Howard Austen

Howard Austen
Born Howard Auster
1929
New York City
Died September 22, 2003 (aged 74)
Los Angeles, California
Resting place Rock Creek Cemetery
Nationality American
Alma mater New York University
Partner(s) Gore Vidal (1950–2003; his death)

Howard Austen (born Howard Auster;[1] 1929 – September 22, 2003) was the long-time companion of American writer Gore Vidal for 53 years until Austen's death.[2][3]

Early life

Austen was born into a working-class Jewish family and grew up in The Bronx, New York.[4] It was reported that Austen wanted to have a career as a singer.[2] In 1950, when Vidal met Auster, he had just graduated and was struggling to find work writing advertising copy. 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,[5] 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.[6]

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.[6] Vidal has been reported as describing their relationship as "two men who decided to spend their lives together."[7] Austen managed the couple's complicated financial affairs, travel arrangements and housing needs, both at their home in Hollywood and Ravello, Italy on the Amalfi coast.[6]

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.

See also

References

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