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Pink Triangle: The Feuds and Private Lives of Tennessee Williams, Gore Vidal, Truman Capote, and Famous Members of Their Entourages
One hot summer night in 1945, three young American writers, each an enfant terrible, came together in a stuffy Manhattan apartment for the first time. Each member of this pink triangle was on the dawn of world fame Tennessee Williams for A Streetcar Named Desire; Gore Vidal for his notorious homosexual novel, 'The City and the Pillar'; and Truman Capote for 'Other Voices, Other Rooms', a book that had been marketed with a photograph depicting Capote as a underaged sex object that caused as much controversy as the prose inside. Each of the three remained competitively and defiantly provocative throughout the course of his writing career. Initially hailed by critics as the darlings of the gods, each of them would, in time, be attacked for his contributions to film, the theater, and publishing. Some of their works would be widely reviewed as obscene rantings from perverted sociopaths. From that summer night emerged betrayals that eventually evolved into lawsuits, stolen lovers, public insults, and the most famous and flamboyant rivalries in America's literary history.
The private opinions of these authors about their celebrity acquaintances usually left scar tissue. Vidal became the most iconoclastic writer since Voltaire, needling and satirizing the sacred cows of his era and explosively describing subjects which included America s gay founding fathers, the lesbian affairs of Eleanor Roosevelt, his own seduction of the Beat Generation's spiritual leader and guru, Jack Kerouac.
The book contains an overview of Vidal s hot, then glacial, relationship with the fabled diarist Anais Nin, and the drawn-out slugfests which followed. Capote became the mascot of the ultra-fashionable jet set, surrounded and showcased by his glamorous swans. Eventually, Capote feuded not only with Vidal, but with The Queen of the Best-Sellers, Jacqueline Susann, publicly referring to her as a truck driver in drag. Capote s own struggles for bestsellerdom are depicted during the research of his all-time hit, 'In Cold Blood', wherein he falls hopelessly in love with one of its killers. The book contains details about his hosting of The Party of the Century, and his self-destructive descent into isolation, alcohol, and drugs.
Tennessee Williams, attacked for his incurable sense of decadence, became as notorious as his plays. His tumultuous private life is explored as never before in a portrait that s as poignant and flamboyant as any character he created, including that of Blanche DuBois. Did Tennessee really perform fellatio on JFK at his Palm Beach compound? Did Warren Beatty really have sex with him as a means of procuring his role as the gigolo in The Roman Spring of Mrs. Stone? What really happened when a then-unknown actor, Marlon Brando, arrived on Tennessee's doorstep in Provincetown during World War II?"
The private opinions of these authors about their celebrity acquaintances usually left scar tissue. Vidal became the most iconoclastic writer since Voltaire, needling and satirizing the sacred cows of his era and explosively describing subjects which included America s gay founding fathers, the lesbian affairs of Eleanor Roosevelt, his own seduction of the Beat Generation's spiritual leader and guru, Jack Kerouac.
The book contains an overview of Vidal s hot, then glacial, relationship with the fabled diarist Anais Nin, and the drawn-out slugfests which followed. Capote became the mascot of the ultra-fashionable jet set, surrounded and showcased by his glamorous swans. Eventually, Capote feuded not only with Vidal, but with The Queen of the Best-Sellers, Jacqueline Susann, publicly referring to her as a truck driver in drag. Capote s own struggles for bestsellerdom are depicted during the research of his all-time hit, 'In Cold Blood', wherein he falls hopelessly in love with one of its killers. The book contains details about his hosting of The Party of the Century, and his self-destructive descent into isolation, alcohol, and drugs.
Tennessee Williams, attacked for his incurable sense of decadence, became as notorious as his plays. His tumultuous private life is explored as never before in a portrait that s as poignant and flamboyant as any character he created, including that of Blanche DuBois. Did Tennessee really perform fellatio on JFK at his Palm Beach compound? Did Warren Beatty really have sex with him as a means of procuring his role as the gigolo in The Roman Spring of Mrs. Stone? What really happened when a then-unknown actor, Marlon Brando, arrived on Tennessee's doorstep in Provincetown during World War II?"
700 pages, Paperback
First published October 7, 2013
30 people are currently reading
195 people want to read
About the author
Darwin Porter
297 books18 followersDarwin Porter (1937-) is an American travel writer, producing numerous titles, mostly for the Frommer guidebook series, over a 50-year career span.
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Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews
October 29, 2018
This book doesn’t need to be 707 pages; it’s too freaking long! The “feuds” in this book could be summed up with a few sentences. Most won’t be satisfied knowing the core reasons for the “feuds” and will want to read the book for the details. *chuckles* I know because I was you, but be warned that this book won’t be as straightforward as I was.
I can't believe I'm saying this but the writing in soap operas is better planned than what was in this book. The material in this story is a nice mix between facts and gossip that many can agree develop from the famous and wealthy of 1930-1980s who live lives full of secrets, but man did everyone have egos. The egos of ALL the people included, from the writers’ parents to the actors they worked with, lead to a bunch of whinny annoying moments that made me wonder how the heck anyone made friends or found success in any capacity. I would've left all 3 of the main characters the book focuses on at some point as I just found them too tiring, used to either telling or living lies, and self-centered to see myself being friends with either Williams, Vidal, or Capote. That being said this book makes sure you know their faults but know their successes enough to admire them. Most writers hope for their success and to mingle with the rich, powerful, and famous, and to live openly when we could be turned away for doing so? It’s no wonder people across the world are fascinated to this day by these writers.
My biggest issue has to be the fact that the format on this book is absolutely whack! The book constantly jumps from certain events multiple times later on throughout the story. There isn't a timeline to follow. Literally we learn about deaths, some success, struggles writing for MGM, etc., and it's all for different writers but these periods are spread out throughout the book. Why not just have a section dedicate "The Scriptwriter Years" or something to make it sound cohesive? We don't need to keep going back to one certain event just because someone new joins the main person's side. Just mention it the first time! It's not a deja vu moment after all. There is too much switching back and forth about who we're reading about now and what time period it is. All of this lead to my enjoyment decreasing at a rapid rate. I'd suggest you'd keep a notebook to keep track of the timeline. This was an headache inducing, disappointing read if ever there was one, which stinks because I genuinely thought I would enjoy this book. My rating is a 2 as the information is 3 star and format is 1 star.
I can't believe I'm saying this but the writing in soap operas is better planned than what was in this book. The material in this story is a nice mix between facts and gossip that many can agree develop from the famous and wealthy of 1930-1980s who live lives full of secrets, but man did everyone have egos. The egos of ALL the people included, from the writers’ parents to the actors they worked with, lead to a bunch of whinny annoying moments that made me wonder how the heck anyone made friends or found success in any capacity. I would've left all 3 of the main characters the book focuses on at some point as I just found them too tiring, used to either telling or living lies, and self-centered to see myself being friends with either Williams, Vidal, or Capote. That being said this book makes sure you know their faults but know their successes enough to admire them. Most writers hope for their success and to mingle with the rich, powerful, and famous, and to live openly when we could be turned away for doing so? It’s no wonder people across the world are fascinated to this day by these writers.
My biggest issue has to be the fact that the format on this book is absolutely whack! The book constantly jumps from certain events multiple times later on throughout the story. There isn't a timeline to follow. Literally we learn about deaths, some success, struggles writing for MGM, etc., and it's all for different writers but these periods are spread out throughout the book. Why not just have a section dedicate "The Scriptwriter Years" or something to make it sound cohesive? We don't need to keep going back to one certain event just because someone new joins the main person's side. Just mention it the first time! It's not a deja vu moment after all. There is too much switching back and forth about who we're reading about now and what time period it is. All of this lead to my enjoyment decreasing at a rapid rate. I'd suggest you'd keep a notebook to keep track of the timeline. This was an headache inducing, disappointing read if ever there was one, which stinks because I genuinely thought I would enjoy this book. My rating is a 2 as the information is 3 star and format is 1 star.
September 4, 2014
a dishy, eye rolling, kind of trashy read. I was looking for a bio on Williams and Vidal and came across this. After the first few chapters, I literally had to research the author to make sure this wasn't some self published rag. The book is horribly put together, like either the editor or the author has ADD and some of the revelations result in a kind of "OH COME ON"....that said, it is def entertaining, with lots of off screen gossip and tirades...whether they are true or not is another story.
July 31, 2015
The Answer: 666
The Question: In this self-admitted tabloid-style "shocker"(one might think Williams, Vidal, and Capote had some kind of kinky encounter with about every male Hollywood star from the 1940s to the 1960s, and by encounter I mean from watching to, well, pretty much anything you can imagine and more), the publisher/editor beautifully designs fonts, headlines, picture sizes, chapter titles, etc., to equal how many (and oh, how so very telling) pages?
The Review: There really is some interesting stories here, particularly the casting of certain films. Elvis and Marilyn were considered for the roles that finally went to Newman and Taylor in "Cat on a Hot Tin Roof"! And oh, the stories from the set of the film "The Night of the Iguana", in which Taylor, Burton, and much of Hollywood inflames a small Mexican town! And if you want to know tons of trash about Marlon Brando, this is your chance. If you're the kind of person who, in line at the market, secretly wants to pick up and flip through a tabloid or two, this one's for you. After all, as Kurt Cobain famously sang, "Here we are now, Entertain Us."!
The Question: In this self-admitted tabloid-style "shocker"(one might think Williams, Vidal, and Capote had some kind of kinky encounter with about every male Hollywood star from the 1940s to the 1960s, and by encounter I mean from watching to, well, pretty much anything you can imagine and more), the publisher/editor beautifully designs fonts, headlines, picture sizes, chapter titles, etc., to equal how many (and oh, how so very telling) pages?
The Review: There really is some interesting stories here, particularly the casting of certain films. Elvis and Marilyn were considered for the roles that finally went to Newman and Taylor in "Cat on a Hot Tin Roof"! And oh, the stories from the set of the film "The Night of the Iguana", in which Taylor, Burton, and much of Hollywood inflames a small Mexican town! And if you want to know tons of trash about Marlon Brando, this is your chance. If you're the kind of person who, in line at the market, secretly wants to pick up and flip through a tabloid or two, this one's for you. After all, as Kurt Cobain famously sang, "Here we are now, Entertain Us."!
January 4, 2016
This is one of those indulgent, gossipy books you enjoy, go "oohh" and "aahh" over and take with a grain of salt! If you read this, you'll think everyone in Hollywood was gay or lesbian and only pretended to be straight - with the possible exception of Bette Davis, who was portrayed as homophobic. However, the intertwining lives of Williams, Capote and Vidal do make compulsive and interesting reading. For me, Tennessee Williams was the outstanding artist of the three. His plays - The Glass Menagerie (I've got a recording of this play with Montgomery Clift in the leading role), Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, The Rose Tattoo and the unforgettable Streetcar Named Desire - made an indelible impression on both theatre-goers and movie buffs and established him, for a time, as America's foremost playwright. His personal life was less successful. He seems to have been a "sex-addict", compulsively hooking up with anyone who came along, as well as maintaining a couple of longer-term, but fraught, relationships with men who felt overshadowed by his fame.
Truman Capote was the most colourful of the three - a flamboyant "screaming queen", who courted society only to lose it disastrously when he published Answered Prayers, which contained stories they had told him in the strictest confidence. He will be remembered principally for Breakfast at Tiffanys and In Cold Blood, a journalistic account of the fate of two men who murdered four members of the Clutter family in Kansas in 1959. This work actually exhausted him and contributed to his early death; he was more suited to writing the lighter, poetic works like Other Voices, Other Rooms. His short story, Miriam, is one of the most chillingly effective I've ever read.
Of all of them, Gore Vidal seems the least unstable and the least interesting. I've never read any of his novels, not even Myra Breckenridge, as his preoccupation with American politics has always put me off. However, the social commentary in his essays is interesting reading. And, he was involved as a screenwriter for both Suddenly Last Summer (Hepburn, Clift, Liz Taylor) and Ben Hur, for which he famously suggested that the leading characters, Ben Hur and Messala, had an early homosexual relationship. This, Vidal believed, supplied the underlying motive for their later intense rivalry. (The joke at the time was, "Don't tell Charlton Heston").
Throughout the book, other famous characters make their appearances - Marlon Brando, Liz Taylor, Katharine Hepburn, Bette Davis, Tallulah Bankhead, etc, etc. So, if you're looking for a big, bouncy gossip-fest to pass a boring plane trip with, or take on holdays, I can recommend this one!
Truman Capote was the most colourful of the three - a flamboyant "screaming queen", who courted society only to lose it disastrously when he published Answered Prayers, which contained stories they had told him in the strictest confidence. He will be remembered principally for Breakfast at Tiffanys and In Cold Blood, a journalistic account of the fate of two men who murdered four members of the Clutter family in Kansas in 1959. This work actually exhausted him and contributed to his early death; he was more suited to writing the lighter, poetic works like Other Voices, Other Rooms. His short story, Miriam, is one of the most chillingly effective I've ever read.
Of all of them, Gore Vidal seems the least unstable and the least interesting. I've never read any of his novels, not even Myra Breckenridge, as his preoccupation with American politics has always put me off. However, the social commentary in his essays is interesting reading. And, he was involved as a screenwriter for both Suddenly Last Summer (Hepburn, Clift, Liz Taylor) and Ben Hur, for which he famously suggested that the leading characters, Ben Hur and Messala, had an early homosexual relationship. This, Vidal believed, supplied the underlying motive for their later intense rivalry. (The joke at the time was, "Don't tell Charlton Heston").
Throughout the book, other famous characters make their appearances - Marlon Brando, Liz Taylor, Katharine Hepburn, Bette Davis, Tallulah Bankhead, etc, etc. So, if you're looking for a big, bouncy gossip-fest to pass a boring plane trip with, or take on holdays, I can recommend this one!
June 12, 2015
Juicy
I enjoyed this read and all its info about Truman, Gore,and
Tennessee. If you love Old Hollywood, you'll like all the familiar names.
I enjoyed this read and all its info about Truman, Gore,and
Tennessee. If you love Old Hollywood, you'll like all the familiar names.
April 2, 2025
About ten years ago my local library system purchased a load of Darwin Porter books and I read most of them with fascination but also horror because so much was complete fantasy. At least a large dollop of this book is based on fact and the more reliable sort of gossip but there is a lot that isn't.
If you are old enough to remember supermarket tabloids in the USA like the National Enquiry or the Sunday and Daily Sport in the UK then that is what Darwin Porter offers. Salacious, lubricious are the words that spring to mind. There is not a story, well hardly a story, that doesn't involve sex and quite often stories of straight actors being gay.
Its trash, but its fun and honestly its rather nice that it is a trashy, sexually vulgar and exploitative book about writers.
If you are old enough to remember supermarket tabloids in the USA like the National Enquiry or the Sunday and Daily Sport in the UK then that is what Darwin Porter offers. Salacious, lubricious are the words that spring to mind. There is not a story, well hardly a story, that doesn't involve sex and quite often stories of straight actors being gay.
Its trash, but its fun and honestly its rather nice that it is a trashy, sexually vulgar and exploitative book about writers.
June 2, 2024
Technically 3.5 stars. It was a freakishly long book and not available as an audiobook. Porter and Prince have the bone fides to pull this off. They are the gossip kings of the 20th century glitterati. Fascinating and weird lives lived by the 3 men at subject. I'm glad their backstories are not lost. Having recently refreshed my Capote reading oeuvre and being a fan of some of Tennessee's plays, I found the story of their tortured lives quite enlightening. As for Gore Vidal, I have a love/hate relationship with his work. I love the themes and the writing sophistication, but am not a fan of the over the top actual gore he makes so figural in his books. It did make me want to see Myra Breckenridge and Caligula again....
721 pages and no 52BookClub prompt! What was I thinking!?
721 pages and no 52BookClub prompt! What was I thinking!?
February 2, 2020
Prurient, salacious gossip sometimes unbelievable. I know much of the book is true but some aspects of it seem far fetched. This is a huge book and by the end it felt like the three writers were bragging and lying about the conquest of every man, actor, actress, straight or gay they ever met right up to and including the President of the United States and his wife. Claiming that between the three of them they had had every major male star and if they hadn't then they knew someone who had. Even if every word was true how the author got away with writing these slanderous or libelous (never sure which is which) claims. Fascinating reading regardless of truth.
February 27, 2017
I think this book had to be the trashiest tell-all that ever put pen to paper. Unbelievably campy, written in a gossipy manner filled with salacious details from the authors of the Hollywood Babylon books. Reading it is like sitting across from two old queens who know everyone's business, just like Capote himself, as they tell you who slept with who and how big everyone is. A true queer Trashy gem.
November 1, 2019
Plenty enough salacious gossip making up the lives of Tennessee Williams, Truman Capote, and Gore Vidal. Illustrated with many photographs. Rather monotonous, interesting details though about casting Williams’ works (plays and movies).
August 14, 2015
funny, frivolously more than camp, Gayer than Gay.... Everybody gay when they want to be... okay if you say so...
April 29, 2016
This one of the best books I've read in the last year!
July 6, 2016
Disappointingly trashy and not what I'd hoped.
April 6, 2022
I love the dirt and information he dishes. Always entertaining.
October 17, 2022
A lot of minutiae about mostly forgotten celebrities.
Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews