Howard Austen
Howard R. Austen | |
---|---|
Born | Howard R. Auster January 28, 1929 |
Died | September 22, 2003 (aged 74) |
Resting place | Rock Creek Cemetery |
Nationality | American |
Alma mater | New York University |
Partner | Gore Vidal (1951–2003; his death) |
Howard Austen (born Howard Auster;[1] January 28, 1929 – September 22, 2003) was the long-time companion of American writer Gore Vidal for 53 years until Austen's death.[2][3]
Early life and career
Austen was born into a working-class Jewish family and grew up in The Bronx, New York.[4]
Reportedly, Austen wanted to have a career as a singer.[2] In 1950, when Vidal met Austen, he had just graduated and was struggling to find work writing advertising copy.[5] At Vidal's suggestion, he changed his surname from "Auster" to "Austen" "after advertising firms refused to hire him because he was Jewish."[3] Immediately after he changed his name, he was hired at Doyle, Dane & Bernbach, which was considered a very good house,[6] and is known as DDB today.
Austen would go on to become a stage manager for Broadway shows in the 1950s and 1960s. He also worked in film, assisting with the casting of the classic 1962 film To Kill a Mockingbird.[7]
Personal life
Austen was described as red-haired and freckle-faced and was 21, having just graduated from New York University, when he met Vidal at New York's Everard Baths on Labor Day, 1950.[7] Vidal has been reported as describing their relationship as "two men who decided to spend their lives together."[8] Austen managed the couple's complicated financial affairs, travel arrangements and housing needs, both at their home in Hollywood and Ravello, Italy on the Amalfi coast.[7]
In September 2003, Austen died from brain cancer at the age of 74 in Los Angeles, California.[2] In February 2005, Austen was re-buried at Rock Creek Cemetery, in Washington, D.C., in a joint grave meant for Vidal and Austen.
See also
External links
References
- ^ Jay Parini (13 November 2006). "The lion in winter: an evening with Gore Vidal". The Guardian. Guardian Media Group. Retrieved 3 July 2014.
- ^ a b c Wasserman, Steve (30 September 2003). "A life written between words - From behind the scenes, Howard Austen helped make Gore Vidal's literary career possible". Los Angeles Times. Tribune Company. Retrieved 3 July 2014.
- ^ a b Robert Chalmers (25 May 2008). "Gore Vidal: Feuds, 'vicious' mother and rumours of a secret love child". The Independent. Independent Print Limited. Retrieved 3 July 2014.
- ^ Tim Teeman (12 November 2013). "Huffpost - Gay Voices - Howard Austen: Gore Vidal's Partner in All but Name". The Huffington Post. Retrieved 3 July 2014.
- ^ "Gore Vidal terrified paedophilia claims would be make public, family says". The Telegraph. November 11, 2013.
- ^ Ivry, Benjamin (August 2, 2012). "Gore Vidal and the Jew He Loved". Forward. Retrieved 10 March 2016.
- ^ a b c Wasserman, Steve (September 30, 2003). "A life written between words". The Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 10 March 2016.
- ^ Barrie-Anthony, Steven (2 April 2006). "The last mystery of Vidal". Los Angeles Times. Tribune Company. Retrieved 3 July 2014.
- American advertising businesspeople
- American theatre people
- Casting directors
- Stage managers
- 1929 births
- 2003 deaths
- LGBT businesspeople from the United States
- LGBT Jews
- American Jews
- Businesspeople from Los Angeles
- Businesspeople from New York City
- LGBT people from California
- LGBT people from New York (state)
- New York University alumni
- People from the Bronx
- People from Hollywood, Los Angeles
- People from Ravello
- Deaths from cancer in California
- Deaths from brain tumor
- Burials at Rock Creek Cemetery
- 20th-century American businesspeople