Truman Streckfus Persons

 Truman Streckfus Persons, known as Truman Capote (September 30, 1924 – August 25, 1984)

Many of his short stories, novels, plays, and nonfiction are recognized literary classics, including the novella Breakfast at Tiffany's (1958) and the true crime novel In Cold Blood (1966), which he labeled a "nonfiction novel." At least 20 films and television dramas have been produced of Capote novels, stories, and plays. Capote began his professional career writing short stories. The critical success of one story, "Miriam" (1945), attracted the attention of Random House publisher Bennett Cerf, and resulted in a contract to write the novel Other Voices, Other Rooms (1948). Capote earned the most fame with In Cold Blood, a journalistic work about the murder of a Kansas farm family in their home. Capote spent four years writing the book aided by his lifelong friend Harper Lee, who wrote To Kill a Mockingbird (1960). A milestone in popular culture, In Cold Blood was the peak of Capote's literary career; it was to be his final fully published book. In the 1970s, he maintained his celebrity status by appearing on television talk shows. At the same time, Capote was in and out of rehab clinics, and news of his various breakdowns frequently reached the public. After the revocation of his driver's license (the result of speeding near his Long Island residence) and a hallucinatory seizure in 1980 that required hospitalization, Capote became fairly reclusive. These hallucinations continued unabated and medical scans eventually revealed that his brain mass had perceptibly shrunk. Capote died in Bel Air, Los Angeles, on August 25, 1984, at age 59 from liver cancer. According to the coroner's report, the cause of death was "liver disease complicated by phlebitis and multiple drug intoxication.

Capote was cremated, and his ashes were divided, a portion of those ashes are interred at Westwood Memorial Park.