At Monroeville, he is a neighbor and co-author of Harper Lee, who is rumored to have based his character Dill on Capote.Īs a lonely child, Capote taught himself to read and write before entering the first year of his school.
"Her face is incredible - unlike Lincoln, rough as it is, and colored by sun and wind", is how Capote describes Sook in "A Christmas Memory" (1956). She forms a fast bond with her mother's distant relative, Nanny Rumbley Faulk, whom Truman calls "Sook". His parents divorced when he was four years old, and he was sent to Monroeville, Alabama, where, for the next four to five years, he was raised by his mother's family. In the 1970s, he maintained his celebrity status by appearing on television talk shows.īorn in New Orleans, Louisiana, Capote is 17-year-old son Lillie Mae Faulk and salesman Archulus Persons. Capote spent four years writing a book aided by his fellow Harper Lee, who wrote To Kill a Mockingbird (1960).Ī milestone in popular culture, In Cold Blood is the culmination of Capote's literary career. Capote earned the most fame with In Cold Blood, a journalistic work about killing a family of Kansas farmers in their home. The critical success of one story, "Miriam" (1945), attracted the attention of Random House publisher Bennett Cerf, and resulted in a contract to write a novel (1948).
Capote began his professional career writing short stories. He had found his call as a writer by the age of eight, and for the rest of his childhood he honed his writing skills. At least 20 films and television dramas have been produced from Capote novels, stories, and dramas.Ĭapote rises above a troubled childhood due to a divorce, long absence from his mother, and some migration. Many of Capote's short stories, novels, plays and nonfictions are recognized as classical literature, including the novel Tiffany's (1958) and the true criminal novel In Cold Blood (1966), which he labeled "nonfiction novels". Src: Truman Garcia Capote ( born Truman Streckfus Persons, 30 September 1924 - August 25, 1984) is an American novelist, short story writer, screenwriter, playwrights, and actors.