When Gore Met Amelia

If you’re planning to see‘Amelia,’the new Amelia Earhart biopic now in theaters, keep an eye out for recent ‘Studio 360’ guest Gore Vidal — or at least the actor playing him. The film takes place long before he became notorious for his envelope-pushing novels and on-air political smackdowns with William F. Buckley. At the time he knew the famous female aviator, Vidal was still a kid. But it turns out that his father, Gene, was an able pilot in his own right and one of Earhart’s great loves.

Kurt asked Vidal to share his memories of this period, but the conversation was lost somewhere in the Bermuda Triangle and crash landed on the cutting room floor. Fortunately, it has been recovered and posted for your enjoyment:

You can see a photo taken at Glen Echo in the just-published scrapbook-style memoir, Gore Vidal: Snapshots in History’s Glare. It shows Amelia congratulating Gene Vidal on his appointment as director of Air Commerce under Franklin Roosevelt. Further evidence that Gore knew everyone.

Listen to the full interview here: