A compassionate side of the man that I never knew-a letter to Dominick Dunne, whom he scarcely knew, helping him through a crisis, his relationship with Kate Harrington.
He was interviewed in the early '60s by a young novelist, Pati Hill.
I am astonished at the reaction of people when Truman's name is mentioned-an eagerness to know more about him, his life, his contemporaries.
I remember being awed by it - the uniqueness and nicety of style - and I suspect I was a bit jealous because we were more or less of the same generation.
I think people are aware of how varied and interesting his life was-always at the center of things-as well as aspects of his decline.
In brief, an oral biography consists of edited transcripts stitched together in chronological order to form a seamless whole.
Island. I often saw him at dinner parties and house parties - often in Florida where he stayed with the Loel Guinesses in Manalapan.
It is also one of the pleasures of oral biography, in that the reader, rather than editor, is jury.
My favorite monologue in the book is Kate Harrington's story of her relationship with Truman.
That is one of the problems with oral biography, in that many different points of view are offered: contradictions, refutations, and so on.
The New York Times published the guest list on the front page. The masks were a brilliant concept.
The success of the stage play Tru is indicative of the profound curiosity the public still holds for Truman-a small town boy who made it and then succumbed to the vicissitudes of fame.
Truman struck me as a perfect subject for an oral biography, namely someone who has moved through a considerable strata of contemporaries: from murderers to the highest level of society.
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