Truman Capote Truman Capote Truman Garcia Capote (; born Truman Streckfus Persons, September 30, 1924 – August 25, 1984) was an American novelist, short story writer, screenwriter, playwright, and actor. Several of his short stories, novels, and plays have been praised as 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 from his work. Capote rose above a childhood troubled by divorce, a long absence from his mother, and multiple migrations. He had discovered his calling as
Truman Capote of Mobile on the Gulf Coast, and at one point submitted a short story, "Old Mrs. Busybody", to a children's writing contest sponsored by the "Mobile Press Register". Capote received recognition for his early work from The Scholastic Art & Writing Awards in 1936. In 1933, he moved to New York City to live with his mother and her second husband, Joseph Capote, a Canarian-born textile broker from La Palma, who adopted him as his stepson and renamed him Truman García Capote. However, Joseph was convicted of embezzlement and shortly afterwards, when his income crashed, the family was forced to