Truman Capote's Biography

The American writer Truman Capote was born Truman Streckfus Persons in New Orleans in 1925.

Truman Capote spent much of his youth in the south of the United States. His father was a small-time con-man.

By the age of 14, Truman Capote had already written short stories which were published and a year later he started work for The New Yorker, his first and last regular job.

Truman Capote's first novel was Other Voices, Other Rooms (1948), which described life in the deep south and the homosexual awakenings of a young boy. His other writings include The Grass Harp, and Breakfast at Tiffany's.

Truman Capote's In Cold Blood is an acclaimed 'anatomy' of a murder. The film, Capote, significantly influenced by the biography by Gerald Clarke, revolves around In Cold Blood and was nominated for 5 Oscars including Philip Seymour Hoffman (who plays Capote) in the category Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role.

According to the New Republic, referring to the 'Beat' writers, Truman Capote remarked: "This isn't writing at all - it's typing."

Capote is also quoted as saying, in David Frost, The Americans: "I don't care what anybody says about me as long as it isn't true".

Truman Capote died on August 25, 1984 in Los Angeles.