Conversation so far:
What was Vidal's first screenplay?
In 1958, the director William Wyler required a script doctor to rewrite the screenplay for Ben-Hur (1959).
How did Vidal become involved in Ben-Hur?
Vidal rewrote portions of the script to resolve ambiguities of character motivation.

Question: Was his work on Ben-Hur successful for him?
Self-contained rewrite: Was Gore Vidal's rewrite of Ben-Hur screenplay successful for him?