John Buffalo Mailer (born April 16, 1978) is an American

author An author is the writer of a book, article, play, mostly written work. A broader definition of the word "author" states: "''An author is "the person who originated or gave existence to anything" and whose authorship determines responsibility f ...

playwright A playwright or dramatist is a person who writes plays. Etymology The word "play" is from Middle English pleye, from Old English plæġ, pleġa, plæġa ("play, exercise; sport, game; drama, applause"). The word "wright" is an archaic English ...

actor An actor or actress is a person who portrays a character in a performance. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. The analogous Greek term is (), lit ...

, producer, and

journalist A journalist is an individual that collects/gathers information in form of text, audio, or pictures, processes them into a news-worthy form, and disseminates it to the public. The act or process mainly done by the journalist is called journalis ...

Life and career

Mailer was born in Brooklyn, the youngest child of novelist

Norman Mailer Nachem Malech Mailer (January 31, 1923 – November 10, 2007), known by his pen name Norman Kingsley Mailer, was an American novelist, journalist, essayist, playwright, activist, filmmaker and actor. In a career spanning over six decades, Maile ...

and author Norris Church Mailer. Mailer is a graduate of

Wesleyan University Wesleyan University ( ) is a private liberal arts university in Middletown, Connecticut. Founded in 1831 as a men's college under the auspices of the Methodist Episcopal Church and with the support of prominent residents of Middletown, the col ...

. He has written several screenplays and is a freelance journalist. In 2006 he co-wrote ''The Big Empty'' (Nation Books, February '06) with his father. Mailer founded Back House Productions in New York City with three other Wesleyan grads in October 2000. The following year, Back House became the resident theater company of The Drama Bookshop's Arthur Seelan Theater, and developed, among many plays, the 2008 Tony winner for Best Musical, ''

In The Heights ''In the Heights'' is a musical with concept, music, and lyrics by Lin-Manuel Miranda and a book by Quiara Alegría Hudes. The story is set over the course of three days, involving characters in the largely Dominican American neighborhood of ...

''. On being involved in theatre, Mailer says: "I think theater will always be a powerful force because we need that human touch, particularly as we spend more and more time with machines, cell phones, computers we start to lose our humanity." In 2001, Mailer's first play, ''Hello Herman'', had its New York Premiere at the

Grove Street Playhouse The Grove Street Playhouse, also known during its existence as the Courtyard Playhouse, was an off-Broadway theatre located on Grove Street in the West Village The West Village is a neighborhood in the western section of the larger Greenw ...

and nine years later, its West Coast Premiere at the Edgemar Center for the Arts in Los Angeles with Mailer in the lead role. The result was Dramatists Play Services publishing the play in the Spring of 2010. Mailer's second play, ''Crazy Eyes'', premiered in Athens, Greece in 2005. Mailer portrays the character Robby Mancins, an Options trader and the best friend of Shia LaBeouf's character Jake Moore, in

Oliver Stone William Oliver Stone (born September 15, 1946) is an American film director, producer, and screenwriter. Stone won an Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay as writer of '' Midnight Express'' (1978), and wrote the gangster film remake '' Sc ...

's '' Wall Street 2: Money Never Sleeps''. He is a member of The Dramatists' Guild, Actor's Equity Association, SAG and The Actors Studio, has lectured at the

University of Notre Dame The University of Notre Dame du Lac, known simply as Notre Dame ( ) or ND, is a private Catholic research university in Notre Dame, Indiana, outside the city of South Bend. French priest Edward Sorin founded the school in 1842. The main c ...

, Wesleyan, the

University of Athens The National and Kapodistrian University of Athens (NKUA; el, Εθνικό και Καποδιστριακό Πανεπιστήμιο Αθηνών, ''Ethnikó ke Kapodistriakó Panepistímio Athinón''), usually referred to simply as the Univers ...

Syracuse University Syracuse University (informally 'Cuse or SU) is a Private university, private research university in Syracuse, New York. Established in 1870 with roots in the Methodist Episcopal Church, the university has been nonsectarian since 1920. Locate ...

, The New York Society for Ethical Culture, The Dorothy Chandler Pavilion in Los Angeles,

Long Island University Long Island University (LIU) is a private university with two main campuses, LIU Post and LIU Brooklyn, in the U.S. state of New York. It offers more than 500 academic programs at its main campuses, online, and at multiple non-residential. LIU ...

, and has appeared on ''Hannity and Combs'', Air America, ''Democracy Now'', WNYC, CSPAN's ''Book TV'', and thebigthink.com. He has freelanced for ''

Playboy ''Playboy'' is an American men's Lifestyle magazine, lifestyle and entertainment magazine, formerly in print and currently online. It was founded in Chicago in 1953, by Hugh Hefner and his associates, and funded in part by a $1,000 loan from H ...

'', ''

New York Magazine ''New York'' is an American biweekly magazine concerned with life, culture, politics, and style generally, and with a particular emphasis on New York City. Founded by Milton Glaser and Clay Felker in 1968 as a competitor to ''The New Yorker' ...

'', Provincetown Arts, Lid, Stop Smiling, Corriera De La Sera, ''The Norman Mailer Review'',

ESPN Books ESPN Books is a publishing company operated by ESPN Started in 2004, ESPN Books has published almost 20 books. ESPN Books also is in charge of producing ESPN's yearly sports encyclopedia. It also controls its own book club and in addition it ranks ...

and ''

The American Conservative ''The American Conservative'' (''TAC'') is a magazine published by the American Ideas Institute which was founded in 2002. Originally published twice a month, it was reduced to monthly publication in August 2009, and since February 2013, it has ...

''. Mailer's work can be seen on screen in the film '' Hello Herman'' directed by Michelle Danner, which opened nationwide and on-demand on June 7, 2013. Mailer was included as one of ''People Magazine'' men "On the Verge" in 2002. He lives in Brooklyn with his wife, Claudia Maree Mailer.

Plays

* ''Hello Herman'' (2001) * ''Crazy Eyes'' * ''Dracula on Stage''

Filmography, as an actor

* 1999: ''

Black and White (1999 TV film) ''Black and White'' is a 1999 television thriller film directed by Yuri Zeltser which stars Gina Gershon and Rory Cochrane. Plot A rookie Los Angeles police officer, Chris O'Brien (Cochrane), is partnered with a hard-edged officer, Nora Hugosia ...

'' * 2002: ''Up to the Roof'' * 2006: ''

Kettle of Fish (film) ''Kettle of Fish'' is a 2006 American romantic comedy film written and directed by Claudia Myers and starring Matthew Modine and Gina Gershon. Plot Mel is a saxophonist in his forties who lives alone with a goldfish named Daphne and has not yet ...

'' * 2008: '' W.'' * 2010: '' Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps'' * 2016: '' Blind''

As producer

* 2008: ''The End of America'' * 2002: ''Up to the Roof''

As writer

* 2002: ''Up to the Roof'' * 2011: ''Hello, Herman'' Film Adaptation

References

External links

*
John Mailer on Film, Theatre & Writing: Big Think Interview
''nthWORD'' Magazine Shorts {{DEFAULTSORT:Mailer, John Buffalo 1978 births American male dramatists and playwrights American dramatists and playwrights American male journalists American male screenwriters American people of South African-Jewish descent Jewish American dramatists and playwrights Living people Wesleyan University alumni 21st-century American Jews