Eugene Ferdinand Walter, Jr. (November 30, 1921 â€" 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. His friend Pat Conroy observed that Walter had
lived a "pixilated wonderland of a life." 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.Walter was born
and raised in Mobile, Alabama, which he described as "a separate
kingdom. We are not North America; we are North Haiti." He claimed
that he ran away from home at the age of three and was raised by his
paternal grandparents. He and Truman Capote became acquainted in
Mobile, attending matinees at the Saenger Theatre downtown together as
children. His grandparents both died while he was about ten years old.
After largely living on the streets for a time, he was eventually
taken in by Hammond Bokenham Gayfer, heir to Gayfers Department Store
in downtown Mobile. Gayfer died in 1938, again leaving Walter to fend
for himself.During World War II, Walter spent three years in the
Aleutian Islands as an Army cryptographer. He relocated to New York
City afterward and became a resident of Greenwich Village during the
post-WWII years. During this time he pioneered an early form of
happening by staging a spontaneous and unannounced group performance
with his friends in the sculpture garden of the Museum of Modern
Art.Walter then gained transatlantic passage of a freighter carrying
ice cream to Europe during the late 1940s. He lived in Paris during
much of the 1950s, 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. His Paris Review interviews
included Isak Dinesen and Robert Penn Warren. In 1960, for
Transatlantic Review, he interviewed Gore Vidal. Eventually, Walter
moved from Paris to Rome at the request of Marguerite Caetani,
Princess di Bassiano, to edit her literary journal Botteghe Oscure.
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. His friend Pat Conroy observed that Walter had
lived a "pixilated wonderland of a life." 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.Walter was born
and raised in Mobile, Alabama, which he described as "a separate
kingdom. We are not North America; we are North Haiti." He claimed
that he ran away from home at the age of three and was raised by his
paternal grandparents. He and Truman Capote became acquainted in
Mobile, attending matinees at the Saenger Theatre downtown together as
children. His grandparents both died while he was about ten years old.
After largely living on the streets for a time, he was eventually
taken in by Hammond Bokenham Gayfer, heir to Gayfers Department Store
in downtown Mobile. Gayfer died in 1938, again leaving Walter to fend
for himself.During World War II, Walter spent three years in the
Aleutian Islands as an Army cryptographer. He relocated to New York
City afterward and became a resident of Greenwich Village during the
post-WWII years. During this time he pioneered an early form of
happening by staging a spontaneous and unannounced group performance
with his friends in the sculpture garden of the Museum of Modern
Art.Walter then gained transatlantic passage of a freighter carrying
ice cream to Europe during the late 1940s. He lived in Paris during
much of the 1950s, 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. His Paris Review interviews
included Isak Dinesen and Robert Penn Warren. In 1960, for
Transatlantic Review, he interviewed Gore Vidal. Eventually, Walter
moved from Paris to Rome at the request of Marguerite Caetani,
Princess di Bassiano, to edit her literary journal Botteghe Oscure.
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