Celebrated American author Gore Vidal dies at 86

The American novelist, essayist and playwright has died on Tuesday at the age of 86.

He died from "pnemonia complications" at his home in the Hollywood Hills of Los Angeles. His nephew told US media that he had been living alone and had been ill for "quite a while".

His official website posted a memoriam, and media reports cited his Los Angeles nephew Burr Steers as confirming the legendary American writer's death.

Vidal was one of America's most celebrated authors. Among his 25 novels were Burr and Myra Breckenridge. He also wrote several plays, including the screenplay to Ben Hur, and essays on a wide range of subjects.

He was one of the first American authors to write about characters who were openly gay. During the 1950s, many bookshops refused to stock his works and he was forced to write under pseudonyms.

As a respected commentator, he was a regular guest on TV shows and had some very public rivalries, with author Norman Mailer and conservative celebrity William F Buckley Jr among others. He once called the latter a "crypto-Nazi" on national television.

Born in 1925 in West Point, New York, Vidal was the son of the first aviation instructor in the military academy and an actress.

After finishing school, he never went to university but educated himslef by reading books to his grandfather.

He was drafted into the Armt at the age of 17 and served as a first mate on an Army supply vessel in the Aleutian Islands during the Second World War.

He adopted the name Gore himself from his mother's maiden name.