Nicholas Pileggi
Nicholas Pileggi (, ; born February 22, 1933) is an American author, producer and screenwriter. He wrote the non-fiction book "Wiseguy" and co-wrote the screenplay for "Goodfellas", its 1990 film adaptation, for which he received a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay. Early life. Pileggi was born and raised in Brooklyn, the elder son of an Italian immigrant father, Nicola ("Nick") Pileggi from Calabria and an American-born mother, Susie. Nicola "Nick" Pileggi was a musician who played slide trombone in a cinema orchestra for silent films; he subsequently also owned shoe stores. In the  1950s, he worked as a journalist for Associated Press and "New York" magazine, specializing in crime reporting for more than three decades. Career. Pileggi began his career as a journalist and had a profound interest in the Mafia. He is best known for writing "Wiseguy: Life in a Mafia Family" (1986), which he adapted into the movie "Goodfellas" (1990), and for writing "" and the subsequent screenplay for "Casino" (1995). The movie versions of both were directed and co-written by Martin Scorsese. Pileggi also wrote the screenplay for the film "City Hall" (1996), starring Al Pacino. He served as an  Executive Producer of "American Gangster" (2007), a biographical crime film based on the criminal career of Frank Lucas. He also authored "Blye, Private Eye" (1987). Pileggi co-wrote the pilot of the CBS television series "Vegas", which first aired in September 2012. Personal life. Pileggi was married to fellow author, journalist, and filmmaker Nora Ephron from 1987 until her death in 2012.