Howard Austen

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]

Howard R. Austen
Born
Howard R. Auster

January 28, 1929
New York City
DiedSeptember 22, 2003 (aged 74)
Los Angeles, California
Resting placeRock Creek Cemetery
NationalityAmerican
Alma materNew York University
Partner(s)Gore Vidal (1950–2003; his death)
For the improvisational poet, see Howard Austin.

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, Austen 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 in their La Rondinaia villa in 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.

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See also

References
  1. Jay Parini (November 13, 2006). "The lion in winter: an evening with Gore Vidal". The Guardian. Retrieved July 3, 2014.
  2. Wasserman, Steve (September 30, 2003). "A life written between words – From behind the scenes, Howard Austen helped make Gore Vidal's literary career possible". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved July 3, 2014.
  3. Robert Chalmers (May 25, 2008). "Gore Vidal: Feuds, 'vicious' mother and rumours of a secret love child". The Independent. Independent Print Limited. Retrieved July 3, 2014.
  4. Tim Teeman (November 12, 2013). "Huffpost – Gay Voices – Howard Austen: Gore Vidal's Partner in All but Name". HuffPost. Retrieved July 3, 2014.
  5. "Gore Vidal terrified paedophilia claims would be make public, family says". The Telegraph. November 11, 2013.
  6. Ivry, Benjamin (August 2, 2012). "Gore Vidal and the Jew He Loved". Forward. Retrieved March 10, 2016.
  7. Wasserman, Steve (September 30, 2003). "A life written between words". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved March 10, 2016.
  8. Barrie-Anthony, Steven (April 2, 2006). "The last mystery of Vidal". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved July 3, 2014.


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