraced a cosmopolitan lifestyle reflecting his disdain for American puritanism. His work often blurred fact and fiction, notably in his Narratives of Empire series, and he remained a cultural provocateur until his death, influencing generations with his cynical, epigrammatic style and defense of free expression. Despite personal scandals, public feuds—including a falling out with Truman Capote—and criticism for his contrarian and revisionist takes on American history, Vidal’s legacy endures as a bridge between literature and activism, challenging sexual taboos, political hypocrisy, and the excesses of empire.