Norris Church Mailer
Norris Church Mailer (born Barbara Jean Davis, January 31, 1949, in Arkansas – died November 21, 2010, in Brooklyn Heights, New York City)[1] was an American artist, actress, model, and author of several books. Her publications include the memoir, A Ticket to the Circus and the novels Cheap Diamonds and Windchill Summer.
Early Life & Legacy
Originally from Atkins, Arkansas, Norris Church Mailer had successful careers in various fields.[2] After graduating from Arkansas Polytechnic College, she became an art teacher and, later, a successful model for the Wilhelmina modeling agency. She held several one-woman shows featuring her paintings and also acted in television and features films, including Ragtime (1981) and The Executioner's Song (1982), and the television soap opera, All My Children.[3]
Life with Normal Mailer
Norris Church Mailer's near 33-year marriage to her second husband, Norman Mailer,[4] is frequently the focus of reviews about her life. She described Mailer as "the Henry Higgins to my Eliza Doolittle"[5], often seeking his advice on drafts of her novels and defending him against critics who claimed he was misogynistic. A Ticket to the Circus in part chronicles her relationship with Mailer.[6] She was the mother of two children and stepmother of Norman Mailer's five children.
Death & Posthumous Honor
In 2004, Wilkes University established the Norris Mailer Church Fellowship in creative writing in her honor.[7] She died in 2010 of complications from gastrointestinal cancer.[8]
Citations
Works Cited
- Berger, Joseph (November 22, 2010). "Norris Church Mailer, Artist and Ally, Dies at 61". New York Times. New York.
- Bragg, M. A. (November 23, 2010). "Provincetown Arts 'hero' Mailer is missed". Newsgroup: CapeCodOnline.com. Retrieved 2010-11-26.
- Harris, Ellen (December 2010). "The Norman Conquest, or The Last Wife of Norman Mailer Speaks". Belle Lettres. 11 (1): 22–23.
- Italie, Hillel (November 22, 2010). "Norris Mailer; her memoir tells of life as author's 6th wife". Boston Globe. New York.
- Klemesrud, Judy (April 22, 1979). "Life With Norman Mailer: So far it has been good to Norris Church". St. Louis Post-Dispatch.
- Klemesrud, Judy (April 22, 1979). "Mailer's Latest Love Story". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. New York.
- Mailer, Norris (April 1989). "The Very Versatile, Mrs. Mailer" (Interview). Interviewed by Frazier Moore.
- Mansfield, Stephanie (January 26, 1986). "Norris Mailer, Out of Arkansas The Author's Sixth Wife, Her Art and Her Roots". Washington Post.
- "The Norris Church Mailer Fellowship in Creative Writing" (Press release). n.d. Retrieved 2019-04-07.
- Wire Reports (2010-11-26). "Norris Mailer, 6th wife of Norman Mailer, dies". Tulsa World.