James Leo Herlihy, a novelist, playwright and actor, published Midnight Cowboy in 1960. Although largely forgotton now, Herlihy's work made him a celebrity in his own time. He was, like his friend and mentor Tennessee Williams, a gay author whose works touched areas that were still taboo in the 1960s. Midnight Cowboy , the film version, starring Dustin Hoffman, Jon Voight and the wonderful Brena Vaccaro, won an Academy Award for Best Picture despite being given an "X" rating. Herlihy committed suicide, aged 66, by taking an overdose of sleeping pills in Los Angeles
