Mario Francis Puzo (; ; October 15, 1920 – July 2, 1999) was an American author, screenwriter, and journalist. He is known for his crime novels about the

Italian-American Mafia The American Mafia, commonly referred to in North America as the Italian American Mafia, the Mafia, or the Mob, is a highly organized Italian American criminal society and organized crime group. The organization is often referred to by its mem ...

and Sicilian Mafia, most notably ''

The Godfather ''The Godfather'' is a 1972 American crime film directed by Francis Ford Coppola, who co-wrote the screenplay with Mario Puzo, based on Puzo's best-selling 1969 novel of the same title. The film stars Marlon Brando, Al Pacino, James Caa ...

'' (1969), which he later co-adapted into a

film trilogy A trilogy is a set of three works of art that are connected and can be seen either as a single work or as three individual works. They are commonly found in literature, film, and video games, and are less common in other art forms. Three-part ...

directed by Francis Ford Coppola. He received the

Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay The Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay is the Academy Award for the best screenplay Film adaptation, adapted from previously established material. The most frequently adapted media are novels, but other adapted narrative formats include st ...

for the first film in 1972 and for ''

Part II Part Two, Part 2 or Part II may refer to: Films and television * "Part 2" (Twin Peaks), also known as "The Return, Part 2", the second episode of the third season of the TV series ''Twin Peaks'' Music * ''Part Two'' (Throbbing Gristle album), 200 ...

'' in 1974. Puzo also wrote the original screenplay for the 1978 '' Superman'' film and its 1980

sequel A sequel is a work of literature, film, theatre, television, music or video game that continues the story of, or expands upon, some earlier work. In the common context of a narrative work of fiction, a sequel portrays events set in the same ...

. His final novel, '' The Family'', was released posthumously in 2001.

Personal life

Puzo was born in the

Hell's Kitchen Hell's Kitchen, also known as Clinton, is a neighborhood on the West Side of Midtown Manhattan in New York City. It is considered to be bordered by 34th Street (or 41st Street) to the south, 59th Street to the north, Eighth Avenue to the ea ...

section of

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

to Italian immigrants from Pietradefusi, Province of Avellino,

Campania (man), it, Campana (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = , demographics1_info1 = , demog ...

. When Puzo was 12, his father, who worked as a trackman for the

New York Central Railroad The New York Central Railroad was a railroad primarily operating in the Great Lakes and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The railroad primarily connected greater New York and Boston in the east with Chicago and St. Louis in the Mid ...

, was committed to the Pilgrim State Hospital insane asylum for

schizophrenia Schizophrenia is a mental disorder characterized by continuous or relapsing episodes of psychosis. Major symptoms include hallucinations (typically hearing voices), delusions, and disorganized thinking. Other symptoms include social wit ...

, and his wife, Maria, was left to raise their seven children. He served in the

US Army Air Forces The United States Army Air Forces (USAAF or AAF) was the major land-based aerial warfare service component of the United States Army and ''de facto'' aerial warfare service branch of the United States during and immediately after World War II ...

in Germany in

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

, and later graduated from the City College of New York. Puzo married a German woman, Erika, with whom he had five children. When Erika died of breast cancer at the age of 58 in 1978, her nurse, Carol Gino, became Puzo's companion.

Career

In 1950, his first short story, "The Last Christmas," was published in ''American Vanguard''. After the war, he wrote his first book, ''

The Dark Arena ''The Dark Arena'' is the first novel by Mario Puzo, published in 1955. The book follows Walter Mosca, an American World War II veteran who returns to Germany for his girlfriend, Hella. The novel explores life in post-war Germany, a place where ...

'', which was published in 1955. In 1960,

Bruce Jay Friedman The English language name Bruce arrived in Scotland with the Normans, from the place name Brix, Manche in Normandy, France, meaning "the willowlands". Initially promulgated via the descendants of king Robert the Bruce (1274−1329), it has been ...

hired Puzo as an assistant editor of a group of men's

pulp Pulp may refer to: * Pulp (fruit), the inner flesh of fruit Engineering * Dissolving pulp, highly purified cellulose used in fibre and film manufacture * Pulp (paper), the fibrous material used to make paper * Molded pulp, a packaging material ...

magazines with titles such as ''Male'', ''Men''. Under the pen name Mario Cleri, Puzo wrote World War II adventure features for magazine ''True Action''. In 1969, Puzo's best-known work, ''The Godfather'', was published. Puzo stated that this story came from research into organized crime, not from personal experience, and that he was looking to write something that would appeal to the masses. The novel remained on ''The New York Times'' Best Seller list for 67 weeks and sold over nine million copies in two years. The book was later developed into the film ''

'' (1972), directed by Francis Ford Coppola. Paramount Pictures originally found out about Puzo's novel in 1967 when a literary scout for the company contacted then Paramount Vice President of Production

Peter Bart Peter Benton Bart (born July 24, 1932) is an American journalist and film producer, writing a column for ''Deadline Hollywood'' since 2015. He is perhaps best known for his lengthy tenure (1989–2009) as the editor in chief of ''Variety'', an ...

about Puzo's unfinished sixty-page manuscript. Bart believed the work was "much beyond a Mafia story" and offered Puzo a $12,500 option for the work, with an option for $80,000 if the finished work were made into a film. Despite Puzo's agent telling him to turn down the offer, Puzo was desperate for money and accepted the deal. Paramount's

Robert Evans Robert Evans (born Robert J. Shapera; June 29, 1930October 26, 2019) was an American film producer, studio executive, and actor, best known for his work on '' Rosemary's Baby'' (1968), ''Love Story'' (1970), ''The Godfather'' (1972), and ''Chi ...

relates that, when they met in early 1968, he offered Puzo the $12,500 deal for the 60-page manuscript titled ''Mafia'' after the author confided in him that he urgently needed $10,000 to pay off gambling debts. The film received three awards of the 11

Oscar Oscar, OSCAR, or The Oscar may refer to: People * Oscar (given name), an Irish- and English-language name also used in other languages; the article includes the names Oskar, Oskari, Oszkár, Óscar, and other forms. * Oscar (Irish mythology) ...

category nominations, including Puzo's Oscar for Best Adapted Screenplay. Coppola and Puzo then collaborated on sequels to the original film, ''

The Godfather Part II ''The Godfather Part II'' is a 1974 American epic crime film produced and directed by Francis Ford Coppola. The film is partially based on the 1969 novel ''The Godfather'' by Mario Puzo, who co-wrote the screenplay with Coppola. ''Part II'' s ...

'' (1974) and ''

The Godfather Part III ''The Godfather Part III'' is a 1990 American crime film produced and directed by Francis Ford Coppola from the screenplay co-written with Mario Puzo. The film stars Al Pacino, Diane Keaton, Talia Shire, Andy García, Eli Wallach, Joe Mantegn ...

'' (1990). Coppola and Puzo preferred the title ''The Death of Michael Corleone'' for the third film, but Paramount Pictures found that unacceptable. In September 2020, for the film's 30th anniversary, it was announced that a new cut of the film titled ''Mario Puzo's The Godfather, Coda: The Death of Michael Corleone'' would have a limited theatrical release in December 2020 followed by digital and Blu-ray. Coppola said the film is the version he and Puzo had originally envisioned, and it "vindicates" its status among the trilogy. In mid-1972, Puzo wrote the first draft of the script for the 1974 disaster film ''

Earthquake An earthquake (also known as a quake, tremor or temblor) is the shaking of the surface of the Earth resulting from a sudden release of energy in the Earth's lithosphere that creates seismic waves. Earthquakes can range in intensity, fr ...

'', but he was unable to continue work because of his prior commitment to ''The Godfather Part II''. Work continued on the script without his involvement, with writer George Fox (working on his first, and only, motion picture screenplay) and producer / director Mark Robson, who remained uncredited as a writer. Puzo retained screen credit in the completed film as a result of a quickly-settled lawsuit over story credit (most elements from his first draft made it into the final film), and Puzo's name subsequently featured heavily in the advertising. Puzo also wrote the original screenplay for

Richard Donner Richard Donner (born Richard Donald Schwartzberg; April 24, 1930 – July 5, 2021) was an American filmmaker whose notable works included some of the most financially-successful films during the New Hollywood era. According to film historian ...

's '' Superman'', which then also included the plot for ''

Superman II ''Superman II'' is a 1980 superhero film directed by Richard Lester and written by Mario Puzo and David and Leslie Newman from a story by Puzo based on the DC Comics character Superman. It is the second installment in the ''Superman'' film se ...

'', as they were originally written as one film. He also collaborated on the stories for the 1982 film ''A Time to Die'' and the 1984 Francis Ford Coppola film '' The Cotton Club''. In 1991, Puzo's speculative fiction '' The Fourth K'' was published; it centres on a fictional member of the

Kennedy family The Kennedy family is an American political family that has long been prominent in American politics, public service, entertainment, and business. In 1884, 35 years after the family's arrival from Ireland, Patrick Joseph "P. J." Kennedy beca ...

dynasty who becomes President of the United States early in the 2000s. Puzo never saw the publication of his penultimate book, ''

Omertà Omertà (, ) is a Southern Italian code of silence and code of honor and conduct that places importance on silence in the face of questioning by authorities or outsiders; non-cooperation with authorities, the government, or outsiders, especiall ...

'', but the manuscript was finished before his death, as was the manuscript for '' The Family''. However, in a review originally published in the ''

San Francisco Chronicle The ''San Francisco Chronicle'' is a newspaper serving primarily the San Francisco Bay Area of Northern California. It was founded in 1865 as ''The Daily Dramatic Chronicle'' by teenage brothers Charles de Young and Michael H. de Young. The ...

'',

Jules Siegel Jules Siegel (October 21, 1935 – November 17, 2012) was a novelist, journalist, and graphic designer who is best known as one of the earliest writers to treat rock music as a serious art, although his writings about rock constituted only a sm ...

, who had worked closely with Puzo at

Magazine Management Company Magazine Management Co., Inc. was an American publishing company lasting from at least 1947 to the early 1970s, known for men's-adventure magazines, risque men's magazines, humor magazine, humor, Romance novel, romance, puzzle, celebrity/film and ...

, speculated that ''Omertà'' may have been completed by "some talentless hack". Siegel also acknowledged the temptation to "rationalize avoiding what is probably the correct analysis — that

uzo Uzo or Uzō may refer to: People * Uzo Asonye, American attorney * Uzō Nishiyama (1911–1994), Japanese architect * Uzo Egonu (1931–1996), Nigerian artist * Uzo (filmmaker) (born 1957), Nigerian filmmaker * Uzo Iwobi (born 1969), British-Ni ...

wrote it and it is terrible".

Death

Puzo died of heart failure on July 2, 1999, at his home in

Bay Shore, New York Bay Shore is a hamlet and census-designated place (CDP) in the Town of Islip, New York, United States. It is situated on the South Shore of Long Island, adjoining the Great South Bay. The population of the CDP was 29,244 at the time of the 2020 ...

, at the age of 78.

In popular culture

In April 2022,

Paramount+ Paramount+ is an American subscription video on-demand service owned by Paramount Global. The service's content is drawn primarily from the libraries of CBS Media Ventures (including CBS Studios), Paramount Media Networks (formerly Viacom Media ...

began streaming ''

The Offer ''The Offer'' is an American biographical drama miniseries, created by Michael Tolkin, about the development and production of Francis Ford Coppola's landmark New York City gangster film ''The Godfather'' (1972) for Paramount Pictures. Miles Te ...

'', a 10-episode dramatic mini-series telling a fictionalized story of the making of ''The Godfather'', including Puzo's decision to write the first book in what came to be a series. Patrick Gallo plays Puzo. Victoria Kelleher plays his wife, Erika.

Works

Novels

* ''

'' (1955) * ''

The Fortunate Pilgrim ''The Fortunate Pilgrim'' is a 1965 novel by American author Mario Puzo. Mario Puzo considered the novel his finest, most poetic, and literary work. In one of his last interviews he stated that he was saddened by the fact that ''The Godfather' ...

'' (1965) * ''

The Runaway Summer of Davie Shaw ''The Runaway Summer of Davie Shaw'' is a children's novel by Mario Puzo Mario Francis Puzo (; ; October 15, 1920 – July 2, 1999) was an American author, screenwriter, and journalist. He is known for his crime novels about the Italian-A ...

'' (1966) * ''Six Graves to Munich'' (1967), as Mario Cleri * '' Fools Die'' (1978) * '' The Fourth K'' (1990) * ''

The Last Don ''The Last Don'' is a 1996 novel by American author Mario Puzo, best known as the author of the 1969 novel ''The Godfather''. The story follows an aging Mafia Don and his family as they try to retain power. The story alternates between the fil ...

'' (1996) * ''

'' (2000) * '' The Family'' (2001) (completed by Puzo's longtime girlfriend Carol Gino)

Series

# ''

'' (1969) # '' The Sicilian'' (1984) - takes place between the 6th and the 7th books of ''The Godfather''

Non-fiction

* "Test Yourself: Are You Heading for a Nervous Breakdown?" as Mario Cleri (1965) * '' The Godfather Papers and Other Confessions'' (1972) * '' Inside Las Vegas'' (1977)

Short stories

All short stories, except "The Last Christmas", were written under the pseudonym Mario Cleri. * "The Last Christmas" (1950) * "John 'Red' Marston's Island of Delight" (1964) * "Big Mike's Wild Young Sister-in-law" (1964) * "The Six Million Killer Sharks That Terrorize Our Shores" (1966) * "Trapped Girls in the Riviera's Flesh Casino" (1967) * "The Unkillable Six" (1967) * "Girls of Pleasure Penthouse" (1968) * "Order Lucy For Tonight" (1968) * "12 Barracks of Wild Blondes" (1968) * "Charlie Reese's Amazing Escape from a Russian Death Camp" (1969)

Screenplays and film adaptations

* ''

'' (1972) * ''

'' (1974 - August, 1972 script draft only) * ''

'' (1974) * '' Superman'' (1978) * ''

'' (1980) * '' A Time to Die'' (1982) * '' The Cotton Club'' (1984) * '' The Sicilian'' (1987) * ''

'' (1988) * ''

'' (1990) * '' Christopher Columbus: The Discovery'' (1992) * ''

'' (1997) * '' Superman II: The Richard Donner Cut'' (2006) * '' The Godfather, Coda: The Death of Michael Corleone'' (2020)

Video game adaptations

*''

'' (1991) *''

'' (2006) *''

The Godfather II ''The Godfather Part II'' is a 1974 American epic crime film produced and directed by Francis Ford Coppola. The film is partially based on the 1969 novel ''The Godfather'' by Mario Puzo, who co-wrote the screenplay with Coppola. ''Part II'' s ...

'' (2009)

References

External links

FreshAir Interview
– Audio interview from

Fresh Air ''Fresh Air'' is an American radio talk show broadcast on National Public Radio stations across the United States since 1985. It is produced by WHYY-FM in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The show's host is Terry Gross. , the show was syndicated to ...

. Originally broadcast July 25, 1996. * *
Mario Puzo Books

The Official Mario Puzo Library

"Saying Goodbye to Mario Puzo"
an affectionate recollection of Mario Puzo written by his friend

on being notified of his death. {{DEFAULTSORT:Puzo, Mario 1920 births 1999 deaths 20th-century American novelists American male novelists American crime fiction writers American male screenwriters United States Army Air Forces personnel of World War II American science fiction writers City College of New York alumni American writers of Italian descent Organized crime novelists People from Hell's Kitchen, Manhattan People from Islip (town), New York Writers Guild of America Award winners Writers from Manhattan Military personnel from New York City United States Army Air Forces soldiers Best Screenplay Golden Globe winners Best Adapted Screenplay Academy Award winners Hugo Award-winning writers 20th-century American male writers Novelists from New York (state) Screenwriters from New York (state) 20th-century American screenwriters 20th-century pseudonymous writers