GOOD COMPANY: TRUMAN CAPOTE (TV)
Summary
One in this short-lived series of televised in-home interviews with notable names of the day hosted by criminal defense attorney F. Lee Bailey. This week's guest is author Truman Capote. Bailey opens the program in Capote’s Hamptons home by briefly discussing his recent book, the “nonfiction novel” entitled “In Cold Blood” about the 1959 murders of the Clutter family in Kansas. Capote then gives a quick tour of his study and its unusual furniture before sitting down with Bailey and discussing his other homes in New York City and the Swiss Alps, stating that he works eight months out of the year and prefers to do his writing outside of the city. He denies that he is a “social butterfly,” but acknowledges the “splash” made by his “Black and White Ball,” held on November 28, 1966, discussed at length in an Esquire magazine cover story, and says he enjoys socializing with people from “different worlds.” He explains his childhood desire to become wealthy, saying that money provides one with ample freedom, and discusses being “bored” with school and dropping out early and self-educating, leading to a writing job at the New Yorker at which Random House editor Robert Linscott signed him to a contract and said that he would be “groomed” into a great writer. He states that he finds the current cultural revolution “amusing” and approves of the pop culture that young people are creating for themselves, and then discusses drugs, saying that he is a former marijuana user. He also says that he has tried LSD twice and wrote a report about the experience, asserting that, in contrast to friend Aldous Huxley’s claims, drugs do not aid creativity, as one needs to be “disciplined” like an athlete to produce art, although he does admit that alcohol can provide clarity.
Bailey then asks about a quote from Norman Mailer, who stated that Capote was “tough,” and Capote explains that his troubled childhood strengthened him. When asked to contrast “In Cold Blood” with his previous famous novella “Breakfast at Tiffany’s,” Capote states all of his works are “experiments in style” and cannot be fairly compared. He then comments upon the upcoming film version of “In Cold Blood,” explaining that he wanted it done his way, shot on location with unknown actors. He praises actors Robert Blake and Scott Wilson, who portray murderers Perry Smith and Richard Hickock, and admits that a true film version of the book would have to be “nine hours long.” He discusses his excellent memory, which allows him to recall quotes verbatim without use of recorder or notes, stating that a good interviewer must genuinely converse with the subject. He then touches upon his closeness with Smith and Hickock, saying that he got to know them intimately and did not think of them as “unreal,” as murderers often come to regard themselves, leading to “free and easy” conversation in which Capote confided in them as well. He explains that he could not quote a long letter from Smith in the book, as it was intentionally written as a novel and therefore could contain no mention of himself, and says that Smith discovered “intellectual talents” and an interest in philosophy while on death row.
He states that he did not agree with the decision to execute Smith and Hickock and deliberately waited to publish the book until the trial was over so as not to unfairly influence the proceedings. He is continuing his research into capital punishment and says that he is no “bleeding heart,” but thinks that true life sentences could be more effective and describes his ideas about changing the rules about federal crimes and taking political pressure out of the mix. He states that the laws about appeals are “destructive” and that he disagrees with the Supreme Court’s rules about confessions, the Fifth Amendment and Miranda rights, and he and Bailey debate the morality of certain laws and sentences. Capote voices his doubt that Albert DeSalvo, who confessed to Bailey, is in fact the famed “Boston Strangler” and even that the killer exists as one person. The conversation then turns to critics, and Capote agrees that they can be “parasites,” although some are creative in their own right. He then says that he is currently writing another novel, “Answered Prayers,” and enjoys spending time with friends when is he not working. He admits that his work style is grueling and lonely, but that it is entirely worth it when the finished product is satisfactory. Commercials deleted.
Details
- NETWORK: ABC
- DATE: October 31, 1967 10:00 PM
- RUNNING TIME: 0:41:25
- COLOR/B&W: Color
- CATALOG ID: B:24639
- GENRE: Talk/Interviews
- SUBJECT HEADING: Talk/Interview; Authors
- SERIES RUN: ABC - TV series, 1967
- COMMERCIALS: N/A
CREDITS
- F. Lee Bailey … Host
- Truman Capote … Guest
- Robert Blake
- Albert DeSalvo
- Richard Hickock
- Aldous Huxley
- Robert Linscott
- Norman Mailer
- Perry Smith
- Scott Wilson