Lucian K. Truscott IV

Last updated
Lucian K. Truscott IV
Born (1947-04-11) April 11, 1947 (age 77)
Japan
Occupation(s)Novelist, journalist
Spouse(s)Tracy Harris (2021-present)
Carolyn (1987–2013)
Carol Troy (1979–1981)
ChildrenLilly, Lucian V, Violet

Lucian King Truscott IV (born April 11, 1947) is an American writer and journalist. A former staff writer for The Village Voice, he is the author of several military-themed novels including Dress Gray, which was adapted into a 1986 television film of the same name.

Contents

Life

Truscott was born in Japan to US Army Colonel Lucian K. Truscott III and Anne (née Harloe). [1] His grandfather Lucian Jr. was a US Army general during World War II where he commanded the 3rd Infantry Division and later the Fifth Army in Italy. His father Lucian III served in the US Army in Korea and Vietnam, retiring as a colonel. [2]

Truscott attended the United States Military Academy, graduating in 1969. In 1968, Truscott and other cadets challenged the required attendance at chapel services. Later, a court case filed by another cadet along with midshipmen at the United States Naval Academy resulted in a 1972 US Court of Appeals decision (upheld by the Supreme Court) that ended mandatory chapel attendance at all the service academies. [3] He was then assigned to Fort Carson, Colorado. [4] There, he wrote an article about heroin addiction among enlisted soldiers and another about what he felt was an illegal court martial. He was threatened with being sent to Vietnam, so he resigned his commission about thirteen months after graduating, receiving a "general discharge under other than honorable conditions." [1] [5]

Truscott is a member of the Monticello Association, the members of which descend from Thomas Jefferson, who was Truscott's 6th-great-grandfather. [6] [7] The association owns the graveyard at Monticello. During a November 1998 appearance on the Oprah Winfrey Show he invited descendants of Sally Hemings to the family reunion in 2000. The Hemings descendants had not been allowed to join the association, or to be buried in its graveyard. [6] [7] [8]

Truscott lives in rural Pennsylvania [9] with his wife, the artist Tracy Harris. He has three children: Lilly Truscott, Lucian K. Truscott V, and Violet Truscott. [10] [11]

Journalism

Starting in 1970, Truscott joined The Village Voice as a freelancer and later staff writer. He had previously written for the Voice as a cadet, submitting "conservative, right-wing letters" that the newspaper eventually started to publish. [5] One such letter, describing Christmas 1968 among the hippies at the Electric Circus nightclub, was published as a front-page story. [5] [12] Another piece, written a few weeks after Truscott graduated from West Point, described the riot at the Stonewall Inn on June 27, 1969. [13] [14] At present, Truscott writes a daily column on Substack.

Novels

Truscott's first novel, Dress Gray, was about a West Point cadet who was found dead. It was a bestseller, appearing thirteen weeks on The New York Times hardcover bestseller list and seven weeks on the paperback list. [15] In The New York Times, Gene Lyons wrote the book was "as compelling and important a popular novel has emerged or is likely to emerge from the Vietnam era." [16] It was made into a two-part television movie in 1986, starring Hal Holbrook, Eddie Albert, and Alec Baldwin; Gore Vidal wrote the screenplay. [17]

The movie rights for his fourth novel, Heart of War, were sold for $1 million. [18]

His fifth novel, Full Dress Gray, was a sequel to his first. The earlier book received a cool reception from West Point, while for the sequel, the campus bookstore scheduled Truscott for two book signings. [19] Library Journal's review of the book described it as "a thoroughly satisfying mystery story with an uncommon setting." [20] Booklist said that it was "a basic police procedural" but predicted the book would be "popular for its realistic dialogue couched in military protocol, which reflects the author's own past as a cadet." [21]

Books published

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">James Doohan</span> Canadian actor (1920–2005)

James Montgomery Doohan was a Canadian actor and author, best known for his role as Montgomery "Scotty" Scott in the television and film series Star Trek. Doohan's characterization of the Scottish chief engineer of the Starship Enterprise has become one of the most recognizable elements in the Star Trek franchise, and inspired many fans to pursue careers in engineering and other technical fields. He also made contributions behind the scenes, such as the initial development of the Klingon and Vulcan languages.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lucian</span> 2nd-century Syrian satirist and rhetorician

Lucian of Samosata was a Hellenized Syrian satirist, rhetorician and pamphleteer who is best known for his characteristic tongue-in-cheek style, with which he frequently ridiculed superstition, religious practices, and belief in the paranormal. Although his native language was probably Syriac, all of his extant works are written entirely in ancient Greek.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lucian Truscott</span> United States Army general (1895–1965)

General Lucian King Truscott Jr. was a highly decorated senior United States Army officer, who saw distinguished active service during World War II. Between 1943–1945, he successively commanded the 3rd Infantry Division, VI Corps, Fifteenth Army and Fifth Army, serving mainly in the Mediterranean Theater of Operations (MTO) during his wartime service. He and Alexander Patch were the only U.S. Army officers to command a division, a corps, and a field army in combat during the war.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tim O'Brien (author)</span> American novelist (born 1946)

Tim O'Brien is an American novelist who served as a soldier in the Vietnam War. Much of his writing is about wartime Vietnam, and his work later in life often explores the postwar lives of its veterans.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Andrei Codrescu</span> American writer (born 1946)

Andrei Codrescu is a Romanian-born American poet, novelist, essayist, screenwriter, and commentator for National Public Radio. He is the winner of the Peabody Award for his film Road Scholar and the Ovid Prize for poetry. He was Mac Curdy Distinguished Professor of English at Louisiana State University from 1984 until his retirement in 2009.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gary Indiana</span> American writer, playwright, poet, photographer, actor

Gary Indiana is an American writer, actor, artist, and cultural critic. He served as the art critic for the Village Voice weekly newspaper from 1985 to 1988. Indiana is best known for his classic American true-crime trilogy, Resentment, Three Month Fever: The Andrew Cunanan Story, and Depraved Indifference, chronicling the less permanent state of “depraved indifference” that characterized American life at the millennium's end. In the introduction to the recently re-published edition of Three Month Fever, critic Christopher Glazek has coined the phrase deflationary realism to describe Indiana's writing, in contrast to the magical realism or hysterical realism of other contemporary writing.

The Jefferson–Hemings controversy is a historical debate over whether there was a sexual relationship between the widowed U.S. President Thomas Jefferson and his slave and sister-in-law, Sally Hemings, and whether he fathered some or all of her six recorded children. For more than 150 years, most historians denied rumors that he had a slave concubine, Sally Hemings. Based on his grandson's report, they said that one of his nephews had been the father of Hemings's children. In the 21st century, most historians agree that Jefferson is the father of one or more of Sally's children.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Popolopen</span> Mountain in the United States

Popolopen is the name of several related landmarks mainly within the Hudson Highlands of Orange County, New York. These include a peak, Popolopen Torne—or simply "The Torne", and a short and steep-sided nearby valley officially called Hell Hole, but often Popolopen Gorge. Popolopen Creek runs through this valley. The Popolopen Bridge spans its mouth at the Hudson River and is crossed by Route 9W. Popolopen Lake feeds the headwaters of its namesake creek. Despite local usage, the United States Board on Geographical Names recognizes only the lake, creek and bridge as bearing the name "Popolopen."

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Géza Ottlik</span> Hungarian translator, writer, and contract bridge theorist

Géza Ottlik was a Hungarian writer, translator, mathematician, and bridge theorist. According to an American obituary bridge column, he was known in Hungary as "the ultimate authority on Hungarian prose".

<i>Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas</i> 1971 novel by Hunter S. Thompson

Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas: A Savage Journey to the Heart of the American Dream is a 1971 novel in the gonzo journalism style by Hunter S. Thompson. The book is a roman à clef, rooted in autobiographical incidents. The story follows its protagonist, Raoul Duke, and his attorney, Doctor Gonzo, as they descend on Las Vegas to chase the American Dream through a drug-induced haze, all the while ruminating on the failure of the 1960s countercultural movement. The work is Thompson's most famous book and is noted for its lurid descriptions of illicit drug use and its early retrospective on the culture of the 1960s. Thompson's highly subjective blend of fact and fiction, which it popularized, became known as gonzo journalism. Illustrated by Ralph Steadman, the novel first appeared as a two-part series in Rolling Stone magazine in 1971 before being published in book form in 1972. It was later adapted into a film of the same title in 1998 by director Terry Gilliam, starring Johnny Depp and Benicio del Toro, who portrayed Raoul Duke and Dr. Gonzo, respectively.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Monticello Association</span>

The Monticello Association is a non-profit organization founded in 1913 to care for, preserve, and continue the use of the family graveyard at Monticello, the primary plantation of Thomas Jefferson, the third President of the United States. The organization's members are lineal descendants of Thomas Jefferson and his wife Martha Wayles Skelton Jefferson. The site is located just outside Charlottesville, Virginia. Thomas Jefferson was the designer, builder, owner, and, with his family, a first resident of Monticello.

Hugh Walter Kelsey was a British bridge player and writer, best known for advanced books on the play of the cards.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Willis D. Crittenberger</span> United States Army general

Lieutenant General Willis Dale Crittenberger was a senior officer of the United States Army. He was a career soldier who served with distinction during the Italian campaign of World War II

Barbara Chase-Riboud is an American visual artist and sculptor, novelist, and poet.

<i>Safehold</i> Fictional world by David Weber

Safehold is a science fiction book series by David Weber, currently consisting of ten titles, the latest released in January 2019. The series is mostly set around the 31st century, on a distant world dubbed "Safehold" where a group of humans are in hiding from the Gbaba, an alien enemy responsible for the end of all other human civilization.

<i>Alice in the Country of Hearts</i> 2007 video game

Alice in the Country of Hearts is a Japanese female-oriented visual novel developed by Quin Rose. The game is a re-imagining of Lewis Carroll's classic 1865 novel Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. There are multiple sequel games, as well as multiple manga series, licensed in North America originally by Tokyopop and later by Yen Press and Seven Seas Entertainment. An original video animation adaptation was announced for release in November 2008, but was later delayed. Instead, an anime film adaptation produced by Asahi Production was released in Japanese theaters in July 2011.

<i>Dress Gray</i> 1986 American television miniseries

Dress Gray is a 1986 American television miniseries starring Alec Baldwin, Lloyd Bridges and Hal Holbrook. The program, about a cadet at a West Point-like military academy who investigates the murder of a fellow cadet, was adapted for the screen by Gore Vidal from the novel of the same name by Lucian Truscott IV. Dress Gray originally aired March 9–10, 1986 on NBC.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Adam Mansbach</span> American author

Adam Mansbach is an American author. He has previously been a visiting professor of literature at Rutgers University-Camden, with their New Voices Visiting Writers program (2009–2011).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Frederic B. Butler</span> United States Army general

Brigadier General Frederic Bates Butler was the US Army officer who led the American Task Force in the encirclement action of Operation Dragoon at the Battle of Montelimar, France, in World War II. A 1918 graduate of the United States Military Academy at West Point, New York, he served with Roy Chapman Andrews's expedition to Mongolia in 1925 and worked on Treasure Island for the 1939–1940 Golden Gate International Exposition. During World War II he was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross for his leadership of the 168th Infantry in the Italian campaign.

<i>My Monticello</i> 2021 novel by Jocelyn Johnson

My Monticello is a 2021 fiction collection written by debut author Jocelyn Nicole Johnson, published October 5, 2021 by Henry Holt and Co. The books consists of five short stories and an eponymous novella.

References

  1. 1 2 "Lucian K. Truscott, IV." Contemporary Authors Online. Detroit: Gale, 2012. Biography In Context. Web. June 5, 2013.
  2. ↑ Jergenson, Beth (April 3, 2000). "Lucian King Truscott III, 78, commanded Army troops, marshaled spirit for joy of life". The Albuquerque Tribune. Retrieved June 6, 2013.
  3. ↑ Gelfand, H Michael (2006). Sea Change at Annapolis: The United States Naval Academy, 1949–2000. University of North Carolina Press. pp. 85–103. ISBN   9780807877470.
  4. ↑ McCall, Cheryl (June 4, 1979). "Lucian 'dress Gray' Truscott and Carol 'cheap Chic' Troy Are a Scott and Zelda for the '70s". People Magazine. Retrieved June 6, 2013.
  5. 1 2 3 Klemesrud, Judy (January 19, 1979). "Successful Writing Couple Become a Hot Property". The New York Times. p. A14. Retrieved May 19, 2018.
  6. 1 2 Truscott, Lucian (July 10, 2003). "The Reunion Upon a Hill". The New York Times. Retrieved June 6, 2013.
  7. 1 2 Truscott, Lucian (February 2001). "Children of Monticello". American Heritage magazine. p. 50.
  8. ↑ Janofsky, Michael (May 16, 1999). "Jefferson's Kin Not Ready To Accept Tie to Slave". The New York Times. Retrieved June 8, 2013.
  9. ↑ "The Big Why: What’s behind Donald Trump’s apparent self-sabotage?"
  10. ↑ Truscott, Lucian. "Dying of a Broken Heart" . Retrieved June 7, 2013.
  11. ↑ Lucian K. Truscott IV (August 10, 2019). "It's not just David Duke and the KKK anymore: It's Tucker Carlson and Fox News Network who sell hate". Salon. Retrieved January 14, 2021.
  12. ↑ Truscott, Lucian (January 2, 1969). "A Stockingful of Love, But No Re-admission". The Village Voice. Archived from the original on 2011-01-15. Retrieved June 6, 2013.
  13. ↑ Truscott, Lucian (July 2, 1969). "Gay Power Comes to Sheridan Square". The Village Voice. Archived from the original on 2013-11-01. Retrieved June 6, 2013.
  14. ↑ Truscott, Lucian (June 25, 2009). "The Real Mob at Stonewall". The New York Times. Retrieved June 6, 2013.
  15. ↑ "Best Sellers". The New York Times. May 20, 1979.
  16. ↑ Lyons, Gene (January 7, 1979). "Worst Point". The New York Times. p. BR3. Retrieved May 19, 2018.
  17. ↑ O'Connor, John J (March 7, 1986). "TV Weekend; 'Dress Gray,' A Military Mystery Tale". The New York Times. Retrieved June 8, 2013.
  18. ↑ Nathan, Paul (December 18, 1995). "Assuaging the pain. (Renaissances, a literary agency has negotiated a $1 million contract for Jaffe Entertainment to buy the movie rights to 'Heart of War' a half finished book by Lucian K. Truscott)". Publishers Weekly. Retrieved June 7, 2013.
  19. ↑ Bruni, Frank (August 14, 1998). "West Point Greets the Enemy; Author Once Shunned Returns to His Alma Mater". The New York Times. Retrieved June 8, 2013.
  20. ↑ Keymer, David (June 1, 1998). "Full Dress Gray". Library Journal. Retrieved June 8, 2013.
  21. ↑ Taylor, Gilbert (May 15, 1998). "Full Dress Gray". Booklist. Retrieved June 8, 2013.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.