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.[2]

Photo courtesy of the Norris Church Mailer Estate.

Early Life & Career

Originally from Atkins, Arkansas, Norris Church Mailer had several successful careers.[3] After graduating from Arkansas Polytechnic College, she became an art teacher and, later, a successful model for the Wilhelmina modeling agency.[4] She held several one-woman exhibits featuring her paintings and also acted in television and features films, including Ragtime (1981), The Executioner's Song (1982), and the television soap opera, All My Children[5]. She was a member of the Actors Studio.[6]

Life with Normal Mailer

Norris Church Mailer's near 33-year marriage to her second husband, Norman Mailer,[7] is frequently the focus of reviews about her life. She described Mailer as "the Henry Higgins to my Eliza Doolittle"[8], often seeking his advice on drafts of her novels and defending him against critics.[4] A Ticket to the Circus chronicles her relationship with Mailer.[9] Norris was mother and stepmother to nine children.[10]

Legacy & Death

In 2004, Wilkes University established the Norris Mailer Church Fellowship in creative writing in her honor.[11] She died in 2010 of complications from gastrointestinal cancer.[10]


Citations

  1. Norris Church Mailer 2014.
  2. Wire Report 2010.
  3. Mailer 1989.
  4. 4.0 4.1 Klemesrud 1979.
  5. Mansfield 2008.
  6. Wire Reports 2010.
  7. Italie 2010.
  8. Berger 2019, p. B11.
  9. Bragg 2010.
  10. 10.0 10.1 Berger 2019.
  11. The Norris Church Mailer Fellowship in Creative Writing n.d.

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". NewsgroupCapeCodOnline.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.