Talk:Norman Mailer

Ninth child

Who is this alleged ninth child of Mailer’s? The infobox and the opening sentence of the personal life section claim he had nine children

but there is no further mention of that ninth child and no source is presented to support that claim. Tvx1 09:55, 3 August 2026 (UTC)

quick search i find and add this as source https://theberkshireedge.com/maggie-mailer-to-discuss-her-father-norman-mailer-at-triplex-documentary-showing

there is also this https://booktrib.com/2019/11/04/in-another-place-paints-portrait-of-norman-mailer-as-a-father/

based on those maybe there is also more info on norman bibliography Lokiretro (talk) 12:01, 3 August 2026 (UTC)

based on this source, John Buffalo Mailer

https://nymag.com/nymetro/news/rnc/9574/

it is also on John Buffalo Mailer page Lokiretro (talk) 12:42, 3 August 2026 (UTC)

The first source contradicts itself by stating at different points that he had eight and children. The second source has a quick mention of nine children, but not attempt to actually identity them. I can't find the claim with regards to his number of children in the third source.

So at best we have conflicting and vague claims of him having had nine children, so I think it's best to stick with the properly verifiable eight clearly identified children in this article. Tvx1 21:25, 3 August 2026 (UTC)

i havent fully read those three sources

He fathered eight children by his wives

this is current text but searching old revision, there is much longer version for example in this Special:Diff/1180672690

He fathered eight children by his various wives and informally adopted his sixth wife's son from another marriage.

at first i assume the ninth child is matthew norris but after count it based on text on wiki, it is also wrong

• Susan Mailer (daughter)
• Danielle (daughter)
• Elizabeth (daugther)
• Kate Mailer (daughter)
• Michael Mailer (son)
• Stephen Mailer (son)
• John Buffalo Mailer (son)
• Matthew Norris (stepson)

So at best we have conflicting and vague claims of him having had nine children, so I think it's best to stick with the properly verifiable eight clearly identified children in this article.

from what i understand, it is better to remove the number and put footnote describing which source state 9 or 8 children Lokiretro (talk) 23:18, 3 August 2026 (UTC)