Over 2000 people attended a three-hour memorial service for Norman Mailer at Carnegie Hall on April 9, 2008. The event was produced by Random House, his publisher, and the Mailer Family. A total of 27 speakers and performers paid tribute to the late novelist at a ceremony titled “The Time of His Time: A Celebration of the Life of Norman Mailer.”  Charlie Rose was the master of ceremonies. Mailer’s sister, cousin and nephew spoke as did all of his nine children:   

 

Barbara Wasserman Mailer

Sam Radin

Peter Alson

Susan Mailer

Danielle Mailer

Elizabeth Mailer

Kate Mailer

Michael Mailer

Stephen Mailer

Maggie Mailer

Matthew Mailer

John Buffalo Mailer

 

At the start of the program, Norris Church Mailer, the writer’s wife of 33 years, stood to acknowledge applause from the crowd.  A recording of Mrs. Mailer singing “You’ll Come Back (You Always Do)” from the film Tough Guys Don’t Dance that her husband wrote (with Angelo Badalamenti) was played near the end of the program.  In addition, Sasha Lazard, wife of Michael Mailer, sang Georgi Sviridov’s “Romance,” accompanied by Emily Olin on piano and Dave Eggar on cello; and Peter McEachern, husband of Danielle Mailer, played an original trombone solo, “Requiem for a Boxer.”

 

The following friends of Mailer offered tribute statements:

 

Gina Centrello

William Kennedy

Tina Brown

Don DeLillo

J. Michael Lennon

David Ebershoff

Neil Abercrombie

Ivan Fisher

Lawrence Schiller

Joan Didion

Sean Penn

Lonnie Ali

 

Two photo montages of Mailer and his family and friends, edited by Lawrence Schiller and Sara Egner, were shown, as well as a video assembled from clips of Mr. Mailer’s appearances on television programs and in documentaries, edited by Michael Chaiken, Ian Markiewicz, and Lana Jokel.    

 

At the conclusion of the ceremony, Sam Radin and Lawrence Schiller, on behalf of the Mailer Estate, announced the formation of the Mailer Writers Colony, based in the Mailer’s home in Provincetown, where they lived and worked for decades.  Tax-deductable contributions may be sent to The Mailer Society, c/o David Light, 75 Jennings Lane, Windham, CT 06280.

 

Many of the memorial tributes will be published in the forthcoming issue of The Mailer Review, due to appear in September 2008.

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