Norman Mailer, dead at 84

Sglass asked me to post these Norman Mailer obituaries for his old friend.
---BBB

Norman Mailer, dead at 84
Banner Daily Update Sat. Nov. 10
By Sue Harrison, Banner Staff

Norman Mailer, Pulitzer Prize winning author and long-time Provincetown resident died at approximately 4:30 a.m. at Mount Sinai Hospital in New York City. His family had been with him until around 9 p.m. and his son Stephen was at his side when he died.

The following is a statement was released shortly after 7 a.m. today, Saturday, Nov. 10, 2007.

"With great sorrow, the family of Norman Mailer announces his passing on November 10, at Mt. Sinai Hospital in New York City. The cause was acute renal failure. He was 84.

Mailer resided in Provincetown, Massachusetts, with his wife of 33 years, Norris Church Mailer, and maintained an apartment in Brooklyn, New York.

He was the author of more than 30 books, the director of four films, and a co-founder of the Village Voice. He ran for mayor of New York in the 1969 Democratic primary, and was a member of the American Institute of Arts and Letters. He won many literary awards, including two Pulitzers and the National Book Award. His latest book, On God: an Uncommon Conversation, was published on October 16th.

In addition to his wife, he is survived by nine children, Susan, Danielle, Elizabeth, Kate, Michael, Stephen, Maggie, Matthew and John Buffalo; ten grandchildren; a sister, Barbara Wasserman, and a nephew Peter Alson.

Arrangements for a private service and interment for family and close friends will be announced next week, and there will be a memorial service in New York in the coming months."

If more information is made available it will be posted on this website and will appear with the full obituary in the Nov. 15 Provincetown Banner.
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Provincetown- Norman Mailer

A few dozen family members and close friends gathered today at a cemetery in Provincetown to say farewell to Norman Mailer, the well known writer whose career spanned nearly sixty years and having more than 30 books published. Norman Mailer died Saturday at the age of 84 due to kidney failure.

Believe it or not, I read that years ago, Mr. Mailer wrote his own obituary and asked one of his sons to read it at his funeral.

Mr. Mailer was married six times. His wife is Norris Church. The funeral at the Provincetown Cemetery was held this afternoon under a tent, under a beautiful afternoon sun.

The service was private, but the family allowed a reporter from The Provincetown Banner to stand with the gathering and share details later with other media. Just a few photographers and reporters were at the funeral today.

Norman Mailer began living year-round in Provincetown in the 1990s, after spending many summers here since the 1940's