16 of Truman Capote's Fiercest Insults

Besides being a wonderful writer, Truman Capote—who was born on this day in 1924—was also a master of the takedown. Since he's not here to give us his opinions on today's biggest celebrities, here are some of the most cutting things he had to say about the rich and famous of his day.

1. ON MICK JAGGER

"He moves like a parody between a majorette girl and Fred Astaire."

2. ON JOYCE CAROL OATES

“To me, she's the most loathsome creature in America."

3. ON PRINCESS MARGARET

"She's a very high-strung girl who wants to be royalty on one hand and on the other a hippie."

4. ON LIZ TAYLOR

"She has an extraordinary inferiority complex, and it's difficult to get through."

5. ON BOB DYLAN

"That big phony—he's as urbanized as a graduate of Bronx High."

6. ON WILLIAM FAULKNER

"He was a great friend of mine. Well, as much as you could be a friend of his, unless you were a 14-year-old nymphet."

7. ON NELSON ROCKEFELLER

"He's like a good brand of cereal—nothing is wrong, but nothing is particularly appetizing."

8. ON JACQUELINE SUSANN

“She looks like a truck driver in drag.”

9. ON RICHARD AVEDON

"He made me look like a heroin addict [in a photo]. He used a frame of me blinking. He knows he's cheating. He wants to be considered a great artist and at the same time have a big house. He wants it both ways."

10. ON SAMMY DAVIS JR.

"When I saw him kissing Nixon, I thought he was the new Checkers."

11. ON AUDREY HEPBURN

“Paramount double-crossed me in every conceivable way and cast Audrey [Hepburn, who] was just wrong for that part [in Breakfast at Tiffany's]."

12. ON ANDY WARHOL

"He's a sphinx without a secret."

13. ON GORE VIDAL

“I’m always sad about Gore—very sad that he has to breathe every day.”

14. ON CANDICE BERGEN

"She's a really pretty girl with appalling taste in men. There's something spinsterish about her."

15. ON THE KENNEDY MEN'S "ENDOWMENT"

“I’ve seen an awful lot of them, and if you put all of the Kennedys together, you wouldn’t have a good one.”

16. ON NEIL SIMON

"Neil Simon can write 500 million plays that'll be successes forever and ever, but he will never write a work of art."