“This excerpt from chapter 11 of J. Michael Lennon M.A. ’69, Ph.D. ’79’s biography, Norman Mailer: A Double Life, appears here with the permission of its publisher, Simon & Schuster. It describes the origins of Mailer’s 1979 Pulitzer-Prize winning narrative, The Executioner’s Song.

Gary Gilmore was in the news at the end of 1976. The Utah double murderer had not merely acquiesced in his death sentence. Speaking to the judge at a subsequent hearing, he said, “You sentenced me to die. Unless it’s a joke or something, I want to go ahead and do it.” His determination created consternation among those opposed to capital punishment, and cultish fascination among his admirers. He received over 40,000 letters during his final months, and his face was everywhere, including the cover of Newsweek, under the caption “Death Wish.” Mailer, like half the nation, was following the story. He recalled being struck by how handsome Gilmore was in photographs. “It was an arresting face, particularly that one shot, the famous one, of the long face,” he said. Legal maneuvers followed for months, and Gilmore tried twice to commit suicide. One of these attempts led to a memorable radio report: “Dr. L. Grant Christensen said Gilmore can leave the hospital and return to Death Row if he continues to improve.” His first suicide attempt was in tandem with that of a young woman, Nicole Baker Barrett. “Nicole and I have known and loved each other for thousands of years,” Gilmore said. She was young, beautiful and devoted to him. The story kept getting more engrossing.

On the day of Gilmore’s execution, January 17, 1977, Mailer saw Larry Schiller on the evening news. “I could see he was going through something,” Mailer said. Two days later, Mailer’s secretary told him that Schiller had called and “wants you to do some writing for him.” Schiller had already done interviews with many of those involved, including over 30 hours with Gilmore, to whom he paid $60,000 for exclusive access. In February, he sent Mailer an interview that he had done with Gilmore. Mailer said to himself, “This may be the best single interview of its sort I’ve ever read.” On March 4, he and Schiller signed a contract with Warner Books for a book on “the life and death of Gary Gilmore.”