– For Adults Only: Truman Capote – April 16, 1971 – Gordon Skene Sound Collection –

There is certainly no shortage of interviews, recollections, observations, biographies, documentaries and articles on literary legend Truman Capote. A pivotal figure in 20th century American literature, Capote was as much a figure of controversy, tragedy and personal demons as he was the written word.

His colorful, flamboyant and often theatrical nature made him, at times, more of a pop culture figure than a sought-after figure in the art of writing.

This interview, conducted by Joyce Susskind and Barbara Howar from the short-lived interview program For Adults Only features a half-hour interview with Capote, where Capote discusses his literary work as well as the Popular Culture aspects of his celebrated life. It’s candid, and most likely at the time provocative, because of the early 70s and taboo subjects like homosexuality on late-night TV were still off-limits.

Whether or not the original video of this interview has survived isn’t really known. I assume it has, even though the show For Adults Only, lasted only a few weeks.

In any event, this is one of the rarer interviews with Truman Capote, broadcast on April 16, 1971 – and if you haven’t heard it, it makes for a fascinating half-hour glimpse into the life of one of America‘s most celebrated writers.

Enjoy.

Past Daily is trudging along and we’re always looking for your help. We don’t run ads so we need contributors to keep us up and running. Costs even more now than it did this time last year. But we’re still offering you the best of what’s in the archive – yes, this is all from our Collection (except the sessions and concerts – gotta give credit where credit is due – BBC 6 Music and Radio X in London and RNE In Madrid are essential sources of finding new music) but everything is the result of yours truly digging into boxes, climbing over shelves, falling into dumpsters. It’s history, it’s important and it’s yours if you want it. All you have to do, if you’re up for it, is subscribe via Patreon (that little box at the bottom of this post) – click on it and you’ll be taken to their site where you can subscribe to Past Daily, let them know how much you want to donate – or check us out for free, test drive our site as it were and decide to become part of the Past Daily experience. Simple, painless and we’ll love you for it. Do it if you can and you’ll be able to download your own copy of all our posts and new ones as they appear. Kind of cool, don’t you think? But you have to become a Patron in order to do it. Think about it – no pressure – honest – really . . no pressure. But there’s this landlord . . . .