THE BEST MAN, one of Vidal's Broadway plays, stars James Earl Jones, John Larroquette, Candice Bergen, Eric McCormack, Jefferson Mays, Michael McKean and Angela Lansbury. Screen grab from YouTube

NEW YORK, United States of America - Broadway theaters will dim their lights later this week in tribute to late US novelist and playwright Gore Vidal.

"The marquees of Broadway theatres in New York will be dimmed in his memory on Friday, August 3rd, at exactly 8:00 pm for one minute," the Broadway League said Wednesday in a statement.

Charlotte St. Martin, executive director of the League, said: "For over 6 decades, Gore Vidal never stopped writing novels, memoirs, plays, essays and screenplays, and was a ubiquitous cultural commentator.

"His plays were timely and timeless," she said.

Vidal, an old-school man of letters and prolific commentator on American life, died Tuesday at the age of 86, his family said.

One of his works, "The Best Man," is currently playing in the New York theater district. - Agence France-Presse