1. Armistead Maupin's great-great-grandfather, Congressman Lawrence O'Bryan Branch, was from North Carolina and was a railroad executive and a Confederate general during the American Civil War.
16 Facts About Armistead Maupin
1. 2.
Armistead Maupin attended the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where he wrote for The Daily Tar Heel.
3.
Armistead Maupin worked at WRAL-TV in Raleigh, a station managed by future US Senator Jesse Helms.
4.
Armistead Maupin said he was a typical conservative and segregationist at this time and admired Helms as a hero figure.
5.
Armistead Maupin later changed his opinion and condemned Helms at a gay pride parade on the steps of the North Carolina State Capitol.
6.
Armistead Maupin is a veteran of the US Navy and served several tours of duty including one in the Vietnam War.
7.
Armistead Maupin worked at a Charleston newspaper and the San Francisco bureau of the Associated Press in 1971.
8.
In 1978, Armistead Maupin publicly accused San Francisco Police Inspector Dave Toschi of faking one of the Zodiac Killer's taunting letters to the media, seriously and irreparably damaging Toschi's career and reputation.
9.
Armistead Maupin claimed to have noticed a similarity between anonymous fan mail Toschi had sent him after Armistead Maupin based one of his Tales of the City characters on him, and a Zodiac letter received by the San Francisco Chronicle on April 24,1978.
10.
The first of Armistead Maupin's novels, entitled Tales of the City, was published in 1978.
11.
Armistead Maupin collaborated on Anna Madrigal Remembers, a musical work written by Jake Heggie and performed by choir Chanticleer and mezzo-soprano Frederica von Stade on August 6,1999, for which Maupin provided a new libretto.
12.
Armistead Maupin participated in a concert series with the Seattle Men's Chorus entitled Tunes From Tales, which included readings from his books and music from the era.
13.
The Night Listener is a roman a clef, inspired by Armistead Maupin's experiences concerning the Anthony Godby Johnson hoax.
14.
Armistead Maupin says he wanted to create a psychological thriller, while being able to put autobiographical elements in it.
15.
In 2012, Armistead Maupin purchased a home in Tesuque, New Mexico, previously owned by shoe designers Lynne and Dennis Comeau.
16.
Armistead Maupin identifies as an atheist and is a cousin of the British singer Sarah Jane Morris, formerly of The Communards.