Truman Capote Talks About In Cold Blood on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson, pt. 1

Truman Capote Talks About In Cold Blood on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson, pt. 1 Airdate: 11/27/1972 #johnnycarson #trumancapote #incoldblood

Video Script:: 

my next guest I consider a very good friend of mine and is the author of novels short stories and plays he's a certainly taking his place on the front rank of American letters he's a gentleman a long time ago said I'm as tall as a shotgun and just as noisy would you welcome Truman Capote excuse me I'm still coming unglued here I've seen him that's right he did you dance better than you brought it up what do you mean you're not going Joe business is your life what do you mean I'm gonna put that down next time Truman's on the show we're gonna get the charts in a minute I didn't know you did that am i what I originally wanted to be when I was a child I went to and I was mad about Bordeaux and tap dances and I all good fighters have to learn a dance hey I saw the other night on television and I've seen it before and I forgot what a powerful powerful film that was and cold blood was on based on your book gee that was a powerful picture I hadn't seen it for about four years and that really was a yeah remarkable those two boys in that them were really remarkable Blake and the other fella mr. Wilson I remember sitting with you one night a year or so ago and you joined I don't I don't want to subscribe this thing on a down note but it's interesting subject and I know you have something you have great affinity for in fact you have a special coming up I think December the 7th about San Quentin do you know I have a documentary for television that's going to be on its inside San Quentin with me - well it's an overall view of a modern president and president of a particular interest in time and the staff of the prison I think it's an interesting film it's actually three hours long but it's been cut into two parts so it's gonna run separate and one and a half hours and then another power name yeah I remember sitting with you one night in our apartment when you discussed that brought it to mind when I saw the conclusion of in cold blood where they executed Perry and Smith and I remember you sitting there talking about that you had come to know them quite well because you researched this and I guess it was four or five years after the crime in which they were executed and they asked you to be at that execution yeah and I think if I remember you saying at that time if if anyone would ever witness mm-hmm and execution whether by hanging I suppose and I suppose whether it's in the gas chamber or electric chair that one one would probably not be for capital punishment no matter how heinous the crime or anything else well I don't think you could be but I mean especially by hanging because it's it's really that was a double execution that night one it took about an hour and a half from the time that the thing started till it was over and they were on the gallows each one of them for over twenty minutes before their hearts I mean it's a really an unbelievably high Renda thing to watch it was me it's especially you know I mean despite what they did or anything I had known those two boys really intimately over a period of five years and it was just excruciating - it would have been whether I'd ever seen them or not that's not the point that for somebody that you knew that well to watch them being executed those who are against capital punishment which I know you are and many many people are and their arguments of course pro and con logical and intelligent argument I suppose but somebody once said I think was the pro-capital punishment said if capital punishment is supposed to service and serve a purpose as a deterrent whether it by hanging then they should do it out in public where the public can witness it if it's supposed to be so terrible but they don't seem to do that they seem to do it in the dead of night and you hire somebody to do it for you and as long as the people don't have to see it they seem to be all for it so it's not a bad argument saying well if this is supposed to why don't you do it on the public square you know I mean the point is that if they did do it human nature is so peculiar that really millions of people would watch it and get some sort of vicarious sensation out it of well they deserved I mean in 18th century England there was public executions and people went by the south and in the West here less than a hundred years ago I mean in the Western counter the hangings were all in public around the square and people came for hundreds of miles around and turned it into a big like a County Fair then when they went into the private secluded kind of thing of execution I think I don't know I don't really believe that argument that if probably executions were public they were there dysentery no it didn't seem to them today we have to take a break here but we will be back in just one minute after this boss [Applause] you