Gothamist
A non-profit newsroom, powered by WNYC.
Gothamist
Listen Live
Misc
The Naked and the (Not) Dead
By
John Del Signore
Published Oct 17, 2007
Modified Mar 7, 2008
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
Never miss a story
Email address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .
By
John Del Signore
Published Oct 17, 2007
Modified Mar 7, 2008
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
We rely on your support to make local news available to all
Make your contribution now and help Gothamist thrive in 2026. Donate today
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
News of Norman Mailer’s hospitalization broke today; the cantankerous and influential author is suffering from severe respiratory problems following a collapsed lung. His children have been keeping a bedside vigil in the critical-care unit of Mt. Sinai Hospital, where Mailer is reportedly still in fighting spirits, thumb-wrestling and cracking jokes. (The Post has more, while New York Magazine looks at the illness in the context of his recent ruminations on spirituality in a new book, On God.)
The Charlie Rose video below contains a partial clip from his notorious appearance on The Dick Cavett Show in 1971; fast forward 29 minutes in to see a younger, wilder Mailer filled to the brim with piss and vinegar as he tears into Gore Vidal on air – after head-butting him in the green room! Vidal had savaged Mailer’s book Prisoner of Sex in The New York Review of Books, comparing him to Charles Manson, insisting Mailer’s thoughts on sex “read like three days of menstrual flow”, and bringing up the time Mailer stabbed his wife. For that, Mailer called him out as a "liar and a hypocrite", then defiantly moved his chair away from his intellectual inferiors (who included journalist Janet Flanner). At this point Cavett really gets pissed.
Tagged
books
charles manson
Charlie Rose
children
Dick Cavett
Gore Vidal
hospital
new york
new york magazine
news
norman mailer
review
rose
sex
Sinai Hospital
The New York
the post
video
videos
John Del Signore
Originally from the Albany area, John Del Signore has called NYC home since 1995. In addition to his thousands of meticulously-crafted bespoke blog posts for Gothamist, his writing has also been published in The Awl, Deadspin, The Nervous Breakdown, and performed at The Brick Theater in Brooklyn.
Read more
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
MORE miscellaneous
We visited 8 laundromats to talk about voting and elections. Here's what people had to say.
As we inch closer to Election Day in November, WNYC is turning some laundromats in the New York metro area into hubs of civic dialogue.
By
Jodi Malarbe
and
George Bodarky
Published Jun 23, 2024
Aging with Pride: LGBTQ+ older adults share their personal journeys
As we mark Pride month, LGBTQ+ older adults share their struggles, triumphs and advice for today’s generations.
By
George Bodarky
Misc
Aging with Pride: LGBTQ+ older adults share their personal journeys
As we mark Pride month, LGBTQ+ older adults share their struggles, triumphs and advice for today’s generations.
By
George Bodarky
Hands in the dirt: Meet some of NYC's community gardeners
By
Enrico Denard
and
George Bodarky
'In the very, very beginning, it was about 3 feet of garbage': How NYC’s first community garden got started
By
George Bodarky
Serving up BBQ ribs and a deep sense of community in the South Bronx since 1954
By
George Bodarky
Never miss a story
Catch up on the most important headlines with a roundup of essential NYC stories, delivered to your inbox daily.
Sign upEmail address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .