Playwright/Novelist Gore Vidal's Final Drama; A Will That Pits Family Members Against Each Other

When the erudite and politically astute Gore Vidal passed away in 2012 he left behind a body of work that included a wide assortment of novels (MYRA BRECKINRIDGE, LINCOLN), plays (THE BEST MAN, VISIT TO A SMALL PLANET) and screenplays (THE CATERED AFFAIR, IS PARIS BURNING?). He also left his entire $30 million estate to Harvard University, even though he never attended the school.

As reported in The Washingtonian, his will is being contested by Vidal's half-sister Nina Straight a Washington DC socialite, and her son, Burr Steers, who claim that the celebrated author had changed his trust just a year before he died under the influence of their cousin, estate trustee Andrew Auchincloss.

Vidal's romantic partner of 53 years Howard Austen, died in 2003 and his health had been declining ever since.

"The end was awful, just awful," says Steers, a Hollywood director and screenwriter who began spending more time with his uncle after Vidal and Austen moved from their Amalfi Coast villa to LA. "He was no longer Gore-just a deranged old man, killing himself with booze."

Vidal passed away while a hit revival of THE BEST MAN was running on Broadway. His remains have yet to be buried.

Click here for the full article.

Photo: David Shankbone