Norman Mailer Interview: On Muhammad Ali, Hemingway, Churchill, and MLK

In this interview from 1986 Norman Mailer reflects on the heroes of Life Magazine, including Muhammad Ali, Ernest Hemingway, Winston Churchill, and Martin Luther King Jr. Mailer recalls his frustration with Life's portrayal of World War II as glamorous, contrasting with his own grim reality while serving in the Pacific.
American novelist, journalist, playwright, filmmaker and actor Norman Mailer was born in Long Branch, New Jersey on January 31, 1923. Born Nachem Malech Mailer, he was raised in Brooklyn. Mailer graduated from Boys High School in 1939. He entered Harvard in the fall of that year as the German army marched into Poland. Mailer received his S.B. degree, with honors, in engineering in 1943, and was drafted in early 1944. He served as a rifleman in the South Pacific and wrote the huge best-seller, The Naked and The Dead (1948) based on his experiences. After a stint in Hollywood writing screenplays, Mailer wrote two more novels, Barbary Shore (1951), a novel of the Cold War, and The Deer Park (1955), a Hollywood novel about artistic integrity. In 1959 he published Advertisements For Myself, a showcase of all his previous work and his ambitious plans for the future. He published 17 books between 1962 and 1972, including five books nominated for the National Book Award in four different categories. The Armies of The Night (1968), won the National Book Award, the Pulitzer Prize and a Polk Award. He won a second Pulitzer for his critically acclaimed best-seller, The Executioner's Song (1979). In the 1960s, Mailer had directed a number of independent films. He returned to cinematic work with his contributions to the screenplay for Sergio Leone’s Once Upon a Time in America (1984). He wrote and directed the 1987 film Tough Guys Don’t Dance. Mailer also wrote various biographical accounts that include life stories of Muhammad Ali, Gary Gilmore, Pablo Picasso, Lee Harvey Oswald and Marilyn Monroe. He was married six times and had nine children. Mailer died on November 10, 2007.
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Chapter Markers:
00:00 - Opening
00:08 - “Norman Mailer On The Fight” Life cover
01:15 - Muhammad Ali as a hero
02:36 - Astronauts as heroes
04:45 - Life “creates” heroes
06:08 - Ernest Hemingway as a hero
07:43 - Winston Churchill as a hero
10:01 - Definition of a hero
11:49 - Life’s impact on race
12:10 - Martin Luther King Jr. as a hero
13:27 - Life’s war coverage
14:21 - Thoughts on Life’s editorial impact
16:26 - Lasting impact of Life
Norman Mailer, Novelist & Journalist
Interview Date: May 22, 1986
© Kunhardt Film Foundation. All Rights Reserved.
#NormanMailer #lifestories

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The bouquet.