When Gore Met Amelia
If you’re planning to see‘Amelia,’the new Amelia Earhart biopic now in theaters, keep an eye out for recent ‘Studio 360’ guest Gore Vidal — or at least the actor playing him. The film takes place long before he became notorious for his envelope-pushing novels and on-air political smackdowns with William F. Buckley. At the time he knew the famous female aviator, Vidal was still a kid. But it turns out that his father, Gene, was an able pilot in his own right and one of Earhart’s great loves.
Kurt asked Vidal to share his memories of this period, but the conversation was lost somewhere in the Bermuda Triangle and crash landed on the cutting room floor. Fortunately, it has been recovered and posted for your enjoyment:
You can see a photo taken at Glen Echo in the just-published scrapbook-style memoir, Gore Vidal: Snapshots in History’s Glare. It shows Amelia congratulating Gene Vidal on his appointment as director of Air Commerce under Franklin Roosevelt. Further evidence that Gore knew everyone.
Listen to the full interview here:
The story you just read is available to read for free because thousands of listeners and readers like you generously support our nonprofit newsroom. Every day, the reporters and producers at The World are hard at work bringing you human-centered news from across the globe. But we can’t do it without you: We need your support to ensure we can continue this work for another year.
When you make a gift of $10 or more a month, we’ll invite you to a virtual behind-the-scenes tour of our newsroom to thank you for being with The World.