NEWSWoody Allen 'Hid in the Bathroom All Night' at Norman Mailer's Star-Studded Party, Punk Legend Claims
Woody Allen was apparently shy during a party.
Sept. 18 2026, Updated 1:55 p.m. ET
Woody Allen made a memorable impression on Legs McNeil at a 1980 gathering attended by some of New York's best-known cultural figures.
"Woody Allen hid in the bathroom all night," McNeil recalled in his new memoir, Resident Punk: How I Smoked, Drank, and Stumbled My Way Through the '70s Punk Scene (and Beyond).
The party took place at Norman Mailer's Brooklyn Heights home in April 1980.
Allen Refused to Leave the Bathroom
Woody Allen chose to spend the night in the bathroom instead of hanging out with the crowd.
The guest list alone made for an unusual night. Shelley Winters, Kurt Vonnegut, Arturo Vega, José Torres, and Glen Buxton of the band Alice Cooper were among those who turned up.
Allen, though, had apparently found somewhere else to spend the evening.
McNeil recalls that guests repeatedly knocked on the bathroom door, only to be met with silence.
"Finally, he opened the door a little and peeked out," McNeil wrote. He recalled Vega then opening the bathroom door all the way and telling Allen, "Boy, you really are shy, aren't you?"
"Then Arturo closed the bathroom door on him, in disgust," McNeil continued.
The memoir never explains why Allen stayed there.
McNeil Found a Friend in Mailer
Legs McNeil and Norman Mailer were already friends before the party.
The strange party story came from a much bigger friendship.
Mailer had first become aware of McNeil after reading a 1978 Village Voice article that quoted the young punk journalist. McNeil interviewed him for High Times the following year, and their friendship grew from there.
"McNeil became a pretty regular fixture in the Mailer household, hanging out with Norman's sons and watching Gilligan's Island reruns," McNeil writes.
He remembered the legendary author warmly, calling him "one of the most generous guys I'd ever met."
McNeil credited Mailer for positively influencing him, saying that he "had the power to drag me out of my alcoholic self-obsessions."
- Lewis Black Recalls Having Dinner at Jeffrey Epstein's 'Unbelievable' NYC Home With Woody Allen and Dick Cavett in Resurfaced Interview
- 'Dodged That Bullet': Seth Rogen Recalls How 'Weird' Tom Cruise Pitched Scientology To Him
- Tim Allen Recalls Being An 'Eff Up' In His Youth, Looks Back On Two-Year Prison Sentence In His 20s
Want OK! each day? Sign up here!
He Brought Mailer to CBGB
People were excited by Norman Mailer's presence and wanted to sit next to him.
McNeil later brought Mailer into his world.
He invited Mailer and his sixth wife, Norris Church, to a Ramones show at CBGB. The famous novelist's appearance quickly became a talking point.
"Everyone wanted to sit next to Norman," McNeil writes.
He recalls Linda Stein, the Ramones' co-manager, calling out, "I wanna sit next to Norman! I wanna sit next to Norman!"
Mailer later told McNeil about the show during their High Times conversation.
"Seeing the Ramones felt like I was an old car and I was being taken out for a ride at 100 miles an hour and I kind of liked it because I was really getting rid of a lot of rust," Mailer said.
The Memoir Revisits New York's Punk Era
Thanks to his friendship with Norman Mailer, Legs McNeil met the big stars of the punk era.
The Allen anecdote is one small part of Resident Punk. The memoir looks back on McNeil's years around New York's punk musicians, artists and writers.
His memories of Mailer occupy a particularly personal place in the book. The friendship gave McNeil access to some of the stars of the time. He, in turn, returned the favor by introducing Mailer to the Ramones.
McNeil's memoir was released on September 15.
