Truman Capote and sky. Later on, when Joel tussles with Idabell (Aubrey Dollar), a tomboyish neighbor who becomes his best friend (a character inspired by the author Harper Lee), the movie has a special force and clarity in its evocation of the physical immediacy of being a child playing outdoors. Notes Bibliography Archival sources 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"
Truman Capote not unlike Lincoln's, craggy like that, and tinted by sun and wind", is how Capote described Sook in "A Christmas Memory" (1956). In Monroeville, he was a neighbor and friend of author Harper Lee, who probably based the character Dill on Capote. As a lonely child, Capote taught himself to read and write before he entered his first year of school. Capote was often seen at age 5 carrying his dictionary and notepad, and began writing fiction at age 11. He was given the nickname "Bulldog" around this age. On Saturdays, he made trips from Monroeville to the nearby city