Eugene Walter

Born January 1, 1921, in Mobile, Alabama

Eugene Walter (1921 – March 29, 1998) was an American screenwriter, poet, short-story author, actor, puppeteer, gourmet chef, cryptographer, translator, editor, costume designer and well-known raconteur. During his years in Paris, he was nicknamed Tum-te-tum. A friend once observed that Walter had lived a "pixilated wonderland of a life."

Walter was born and raised in Mobile, Alabama, which he described as "a separate kingdom. We are not North America; we are North Haiti." Walter and Truman Capote became acquainted in Mobile as children, a time when Capote was known as Bulldog Persons. Walter was labeled "Mobile's Renaissance Man" because of his diverse activities in many areas of the arts. In later life, he maintained a connection with Mobile by carrying a shoebox of Alabama red clay around Europe.

During World War II, Walter spent three years in Alaska as an Army cryptographer. A resident of Greenwich Village during the post-WWII years, he pioneered an early form of spontaneous performance by staging a spontaneous and unannounced group performance in the sculpture garden of the Museum of Modern Art.

He relocated in the 1950s to Paris, where he helped launch the Paris Review, living across the street from the publication's office and contributing to the earliest issues with text, art and interviews. His short story "Troubador" appeared in the first issue. Eventually, Walter moved from Paris to Rome to edit the literary journal Botteghe Oscure for Marguerite Caetani (Princess di Bassiano).

Living in Rome during the 1960s and 1970s, Walter was a translator for Federico Fellini. For different film companies, he translated hundreds of scripts. He appeared as an actor in more than 20 feature films, notably as the American journalist in Fellini's 8½ (1963).

His books include Monkey Poems (1953), The Byzantine Riddle (1980) and The Untidy Pilgrim (1954). He also compiled several cookbooks: Delectable Dishes From Termite Hall (1982) and the best-selling American Cooking: Southern Style, part of Time-Life's Foods of the World series. Hints & Pinches (1991) is an encyclopedic coverage of more than 150 herbs, spices, chutneys and relishes. He also contributed to numerous magazines, including Food Arts, Gourmet, Old Mobile and Harper's Bazaar.