Gore Vidal Leaves Behind Iconoclastic Memoirs That Survive The Ravages Of Time

Celebrated author, playwright, politician and commentator Gore Vidal breathed his last Tuesday and left behind a repository of published works and remarks that were famous for their unconventional wit and wisdom.

Vidal, 86, passed away at his home in Hollywood Hills owing to complications of pneumonia, Burr Steers, his nephew told the Los Angeles Times.

His essays, novels, screenplays, and mysteries drew a wide repertoire of readers from across the world and won him appreciation with the National Book Award in 1993 for the magnum opus "United States Essays, 1952-1992."

Vidal also starred in movies playing his life role in "Fellini's Roma," a sinister plotter in sci-fi thriller "Gattaca" and U.S. senator in "Bob Roberts."

He also tried his hand in politics, running for the Senate from California and Congress in New York. Besides, he dabbled with talk shows as well and is known for acidic one-liners that put contemporaries like Norman Mailer and William F. Buckley in a spot.