Writer Fight! Writer Fight! : William F. Buckley, Jr. v. Norman Mailer
Norman Mailer, that ever-so-macho author (The Armies of the Night, The Naked and the Dead) is almost as well-known for his physical fights as for his writing. He famously head-butted Gore Vidal in the green room before their mutual appearance on the Dick Cavett Show in 1971. Once on set, the altercation turned menacingly verbal, with Cavett getting in at least as many digs as Mailer:
A less-famous incident of verbal sparring occurred between Mailer and William F. Buckley, Jr. founder and long-time editor of the National Review:
