Richard Johnson

Richard Johnson

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Mallory says she brokered end to Mailer, Gore Vidal feud

Carole Mallory — the former model and actress who became a writer after a torrid affair with Norman Mailer (who knew it was contagious?) — is taking credit for ending the long and bitter feud between Mailer and Gore Vidal.

In her new Kindle book “My Friendship With Norman Mailer and Gore Vidal: How They Buried the Hatchet,” Mallory tells how she convinced both men to sit down for a joint interview for Esquire magazine.

One major obstacle: Norman Mailer once punched Gore Vidal at a party after a bad review. While still on the floor, Vidal said: “Once again, words fail Norman Mailer.”

After Esquire published an illustration showing Mailer kissing Vidal, the cranky Mailer ended his affair with Mallory. But the two literary lions never bared their claws at each other again.