Truman Streckfus Persons was born in New Orleans to Lillie Mae Faulk, and salesman Archulus Persons. His parents divorced when he was two and he was sent to live with his mother’s relatives.
In 1930, 5 year old Truman Persons, and his mother were living with his mother’s cousin, Jenny Faulk, age 55. Also in the household were Jenny’s siblings Nannie (53), Callie (52) , and Byron (61), as well as her teenage cousins Edna and Lucille. Truman developed a very close relationship with Nannie whom he called “Sook”.
Every person on the page is from Alabama. Both parents of every person on the page are from Alabama. Jennie and Callie are milliners and Byron is a farmer. There are also truck drivers, cattle inspectors, druggists and lawyers on the page. The lawyer, who lives next door, is Amasa Coleman Lee. The character of Atticus Finch (Lee’s wife’s maiden name) was based on him. Lee’s daughter Harper is the author of To Kill a Mockingbird in which Finch is featured. She is 4-year old Nell H. Lee on line 92 of the census. The novel’s character Scout is based on Lee, and Scout’s friend Dill is based on Capote.
Later life
Capote’s name came from his mother’s second husband, José García Capote, who adopted Truman and renamed him Truman García Capote.
Capote started with short storis and was recognized by The Scholastic Art & Writing Awards in 1936. he won the O Henry Award at age 24. He worked at the New Yorker for two years before he angered poet Robert Frost and was fired.
Since the biographies on this blog are purposely kept short, I’ll let Wikipedia tell the story of Capote’s writing career, including his famous works Breakfast at Tiffany’s and In Cold Blood. Also in this section of the Wikipedia page is a discussion of the Harold Halma photograph which is at the top of this page. This photo caused much controversy. It made a huge impression on 20-year-old Andy Warhol, and led to his first one-man show Fifteen Drawings Based on the Writings of Truman Capote in 1952.
Capote was openly gay and that openness was important to the developing gay rights movement. He was known for his distinctive, high-pitched voice and odd vocal mannerisms, his offbeat manner of dress, and his fabrications, such as claiming friendship with people he’d never met, like Greta Garbo. He traveled in the highest social circles worldwide .
In 1984, after years of celebrity life and the drink, drugs, and controversies that go with it, he died at the home of Joanne Carson, ex-wife of Johnny Carson, of “liver disease complicated by phlebitis and multiple drug intoxication”. Gore Vidal, whom Capote had long feuded with, called Capote’s death “a wise career move.”
Other happenings on September 30, 1924
- The Allied Powers relaxed controls on the German Navy in light of improved international relations.
- The League of Nations appointed a commission to look into the Mosul Question.
- The German romance film Comedy of the Heart was released.
Tomorrow – Cigar Chompin’, Pistol Packin’, Bullet Riddled
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Sources
- Wikipedia.org
- Ancestry.com
- Onthisday.com
- Picryl.com
- Youtube.com
Famous People and Their First Census 