Mario Puzo
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| Born: | October 15, 1920 Manhattan, New York, United States |
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| Died: | July 2, 1999 Bay Shore, Long Island, New York, United States |
| Occupation: | Novelist |
| Nationality: | United States |
| Genres: | Crime |
| Debut works: | The Dark Arena (1955) |
Mario Gianluigi Puzo (October 15, 1920 – July 2, 1999) was an American author known for his novels about the Mafia, especially The Godfather (1969).
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[edit] Life
Puzo was born on October 15, 1920, into a poor family of Sicilian immigrants living in the Hell's Kitchen neighborhood of Manhattan, New York City. He was a graduate of The City College of New York. Many of his books draw heavily on this heritage. He joined the United States Army Air Forces in World War II as a corporal and was stationed in Asia and Germany. His first book, The Dark Arena, came out in 1955.
His most famous work, The Godfather, was first published in 1969 after he had heard anecdotes about Mafia organizations during his time in pulp journalism.
The Godfather was later developed into a trilogy of popular, highly-acclaimed films directed by Francis Ford Coppola released in 1972, 1974 and 1990.
In addition to co-writing the screenplay with Coppola, Puzo also wrote the first draft of the script for the 1974 disaster film, Earthquake, which he was unable to continue working on, due to his commitment to "The Godfather: Part II." Puzo also co-wrote 1978's Superman: The Movie and 1980s Superman II.
Puzo never saw the publication of his last book, Omertà, but the manuscript was finished and so became his last work. In a review originally published in the San Francisco Chronicle, Jules Siegel, who had worked closely with Puzo at Magazine Management Company, doubted that Puzo had actually finished the novel, and expressed the view that it may have been completed by "some talentless hack."
Puzo died of heart failure on July 2, 1999 at his home in Bay Shore, Long Island, New York.
[edit] Complete List of Books
[edit] Fiction
- The Dark Arena (1955)
- The Fortunate Pilgrim (1965)
- The Runaway Summer of Davie Shaw (children's book) (1966)
- The Godfather (1969)
- Fools Die (1978)
- The Sicilian (1984)
- The Fourth K (1990)
- The Last Don (1996)
- Omertà (2000)
- The Family (2001)
[edit] Nonfiction
- The Godfather Papers & Other Confessions (1972)
- Inside Las Vegas (1977)
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
- FreshAir Interview - Audio interview from Fresh Air. Originally broadcast July 25, 1996
- Mario Puzo at the Internet Movie Database
- Mario Puzo biography
- The Official Mario Puzo Library
- "Saying Goodbye to Mario Puzo", an affectionate recollection of Mario Puzo written by his friend Jules Siegel on being notified of his death.
Categories: American novelists | Organized crime writers | American crime fiction writers | American military personnel of World War II | United States Army soldiers | Italian-Americans | American screenwriters | Columbia University alumni | People from Manhattan | 1920 births | 1999 deaths | People from Long Island | City University of New York people
