JOHN CALLAWAY INTERVIEWS: NORMAN MAILER (TV)
Summary
One in this series of interview programs hosted by John
Callaway. In this edition, Callaway interviews author
Norman Mailer, who had recently published his work of
non-fiction, "The Executioner's Song," about the
execution of murderer Gary Gilmore. Mailer discusses
the following topics, among others: his admiration for
author James Farrell; his grudging respect for Gilmore's
bravery and complexity; the slippery nature of memory
and truth; the reasons for keeping his personality from
intruding into the book; the book's novelistic style;
the book's quintessentially American themes; his desire
to capture the reality of ordinary people in the book;
his interview process, which he employed in writing the
book; the literary possibilities inherent in the
personality of a "schlock" journalist profiled in the
book; his admiration for the openness and storytelling
abilities of people living in the American West; his
ambivalent personal feelings toward Gilmore; his
admiration for Gilmore's paramour, Nicole; Gilmore's
contradictory desires, both to escape prison and to be
executed; the myriad roles that Gilmore assumes in
conversation; his views on personality theory; his views
on prisons and punishment; the hypocritical nature of
society, especially with regard to such issues as law
and order, welfare, and taxes; his estimation of
President Jimmy Carter and Senator Ted Kennedy
(D-Mass.); and his upcoming novel about Egypt.
Cataloging of this program was made possible by the
Corporation for Public Broadcasting, 1997.
Details
- NETWORK: PBS WTTW Chicago, IL
- DATE: November 30, 1979
- RUNNING TIME: 0:57:21
- COLOR/B&W: Color
- CATALOG ID: T:11809
- GENRE: Talk/Interviews
- SUBJECT HEADING: Authors; Murder; Literary criticism and analysis
- SERIES RUN: PBS - TV series, 1981-1983
- COMMERCIALS: N/A
CREDITS
- Johanna Steinmetz … Producer
- Ken Voss … Director
- John Callaway … Host, Interviewer
- Norman Mailer … Guest
- James Farrell
- Gary Gilmore