Truman Capote Was Adorable Yet Evil

By Michael Musto Fri., Jun. 10 2011 at 10:30 AM

Socialite Slim Keith was one of author Truman Capote's favorite "swans" -- i.e., uptown beauties -- in the '50s and '60s, but as such, she definitely suffered some animal abuse from the famed author of Breakfast at Tiffany's and In Cold Blood.

In Slim's memoirs, she reveals that Capote was impishly lovable but also a big old troublemaker.

He once invited Slim to lunch with a surprise guest. The guest turned out to be the woman Slim's husband left her for!

In his final misstep, Capote wrote a scandalous story, "Le Cote Basque," in which he betrayed all his friends like Slim, using their personal secrets for fodder -- and it wasn't even that well-written.

As Slim remembers, Capote then sent her an ironic telegram saying "I have decided to forgive you." She didn't.

Before that, his biggest fuck-up was trying to date an air-conditioner repairman named Randy and bringing him around on various jet-set jaunts to impress him.

"His brightest conversational topics were compressors, condensation, and power failure," says Slim.

I guess Truman liked to be the brightest person in the room.

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La Grand Puta

Isn't that what makes us read his stuff and the stuff written about him? The gossip and salacious bits? Le Cote Basque was like the ultimate not so blind item of it's day. I just finished one of Gore Vidal's autobiographies and it contains some of the best Jackie Kennedy gossip I've heard. Some I'd heard over and over but this is a witness spilling the beans. Dick Cavett needs to release his show with Vidal and Capote going for Cold Blood.

Scruff712

I checked out Slim's book from the library this week and it really is a great read.

Musto

Slim writes about how he knew he was a physical oddity and that's why he'd purposely say something wicked or funny on entering a room, so it would seem as if he was in on the joke. She also said that seeing and hearing him was always a shock, even after knowing him for years. When she'd show up for lunch, Truman would be sitting there, and Slim would blanche.

normadesmond

her book is a good read.

TV does it

Why does he remind me so much of Kurt on Glee?

Melinda9

He was adorable for a little while - then he became sort of trollish.

Movielover

You do have to wonder why he didn't know telling all those tales would make his friends mad. He was not sexy or attractive, but he was when he was very young. He was befriended by the rich and glamorous but they dumped his ass later. Talk about your ups and downs. He came a long way from...Mississippi, or some such place.