The Norman Mailer Society
The Norman Mailer Society
2008
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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The Mailer Tribute
4/18/08
Over 2000 people attended a three-hour memorial service for Norman Mailer at Carnegie Hall on April 9, 2008.