The Executioner’s Song

Authors

  • Lawrence Schiller Author

Keywords:

The Executioner’s Song, Lawrence Schiller, Gary Gilmore, true life novel, screenplay, Norman Mailer Conference

Abstract

In a presentation at the Seventeenth International Norman Mailer Conference at Wilkes University on October 11, 2019, Lawrence Schiller recounts his path from photojournalism to interviewing and producing, and his long collaboration with Mailer. He describes acquiring the rights to Gary Gilmore’s story, the interviews that became the foundation of The Executioner’s Song, his clashes and partnership with Mailer during its writing, how the book came to be called “a true life novel,” and the making of the television film for which Mailer wrote the screenplay. The talk, moderated by J. Michael Lennon, concludes with questions from the audience.

Author Biography

  • Lawrence Schiller

    Lawrence Schiller worked for Life magazine, Paris Match, The Sunday Times, Time, Newsweek, Stern, and The Saturday Evening Post as a photojournalist in the second half of the 20th Century. He published his first book, LSD, in 1966. Since then he has published seventeen books, including W. Eugene Smith’s book Minamata and Norman Mailer’s Marilyn. He collaborated with Albert Goldman on Ladies and Gentleman, Lenny Bruce, and also with Norman Mailer on The Executioner’s Song as well as Oswald’s Tale. His own books that became national bestsellers and made the New York Times Bestseller list include American Tragedy, Perfect Murder, Perfect Town, Cape May Court House, and Into the Mirror. He has directed seven motion pictures and minise ries for television; including The Executioner’s Song and Peter the Great, which won five Emmys.

Downloads

Published

2020-10-15

Issue

Vol. 14 No. 1 (2020)

Section

Articles

How to Cite

Schiller, Lawrence. “The Executioner’s Song”. The Mailer Review, vol. 14, no. 1, Oct. 2020, pp. 7–28, https://mailerreview.org/journal/article/view/718.