Charles Laughton: NM first met the great English stage and film star when Laughton (1899–1962) tried and failed to write a screenplay based on NAD. Laughton made a score of memorable films from the 1930s through the 1960s, and was the first British citizen to win an Oscar for best actor, which he did for his starring role in the 1934 film, Henry VII. He was also nominated for best actor for roles in Mutiny on the Bounty (1935) and Witness for the Prosecution (1957). Laughton was supposed to produce the film version of NAD, but turned the job over to his longtime associate, Paul Gregory (b. 1920), who completed it in 1957.

apartment-hunting: NM and Adele moved into an apartment at 320 East 55th Street in November 1954.

Bob Mitchum: Appearing in more than 100 films, including his much-lauded role as the mad preacher in The Night of the Hunter (1955), and as a psychopathic killer in Cape Fear (1962). Mitchum (1917–1999) was often portrayed as being more anti-establishment than he was. He did not appear in the film version of NAD.

Davis Grubb: Author of The Night of the Hunter (1953), Grubb (1919–1980) wrote several other novels and a collection of short fiction.

The Wild One: Marlon Brando (1924–2004) met NM in Hollywood and in the early 1950s attended some of his parties in his loft apartments in New York. Brando did not appear in the film version of NAD. NM admired his acting and can do a fair imitation of him. NM praised Brando in his review of Last Tango in Paris (1972), which appeared in the New York Review of Books (May 17, 1973) and is reprinted in PAP 114–133.