You may know Truman Capote, but what about the Swans? Welcome to MsMojo, and today we’ll be taking a deep dive into the scandalous real-life events that inspired the second season of the anthology series, “Feud.”
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00:00 "You told more lies."
00:02 "Never let the truth get in the way of a good story."
00:05 Welcome to Ms. Mojo, and today we're taking a deep dive into the scandalous
00:09 real-life events that inspired the second season of the anthology series, 'Feud.'
00:13 "Truman."
00:14 "Tell me everything."
00:16 Summary and plot synopsis of the season. After a triumphant first season,
00:22 which delved into the intense rivalry between Hollywood actresses Joan Crawford
00:25 and Bette Davis, 'Feud' was quickly renewed. Originally intended to explore the relationship
00:30 between Prince Charles and Princess Diana, the second season's narrative eventually shifted to
00:35 acclaimed writer Truman Capote and his circle of high-society New York socialites.
00:40 "Truman, Truman."
00:41 "Truman Capote is our great protector and our best friend. We tell him everything,
00:46 even the awful things we've all done to each other."
00:50 The sensational narrative is brought to life by an impressive lineup of A-list actors,
00:54 including Naomi Watts, Diane Lane, Demi Moore, Chloe Sevigny, and of course, Jessica Lange.
01:00 But who really was Truman Capote? And what led up to the dramatic fallout between him
01:05 and the jet-setting socialites referred to as his "swans?"
01:08 "What did I do to deserve your contempt?"
01:11 Who was Truman Capote? Born in 1924 in Louisiana,
01:15 Truman Capote always knew he was going to be a writer.
01:18 "And I became a famous writer, but it certainly didn't solve...
01:23 I started to say all my problems, and I'll amend that to say I don't think it solved any of my
01:32 problems."
01:33 After cutting his teeth penning short stories, Capote gained widespread acclaim for his novels
01:37 Breakfast at Tiffany's, later adapted into the classic film starring Audrey Hepburn,
01:42 and the non-fiction masterpiece In Cold Blood. The latter, about the 1959 Clutter Family murders,
01:48 became an instant success, and is often credited with sparking a global fascination with true crime.
01:53 "The point is that if they did do it, human nature is so peculiar,
01:57 that really millions of people would watch it and get some sort of vicarious sensation out of it."
02:07 Capote was an intriguing personality. In addition to his unique high-pitched voice
02:11 and unconventional fashion style, he was also known for weaving sensational tales.
02:16 In many ways, this would lead to his eventual downfall.
02:19 "I was the protege of a team of monster IQ people."
02:23 "Well, you said once you were a protege of a fortune teller."
02:27 "Yes, but that was much earlier, you know."
02:29 Capote's rise to Manhattan high society. The success of In Cold Blood granted Capote access
02:35 into the elite circles of New York City. Even more, his penchant for embellishing encounters
02:40 with the most famous people at the time made him seem a lot more connected than he actually was.
02:44 "Dashed down to the bar around midnight to handle the next day's scenes.
02:48 Humphrey had just about moved into the hotel bar."
02:52 "Humphrey Bogart."
02:53 "Where he and John."
02:54 "John Huston?"
02:56 "They drank every night."
02:59 The same year the book was released, Capote solidified his position in high society by
03:04 hosting the exclusive Black and White Ball in honor of Catherine Graham,
03:07 the publisher of the Washington Post. He was now fully integrated into Manhattan's social elite,
03:13 forming a tight-knit circle of female friends he fondly referred to as his swans.
03:18 "On earth can you not trust me?"
03:20 "You know why. Because someday you'll use it."
03:23 "That will never be true. I may not be a monk, but I certainly have a moral code."
03:30 Who were the swans? The women who made up Capote's swans were the who's who of New York City
03:35 socialites. Renowned for their opulent wealth, lavish fashion sense, and globe-trotting lifestyle,
03:40 these women shared a close bond with Capote.
03:43 "Now he wasn't interested in them romantically. He was interested in a friendship with them,
03:47 and also a little bit to, uh, spy is probably not the right word,
03:51 but interested in their life and to kind of peek into that life they had."
03:54 They frequently attended New York events together and accompanied him on several
03:58 international trips. While the real-life swans included a few other socialites,
04:03 the second season of Feud focuses on Capote's relationship with just five women — Babe Paley,
04:08 Slim Keith, Leigh Radziwill, CZ Guest, and Anne Woodward.
04:12 Babe Paley As the former fashion editor for Vogue,
04:16 Babe Paley was known for her impeccable sense of style. Time magazine even recognized her as the
04:21 world's second-best-dressed woman in 1941. "It was just part of this extreme elegance that was
04:27 reflexive with her." Paley was married twice, adopting the last name of her second husband,
04:32 William S. Paley, one of the founders of CBS. The renowned socialite cultivated her high-society
04:38 status for years, reportedly at the expense of a good relationship with her children.
04:42 In the words of Truman Capote, "Babe Paley had only one fault. She was perfect. Otherwise,
04:48 she was perfect." "She'd put on her makeup, she'd put these incredible clothes on,
04:52 before she'd open that door and let her husband see her. So her life was a show from morning
04:59 till night." Slim Keith
05:00 Dubbed "the original California girl," Slim Keith was renowned for her striking beauty and
05:05 athletic prowess. Naturally, she caught the attention of several influential men,
05:09 including Clark Gable and Ernest Hemingway. "Everybody knows that." "Well, I'm sure they do
05:15 now." However, despite their persistent advances, Keith ultimately chose to marry film director
05:21 Howard Hawks. Interestingly, it was Keith who pulled famed actress Lauren Bacall into the
05:26 limelight, after showing Hawks her picture in a magazine. "After all, I am entitled to something.
05:31 Don't you think so, Slim?"
05:36 Keith later parted ways with the director as a result of his infidelity, and eventually married
05:40 British aristocrat Kenneth Keith. "You listen to me the way you'd listen to announcements
05:45 in a train station. Just enough to hear if there's an emergency." Lee Radziwill
05:50 "What's worse at a dinner party, sitting next to a snob or a whore?" "Oh, I said a whore."
05:56 In the late 1960s, Truman Capote formed a close relationship with Lee Radziwill after he was
06:02 hired to write the script for a television movie she was set to star in. Beyond her foray into
06:06 acting, Radziwill was also a PR executive and a prominent interior decorator with a bank of
06:12 wealthy clientele. But she was perhaps best known for being the younger sister of First Lady Jackie
06:17 Kennedy. Although Babe Paley was Capote's primary female companion in the latter part of the '60s,
06:22 as the '70s unfolded, Radziwill eventually assumed that role. "The Rolling Stone magazine
06:30 asked Truman if he would write their tour. And so, um, he was thrilled and delighted.
06:39 And so he said, 'Honey, you gotta come.'" C. Z. Guest
06:44 "I'm not a study person at all about clothes or anything. I always just,
06:48 very natural. What you see is what you get." C. Z. Guest could do it all. Born into an upper-class
06:54 family among Boston's elite, Guest was an actress, author, columnist, horsewoman, and fashion
07:00 designer. She often adorned herself in sophisticated clean-cut pieces by luxury designers, earning her
07:06 a reputation as a fashion icon. "I bet I could go anywhere and get some clothes that look absolutely
07:11 fabulous. 'Cause I love to do that, of course. I just think it's very important to have your own
07:16 look. If you can, I don't know." Beyond the pages of style magazines, Guest also became a muse for
07:22 esteemed painters and visual artists like Diego Rivera, Salvador Dali, and Andy Warhol. In 1947,
07:29 she married Winston Frederick Churchill Guest, the first cousin of British Prime Minister Sir
07:34 Winston Churchill. Anne Woodward
07:36 Of all the swans, Anne Woodward had the most tragic story. Once a showgirl, Woodward wiggled
07:42 her way into the upper echelons of society after marrying banking heir William Woodward Jr.
07:47 In 1955, Woodward fatally shot her husband in their home, claiming that she had mistaken him
07:53 for a burglar. "It was discussed at every party. It was, 'Did she do it?' and blah, blah, blah,
07:58 and lots of gossip and details and stuff, and people having the inside word, and, you know,
08:05 the butler told them such and such." Although she never faced criminal charges, the incident stirred
08:10 controversy in New York and led to Woodward being ostracized from much of high society. Sadly,
08:16 her association with Capote would further contribute to her downfall.
08:20 "In 1975, Truman Capote penned a short story about a former prostitute who murders her husband,
08:27 a thinly veiled dig at Anne."
08:28 The Feud
08:30 "I just began my novel and I had such a good morning writing, and I want to celebrate."
08:36 The feud between Truman Capote and his swans originated from his unfinished tell-all novel,
08:41 Answered Prayers. Although incomplete at the time, Capote decided to publish four chapters
08:46 of the book in Esquire magazine in 1975 and 1976. The most sensational one, titled Le Côte Basque,
08:53 1965, exposed the dirty secrets and scandals of Capote's swans through thinly veiled characters,
09:00 some of whose names were not even changed.
09:02 "The best thing I've written."
09:03 "You have to pull this. These are portraits of those who have shared their deepest secrets with
09:09 you. Why would you want to hurt them?"
09:11 Capote revealed gossip about the British royal family, sparked rumors of extramarital affairs,
09:17 and accused Anne Woodward of intentionally killing her husband. Needless to say,
09:21 the publication of this chapter caused an uproar in New York high society,
09:25 and made Capote's swans feel betrayed.
09:28 "Your story cast its spell and took away everything I had!"
09:32 The swans hit back
09:33 So how did they respond to all of their dirty laundry becoming public knowledge?
09:38 Apparently, even before Esquire published the controversial chapters,
09:42 Woodward caught wind of their scandalous content.
09:44 "You're telling people that I murdered my husband?"
09:46 "Bang, bang!"
09:47 "You piece of..."
09:49 The potential aftermath of their publication allegedly drove her to take her own life in
09:54 October 1975. As for the other women, they decided that it was Capote's unfettered access
10:00 into their lives that had paved the way for the scandal. The only way to prevent such from ever
10:05 happening again was to sever all ties with him. "We stand united and we destroy him."
10:11 "Oh, I'm in, honey."
10:12 Consequently, Capote found himself ostracized from elite social circles,
10:16 with none of his swans ever speaking to him again.
10:20 Capote's ostracized life and eventual death
10:39 The fallout from "La Cote Basque" 1965 caught Capote completely off guard.
10:44 The book he once described as a lethal gun for all of its tantalizing revelations
10:48 ultimately became the weapon that killed his social life.
10:51 "He'll be cut off from all high society, and that will kill him."
10:55 Now estranged from his once tight-knit circle, Capote's substance use disorder worsened,
11:00 leading to multiple rehab stints. From then on, his behavior in public grew more and more erratic.
11:06 "You have had a history of alcoholism. Millions of people out there have also had..."
11:11 "My God, alcoholism is the lead to this."
11:14 Capote underwent plastic surgery and experienced a hallucination-based seizure in 1980,
11:19 after which he largely retreated from public life. On August 25,
11:23 1984, Capote passed away from liver disease. Upon hearing the news of his death,
11:29 longtime rival Gore Vidal described it as, quote, "a wise career move."
11:34 "I don't see why the dead should be immune. I think they're a good game, I sell."
11:39 With such a sensational subject, witty writing, and powerhouse performances,
11:43 Feud seems poised for yet another exceptional season. Will you be watching? Let us know in
11:48 the comments what parts you're most excited to see. "Shall I call dinner table for lunch?
11:52 Pretty good. And Big Mama, bring lots of gossip."
12:01 Do you agree with our picks? Check out this other recent clip from Ms. Mojo.
12:05 And be sure to subscribe and ring the bell to be notified about our latest videos.