Writer Gore Vidal dies at 86

Celebrated writer and political commentator Gore Vidal died in his Los Angeles home on Tuesday evening. He was 86.

Gore Vidal (Pic - AFP)

According to reports, the cause of death was complications from pneumonia.

He has produced 25 novels, including the best-selling ‘Burr' and ‘Myra Breckenridge,' and more than 200 essays and several plays. He twice ran for political office and was a well-known commentator.

His nephew Burr Steers said that his uncle had been ill "for quite a while."

He ran for a seat in Congress in 1960 and again in 1982, but lost both the times. He wrote his first book as a 19-year-old, and later went on to become one of America's most distinguished authors.