Overview (3)

Mini Bio (1)

Mario Puzo was born October 15, 1920, in "Hell's Kitchen" on Manhattan's (NY) West Side and, following military service in World War II, attended New York's New School for Social Research and Columbia University. His best-known novel, "The Godfather," was preceded by two critically acclaimed novels, "The Dark Arena" and "The Fortunate Pilgrim." In 1978, he published "Fools Die," followed by "The Sicilian" (1984) and "The Fourth K" (1991). Mario Puzo has also written several screenplays, including Erdbeben (1974), Superman (1978), and all three "Godfather" movies, for which he received two Academy Awards. Mario's latest novel, 1996's "The Last Don," was made into a CBS television miniseries in May 1997, starring Danny Aiello, Kirstie Alley and Joe Mantegna. In 1997, Part II was aired. Also in 1997, Mario's "The Fortunate Pilgrim" was re-released by Random House. Mario passed away July 2, 1999, at his home in Bay Shore, Long Island. His last novel, "Omerta," will be published July, 2000. He is survived by his companion of 20 years, Carol Gino, and five children.

- IMDb Mini Biography By: J Geoff Malta <jgeoff@jgeoff.com>

Spouse (1)

Erika Lina Broske (1946 - 9 November 1978) ( her death) ( 5 children)

Trivia (8)



Early in his career, he worked for a NYC company called Magazine Management that among other things actually wrote fake celebrity stories for fan magazines. His co-workers there included not just one but two other writers who went on to pen their own best-sellers, Bruce Jay Friedman and Dorothy Gallagher

Was writing a story outline for a fourth "Godfather" film before he died.





He had five children: Anthony, Joseph, Dorothy Ann Puzo , Virginia and Eugene.

Biography/bibliography in: "Contemporary Authors". New Revision Series, Vol. 131, pages 366-373. Farmington Hills, MI: Thomson Gale, 2005.



Biography in: "American National Biography". Supplement 1, pp. 494-496. New York: Oxford University Press, 2002.





Wrote the first draft of Erdbeben (1974) in mid-1972. When the film was pushed into production in mid-1973, Puzo had to quit the project due to his commitment to writing Der Pate 2 (1974). As the final script featured elements of his original, he was one of the two writers credited for Erdbeben (1974). In 1975, a minor legal dispute arose between Puzo and Universal over his share of the profits, which was quickly settled.

In the foreword of his 1972 autobiography, "The Godfather Papers & Other Confessions", he explains that "The Godfather", though a best seller, was his least favorite book, but hated when people knocked it solely because it was a best seller.





In the 1950s and 1960s he worked at Magazine Management which was owned by Martin Goodman, whose company also owned Timely Comics, which later became known as Marvel Comics. He decided to try his hand at writing a comic book, but told Stan Lee that he couldn't meet the monthly deadlines. Stan Lee had the opposite problem: he could work under pressure to produce a monthly comic, but didn't have the discipline to write a novel. While Puzo became better known for writing novels, he did eventually succeed in the comic book genre by writing the first two Superman films.

Personal Quotes (1)

The best way to launch an Italian restaurant is to have it raided because the Mafia eats there. Everybody knows they eat well.



Salary (1)