John Kennedy Toole

Toole's mother, Thelma, survived her son by 15 years, dying in 1984.

Toole's mother reportedly neglected to tell any of his close friends the date and location of his funeral.

A film version of Toole's novel, A Confederacy of Dunces, starring Will Farrell and Lily Tomlin, was planned for a 2004 release but the project got shelved.

The characters of Ignatius Reilly and his mother in A Confederacy of Dunces were based on Toole and his own mother.

A book about Toole's life entitled Ignatius Rising: The Life of John Kennedy Toole by Rene Nevils and Deborah Handy, was published in 2001.

Toole was called "Ken" by his family and friends.

A statue of the lead character from Toole's A Confederacy of Dunces, Ignatius Reilly, stands at 800 Iberville Street in New Orleans.

Toole never tried to get The Neon Bible printed because he felt the book was too melodramatic and of poor quality.

Toole's first novel, The Neon Bible, was written when he was 16. It was published in 1989.

Toole's novel, A Confederacy of Dunces, has sold more than 1.5 million copies in 18 languages.

Toole is buried in Greenwood Cemetary in New Orleans.

Both Toole and his novel, A Confederacy of Dunces won posthumous Pulitzer Prizes for fiction in 1981.

Ten years following Toole's death, his mother got author Walker Percy to read the manuscript for A Confederacy of Dunces. Percy loved it and helped to get the novel published.

Toole left behind a suicide note but it was destroyed by his mother and she gave conflicting accounts as to its contents.

Toole committed suicide by asphyxiating himself in his car.

Toole sent the manuscript for A Confederacy of Dunces to the publishing house Simon & Schuster in 1966 but it was eventually rejected for publication.

After Toole's discharge from the Army, he lived with his parents in New Orleans and taught at Dominican College.

Toole worked briefly in a clothing factory after graduation from Tulane. He incorporated this experience into his novel A Confederacy of Dunces.

Toole was drafted into the Army in 1961 and served two years. He was stationed in Puerto Rico where he taught English to Spanish-speaking recruits.

Toole taught English for one year at what is now the University of Louisiana-Lafayette.

Toole received an undergraduate degree from Tulane and a Master's Degree from Columbia.

Toole's mother was a very domineering woman who seldom let him play with other children during his childhood.