NEW YORK — The late Norman Mailer, a novelist and cultural provocateur who was rarely at a loss for words, was remembered at a memorial service Wednesday as a man whose commitment to the American novel will be his most enduring legacy.
Long after the feuds and quarrels that Mailer carried on with other authors are forgotten, his willingness to take chances on behalf of art — and his great successes — will be what future generations remember, said friends and family members during a Carnegie Hall ceremony.
Mailer, a two-time Pulitzer Prize winner, won plaudits over six decades for influential and bestselling works such as “The Naked and the Dead,” “The Executioner’s Song,” “The Armies of the Night,” “Oswald’s Tale” and many other works.
The author died of heart problems in November at age 84. Those who lined up to remember him included novelists Joan Didion and Don DeLillo, public-television host Charlie Rose, journalist Tina Brown, writers William Kennedy and Lawrence Schiller, actor Sean Penn, and Lonnie Ali, a partner to Muhammad Ali, who was friendly with Mailer.
Family members said they are forming a writers’ colony in the author’s name, which will offer fellowships and be lo cated at his longtime home in Provincetown, Mass.
During his storied career as an author, anti -war activist, political candidate, journalist, filmmaker, boxing enthusiast and celebrity, Mailer often seemed to be as famous for his flamboyant personality as his art. But during the service, family members recalled a loving dad who challenged his nine children to realize their full potential.
They talked about the unique, sometimes comical challenges of growing up with a famous father who had divorced five wives. Daughter Kate Mailer, remembering her turbulent adolescence, said: “It’s hard to rebel against a father when your father is Norman Mailer.”
Obituaries
