Truman Capote Used His Beverly Hills Home as a Hideway From Controversy; Now you can Rent it too
Truman Capote, one of America's most controversial writers known for his works like "La Côte Basque" and "Breakfast at Tiffany's," was also infamous for using real-life incidents and real-life people in his stories. After excerpts of his unfinished book "Answered Prayers" were published in the 1975 Esquire issue, he was forced to hide from society which turned against him for revealing the deepest and darkest secrets of New York's most glamorous socialites in the 1960s and 1970s. Capote hid from the world with his banker buddy and business partner John O’Shea, at 9421 Lloydcrest Drive, Beverly Hills, and now you can spend time there as well.
The home where Capote was staying was recently made available for rent at $11,995 per month, per NY Post. Designed by architect Richard Kearney, the home was built back in 1959. The home has two bedrooms and three baths along with a backyard pool. The interior boasts a corner fireplace, and open living and dining areas. The kitchen is well-equipped with a gorgeous skylight and an island. The exterior is bleach white and features a traditional architectural style finished with cubic forms, and sharp, angular edges, which transport people back in time.
The home is currently owned by interior designer Alexandra Loew who designs residences and decorative arts collections. Listed by Watson Salari Group, the mid-century home also features a spa as well as a private viewing deck. It was also reported that when Capote was living in the home, he was also preparing for his leading role in the 1976 comedy film, "Murder by Death."
His socialite friends, Slim Keith, Babe Paley, Lee Radziwill, and C.Z. Guest, caused major turmoil in Capote's life. So much so that Ann Woodward, pseudonymized and yet identifiable in the story, ended up committing suicide before the infamous issue of Esquire in 1975 which included excerpts of Capote's writing hit the newsstands. Now, Ryan Murphy's show, "Feud: Capote vs. The Swans" streaming on FX, is making headlines for dramatizing Truman Capote's life and talking about how the decisions changed New York society as well as his career. Capote was unable to finish his novel "Answered Prayers," the expose of high society that caused so much controversy. Yet, the show's final episode imagines a Capote who, facing death at 59 years of age, desires to correct the wrongs.
"This charts a decline as his world — the things he appreciates and lives for — are all crumbling around him," Jon Robin Baitz, writer of "Feud: Capote vs. The Swans," told The Hollywood Reporter. While Tom Hollander who played Capote onscreen said, "He was a dazzling accouterment on their dinner table. At some level, their vanity was flattered by having him around and him understanding them and listening to them in a way that their husbands weren’t and didn’t have time for. He was filling a great gap in their emotional lives, and he was brilliant. He was an incredibly entertaining, perceptive, clever, interesting, singular man. That’s what they were getting out of it. Quite a lot. Until it went wrong."