Mario Puzo | Biography, Books and Facts [Cite This] Mario Puzo The bestselling author of one the world’s most famous novels, The Godfather, Mario Puzo was an Italian American author and screenwriter. His claims to fame have been his intelligently written crime fiction and Italian mafia stories. Although Puzo had never met a gangster in his life, the gangster characters in his books gave sense of reality making a deep impact on the American society. Statements and quotes from the book such as “I’ll make him an offer he can’t refuse” have become clichés of everyday use. Son of illiterate and poor immigrant parents from Avellino, Naples, Mario was born on October 15, 1920 in an area of New York referred to as Hell’s Kitchen. Still in his teens, deserted by his father, the family moved to a housing society in Bronx. Although Mario’s mother wanted him to be a railroad clerk, Mario had began taking an interest in spending time in libraries and discovering different works of literature.

He graduated from Commerce High School and worked as a railroad switchboard attendant to support his family, soon after which he was stationed in Germany and East India during World War II while serving for the US Air Force. He also served as a civilian public relations man for the Air Force in Germany after the war. Upon return to the United States, Puzo continued his studies taking classes in literature and creative writing at the New School for Social Research and Columbia University. In 1946, Puzo tied the martial knot with Erika Lina Broske, whom he had met in Germany. The couple had two daughters and three sons. The second important woman in Puzo’s life was Carol Gino, Erika’s nurse who became Puzo’s companion after Erika’s death in 1978. In 1950, The American Vanguard published Puzo’s story, The Last Christmas. This was Puzo’s first published work. All the while writing, Puzo worked at various government offices as administrative assistant and as writer/editor at different publications. Deciding to choose writing as a career at the age of twenty-eight, Puzo published his first novel, The Dark Arena in 1955.

Although the book was critically welcomed with excellent reviews it did not prove to be of much help during Puzo’s financial crunch. Ten years later, his second book, The Fortunate Pilgrim was published giving Puzo the same response. The setbacks of the first two books did not stop Puzo from giving it another try and this time he produced a bestseller. The Godfather was published in 1969 which was a huge success. It remained on The New York Times bestsellers list for sixty-seven weeks establishing Puzo as one of the greatest writers in the world. The success made way for two sequels, The Godfather II and The Godfather III. The saga was adapted to screen by director, Francis Ford Coppola which made The Godfather a worldwide phenomenon. There was no looking back after The Godfather and Puzo continued to produce a number of bestselling novels including Fools die (1978), The Sicilian (1984), The Fourth K. (1991) and The Last Don (1996). Two more novels, Omerta (2000) and The Family (2002) were published posthumously.

On July, 2, 1999, Mario Puzo died in Bay Shore, New York. Buy Books by Mario Puzo Top 10 Best Mario Puzo Books Home Uncategorized Top 10 Best Mario Puzo Books Top 10 Best Mario Puzo Books Print Mario Puzo is an Italian-American author famous for his novels like The Godfather and The Sicilian. He is best known for writing about Mafia and Italian Americans. He has depicted a marvelous picture of the Italian mafia structure, which was brought to light to the whole world by his most famous book: The Godfather. Not only is he famous for his books, Mario Puzo also has won 2 Oscars for his work in the movie, The Godfather. Born in 1920, Mario Puzo has written numerous novels and books. He was born in a poor family and lived in Hell’s Kitchen most of his life. Readers will find that most of his writing is inspired from life in New York and especially the Italian Americans there. His most famous books include The Godfather, The Sicilian, Omerta, The Last Don and Fools Die.

Not only did Puzo write about mafia and Italian Americans but he also wrote books like The Dark Arena which is about war and soldiers. He died in 1999, and never saw his book Omerta launched. Nevertheless Mario Puzo had a wonderful career, both in writing and screenplay. So what are the top 10 Best Mario Puzo books? Well, there should be no guesses as to what the number 1 will be. Yes! Its the great book, The Godfather. But many people don’t know much about his less famous books. With this list, I would like to pay tribute to an amazing author and highlight his top 10 best books. Here is the list of the Top 10 Best Mario Puzo Books: 10. Six Graves To Munich Six Graves To Munich Six Graves To Munich is Mario Puzo’s book written in 1967. It is not really a thriller but more of a man looking to get revenge for the men who had murdered his wife. The violence depicted in the book is extreme and shows what a compelling piece of writing this is. The novel got mixed reviews and is alos one of the less popular books by Mario Puzo.

The Godfather Ah! The greatest mafia and crime novel ever written. The Godfather was published in 1969 and is Mario Puzo’s best novel. It was a worldwide hit and is an all-time classic. So great was the novel that it was adapted into the movie, The Godfather, in 1972. The screenplay of the movie gave Mario Puzo is first Oscar, followed by a second in the sequel, The Godfather 2 in 1974. The Godfather is the story of the Corleone family, one of the five Italian American crime families living in New York. The novel shows a complete picture of what goes around in the mafia and how it operates. This is novel was praised by critics all over the world and was a commercial success. The Godfather is a classic and a must-read for everyone, whether you like the genre or not. This was the list of the Top 10 Best Mario Puzo books. Did you like it? Please let me know in your comments.

0saves Mario Puzo (Author of The Godfather) edit data Puzo was born in a poor family of Neapolitan immigrants living in the Hell's Kitchen neighborhood of New York. Many of his books draw heavily on this heritage. After graduating from the City College of New York, he joined the United States Army Air Forces in World War II. Due to his poor eyesight, the military did not let him undertake combat duties but made him a public relations officer stationed in Germany. 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, which was published in 1955. At periods in the 1950s and early 1960s, Puzo worked as a writer/editor for publisher Martin Goodman's Magazine Management Company. Puzo, along with other writers l Puzo was born in a poor family of Neapolitan immigrants living in the Hell's Kitchen neighborhood of New York. Many of his books draw heavily on this heritage. After graduating from the City College of New York, he joined the United States Army Air Forces in World War II.

Due to his poor eyesight, the military did not let him undertake combat duties but made him a public relations officer stationed in Germany. 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, which was published in 1955. At periods in the 1950s and early 1960s, Puzo worked as a writer/editor for publisher Martin Goodman's Magazine Management Company. Puzo, along with other writers like Bruce Jay Friedman, worked for the company line of men's magazines, pulp titles like Male, True Action, and Swank. Under the pseudonym Mario Cleri, Puzo wrote World War II adventure features for True Action. Puzo's most famous work, The Godfather, was first published in 1969 after he had heard anecdotes about Mafia organizations during his time in pulp journalism. He later said in an interview with Larry King that his principal motivation was to make money. He had already, after all, written two books that had received great reviews, yet had not amounted to much.

As a government clerk with five children, he was looking to write something that would appeal to the masses. With a number one bestseller for months on the New York Times Best Seller List, Mario Puzo had found his target audience. The book was later developed into the film The Godfather, directed by Francis Ford Coppola. The movie received 11 Academy Award nominations, winning three, including an Oscar for Puzo for Best Adapted Screenplay. Coppola and Puzo collaborated then to work on sequels to the original film, The Godfather Part II and The Godfather Part III. Puzo 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 Richard Donner's Superman and the original draft for Superman II. He also collaborated on the stories for the 1982 film A Time to Die and the 1984 Francis Ford Coppola film The Cotton Club. Puzo never saw the publication of his penultimate book, Omertà, 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, Jules Siegel, who had worked closely with Puzo at Magazine Management Company, speculated that Omertà may have been completed by "some talentless hack." Siegel also acknowledges the temptation to "rationalize avoiding what is probably the correct analysis -- that [Puzo] wrote it and it is terrible." Puzo died of heart failure on July 2, 1999 at his home in Bay Shore, Long Island, New York. His family now lives in East Islip, New York. ...more Amazon.com: The Family (9780062089151): Mario Puzo: Books Mario Puzo Page 1 of 1 Start over Sponsored Products are advertisements for products sold by merchants on Amazon.com. When you click on a Sponsored Product ad, you will be taken to an Amazon detail page where you can learn more about the product and purchase it. To learn more about Amazon Sponsored Products, click here .

Corpse Rider Tim Curran Just released from DarkFuse, the premier publisher of dark fiction, and horror legend Tim Curranâ¦"this one will stick with you and never leave!" Marriage Can Be Murder (Dr. Benjamin Bones Mysteries Book 1) Emma Jameson First in a nostalgic cozy mystery series set in 1939 England. Handsome young Dr. Bones moves into a haunted house and must solve a murder. Storm Clouds Rolling In (#1 in the Bregdan Chronicles Historical Fiction Romance Series) Ginny Dye Discover why people worldwide have fallen in love with the 9 books of the historical fiction series - The Bregdan Chronicles. Prepare to be hooked! Accidental Exiles Bruce Perry Memories of the Iraq War and a Texas childhood merge with a soldier's fateful affairs in Europe. Kirkus compared it with Lost Generation fiction.

Ad feedback Special Offers and Product Promotions Editorial Reviews From Publishers Weekly Before his death in [1999], Puzo (The Last Don) had begun work on a novel featuring the 15th-century Borgias, whom he regarded as "the original crime family." There are obvious parallels between the Borgias and the Corleone clan immortalized in The Godfather, but the resemblances are mostly superficial, at least as they are presented in this limp historical romance. The story opens with Cardinal Rodrigo Borgia manipulating papal elections in 1492 to become the new Pope Alexander. Determined to establish a family dynasty, he appoints his son Cesare cardinal in his stead and, after a strategically engineered episode of incest between siblings Cesare and Lucrezia, begins ruthlessly eliminating rivals and marrying his children into alliances with the offspring of noble families of France and Spain. But Cesare would rather be a soldier, and Lucrezia would rather marry for love; these conflicted desires contribute as much as risky political power plays to undoing the Borgias in a single generation.

Though Gino (Puzo's companion, author of Then an Angel Came) is credited for the posthumous completion, Puzo's true collaborator is history, and it proves a difficult partner. Obligated not to deviate from known facts, the narrative whizzes methodically through highlights of the Renaissance, embellishing events with snatches of imagined dialogue, purple prose ("For love can steal free will using no weapons but itself") and cameos by Machiavelli, Michelangelo and da Vinci. Overwhelmed by the vast pageant of events, the characters never achieve dramatic stature. Puzo's diehard fans will surely put the novel on their summer hit list, but they may feel, in Sonny Corleone's words, that "this isn't personal, it's business." Major ad/promo; simultaneous HarperAudio and Large Print edition. Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Audible Audio Edition edition. Read more From Library Journal Much will probably be made of this last novel by the celebrated author of The Godfather and a slew of other gangster novels.

After Puzo's death in [1999], this historical fiction was completed by Carol Gino, his companion. The subject is the misunderstood family Borgia, who were sometimes malevolent, always maligned, and mostly political part Clintons, part Kennedys, part Sopranos. Spaniard Rodrigo Borgia becomes Pope Alexander VI and moves into the Vatican with his mistresses and children. Alexander deeply loves yet still controls his offspring, including the ambitious and handsome warrior Cesare, who wants to shed his cardinal robes to lead the papal army in conquest of central Italy; the sweet but flawed Lucretia, whose incestuous relationship with Cesare raises eyebrows; and lusty Juan, who carries on with the wife of little brother Jofre, who in turn becomes murderously jealous. Most of the melodramatic murder and mayhem comes straight out of the history books, but the characters lack depth, with their motivations only mildly explored. This late 15th-century family's story is more soap opera than serious treatment of the troubled dynasty that influenced the Renaissance. - David Nudo, formerly with "Library Journal" Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Audible Audio Edition edition.

See all Editorial Reviews If you buy a new print edition of this book (or purchased one in the past), you can buy the Kindle edition for only $2.99 (Save 68%). Print edition purchase must be sold by Amazon. Learn more . For thousands of qualifying books, your past, present, and future print-edition purchases now lets you buy the Kindle edition for $2.99 or less. (Textbooks available for $9.99 or less.) Thousands of books are eligible, including current and former best sellers. Look for the Kindle MatchBook icon on print and Kindle book detail pages of qualifying books. You can also see more Kindle MatchBook titles here or look up all of your Kindle MatchBook titles here . Read the Kindle edition on any Kindle device or with a free Kindle Reading App . Print edition must be purchased new and sold by Amazon.com. Gifting of the Kindle edition at the Kindle MatchBook price is not available. Don't have a Kindle? Get your Kindle here , or download a FREE Kindle Reading App . Ignite your imagination with these editor's picks from Kindle books.

See more Product Details Publisher: William Morrow Paperbacks; Reprint edition (March 29, 2011) Language: English Shipping Weight: 1.3 pounds ( View shipping rates and policies ) Average Customer Review: By taking a rest HALL OF FAME on January 3, 2002 Format: Hardcover "The Family", is a three star read, however a fourth star for honesty is valid. This book was not finished prior to Mario Puzo's death, and so was finished by Carol Gino. This fact is stated on the front of the dust jacket. The reason I make such an issue of this is that other authors who have left uncompleted work still have books published after their death that they did not finish, and no mention is made. Carol Gino also includes an Afterword that explains the origins of the novel, the reason it was not written prior to other of his works, and her own trepidation in regard to completing the book. Mr. Puzo was evidently fascinated by the time period covered in this book, and specifically with the Borgia Family. He had traveled to The Vatican prior to his death, which continued to keep this novel alive, if not a first priority.

The reason for the book not being his most urgent task is also explained, and I believe readers will find the causes interesting. Carl Gino was with Mario Puzo for 20 years, so it is reasonable to accept she knew him and his work very well. She is also an author in her own right, so again she was qualified as anyone to attempt to complete what Mr. Puzo left undone. I always have thought that completing another author's work is basically an impossible task. "The Family", will not rank as the best work ever to carry Mr. Puzo's name, however the book clearly was his creation. The issue I had was that the book went on longer than the story required, so it read as though Carol Gino was trying not to leave anything out, as opposed to editing the tale so that it had a brisk cadence, a nice sharp pace that would have been consistent with all the intrigue of the story and the style of Mr. Puzo's other work. The book contains 4 main story lines and several secondary tales as well. The Borgia Pope and his 4 children take center stage, and the quest to unite Italy is the book's theme.

The battles that span most of Italy and even the Island of Elba should read at the pace of military battles and the campaign they entail. The cadence is just not there, and this is most evident when Cesare conquers Elba in a matter of a few hours and a handful of pages in the book. Mr. Puzo clearly loved this topic as he had feelings about all the Borgia Family members, "Lucrezia was a good girl, Cesare was a patriot, and Alexander a doting father". Mr. Puzo felt the Renaissance Popes were the first, "Dons", and that Pope Alexander Borgia was the greatest Don of all. The time period is a fascinating one, and if you adjust your expectations, the read is still very worthwhile and better than many offered at local bookstores. Carol Gino clearly gave a valiant effort to complete this work and she should be commended for the result. Trying to follow in the path of a writer of Mr. Puzo's stature has got to be a daunting task, I am glad she accepted the challenge.

By Kevin Bold on August 30, 2005 Format: Paperback I'll never forget the night I saw this book for the first time at my local bookstore. "The man just couldn't stop writing Mafia novels," I snickered to myself as I picked it up and began to peruse it. Well, I was only half-right. The book was about the notorious Italian Renaissance family, the Borgias. Since I've always been interested in that part of history, and wanting to know more about the Borgias (having read about them before, but not having come across a book dedicated to them), I promptly bought it. Until I'd read _The Family_, I'd always thought Puzo modelled the Corleones, at least in part, after Joe Bonanno and his son Bill. Again, I was only partially correct. Although there are some parallels between the Corleones and the Bonanos, Puzo's real inspiration was _la famiglia Borgia_. Like Vito Corleone, Rodrigo Borgia, who became Pope Alexander VI, was a ruthless, powerful man with three sons and a daughter.

None of them had any qualms about murdering their enemies "to protect the family." Michael Corleone and Cesare Borgia, whom Rodrigo elevated to cardinal, were both successful in the military. Like Michael and Fredo, Jofre Borgia had his own brother Juan (aka Giovanni) murdered. Cesare died in a hail of arrows, just as Sonny Corleone died in a hail of gunfire. Lucrezia Borgia reportedly preferred to poison her enemies, reminiscent of the way Connie Corleone killed Don Altobello with a lethal canoli in _The Godfather Part III_. And, like Michael and Connie, Cesare and Lucrezia were very, very close. Only Michael and Connie didn't have an affair with each other, let alone begin it under their father's approving eyes. Finally, if it looks like Puzo is glorifying people who do not deserve admiration, it's because, like in _The Godfather_, he's telling the story from the protagonist's viewpoint. _The Family_ is a wonderful book for anyone, and a "must-have" for historical fiction fans.

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I've read it, and must say it is absolutely fabulous - you will not be disappointed! THE RETURN OF SF is the story of two brothers, Alejandro and Roberto. Join their wild journey from the streets of Cuba, to the excitement of Miami's nightlife. We follow them and their attempts to resist the drug world that doomed their father. It is also about a major player coming back from the past. At first trying to live a normal life. But ultimately realizing that revenge is the only answer. If you like Scarface, you'll love THE RETURN OF SF!

Mario Puzo, Author Who Made 'The Godfather' a World Addiction, Is Dead at 78 - The New York Times The New York Times Movies |Mario Puzo, Author Who Made 'The Godfather' a World Addiction, Is Dead at 78 Search Mario Puzo, Author Who Made 'The Godfather' a World Addiction, Is Dead at 78 By MEL GUSSOW Continue reading the main story Mario Puzo, the best-selling novelist and screenwriter who created ''The Godfather'' and made the Corleones the most famous -- and infamous -- of Mafia families and an enduring myth in American culture, died yesterday at his home in Bay Shore, N.Y. He was 78. The cause was heart failure, said his agent, Neil Olson, without elaborating. When Mr. Puzo wrote ''The Godfather'' in the late 1960's, he did it reluctantly. His first two novels had received favorable reviews but had earned him a total of $6,500. At 45 and in debt, he thought he was going downhill fast as a writer.

But he had some favorite stories to tell about the Mafia, and for the money, he decided to write a book about Italian-Americans in organized crime. From the author's account, he had scant encouragement from publishers and received an advance of only $5,000. But when the book was published in 1969, it became one of the most phenomenal successes in literary and cinematic history. The novel was the No. 1 best seller in the United States and was on the New York Times best-seller list for 67 weeks. It was also the most popular novel in England, France, Germany and other countries, and sold more than 21 million copies. Then it tripled that success when Francis Coppola filmed it. With a screenplay by Mr. Puzo and Mr. Coppola, the film made reputations (for the director, the writer and many of its stars), earned millions of dollars, won Academy Awards for the screenwriters, among others, and became the most quoted movie of its time, with phrases like ''an offer he couldn't refuse'' entering the American lexicon. Continue reading the main story The film outdid the book in popularity and in critical respect.

When it opened in 1972, Vincent Canby, in his review in The New York Times, called it ''one of the most brutal and moving chronicles of American life ever designed within the limits of popular entertainment.'' Advertisement Continue reading the main story Led by Marlon Brando as the patriarchal Don Vito Corleone and Al Pacino as the college-educated son Michael who eventually takes control of the family business, the Corleones edged their way into respectability. The film was far more than a gangster melodrama; it was a sweeping portrait of a family that was as devoted to its own sense of values as to violence. It was also a commentary on greed in a capitalist society. Perhaps the most astonishing aspect of the movie's success was that it was repeated again and again, as ''The Godfather'' gave rise to ''The Godfather, Part II'' (1974) and ''The Godfather, Part III'' (1990), both also with screenplays by Mr. Puzo and Mr. Coppola. Playing various Corleones, Mr. Brando, Mr.

Pacino and Robert De Niro gave some of their most memorable screen performances, as did Robert Duvall, James Caan and Diane Keaton in other roles. There has been talk of a possible ''Godfather, Part IV,'' tailored to another Italian-American movie star, Leonardo DiCaprio. Mr. Puzo's agent said the author knew nothing of that. As the Corleones entered mythology, they were surrounded by contradictions. Were they villains or heroes or some hybrid of the two? Don Vito Corleone and his sons were feared and admired, and later they were often parodied. With the help of Mr. Coppola, Mr. Puzo had humanized people who in other fictional and cinematic forms had often been condemned and reviled. The Corleones were, first of all, a family, and there was a bond that extended through the sequels as more and more people throughout the world were touched by their story. Gangsters Thought He Knew Firsthand Because of his insights into crime and crime families, it was assumed that Mr. Puzo wrote from firsthand experience. One of the oddities of his career is that when it came to the Mafia, he was very much an outsider.

As he wrote in 1972 in ''The Godfather Papers and Other Writings,'' ''I'm ashamed to admit that I wrote 'The Godfather' entirely from research. I never met a real honest-to-God gangster. I knew the gambling world pretty good, but that's all.'' After the book was published, he was introduced to several gangsters who, he said, ''refused to believe that I had never been in the rackets.'' He added, ''But all of them loved the book.'' And later they loved the movie, although the author was sometimes subjected to the charge that ''The Godfather'' was unflattering to Italian-Americans. Sometimes it seemed as if the person with the strongest doubts was Mr. Puzo. ''I wished like hell I'd written it better,'' he said. ''I wrote below my gifts in that book.'' He preferred his second novel, ''The Fortunate Pilgrim,'' an autobiographical novel about an immigrant Italian-American family in New York. But there was no denying that ''The Godfather'' and the Corleones transformed the author's life and made him one of the most popular and wealthiest of novelists.

Mario Puzo was born in Hell's Kitchen on the west side of Manhattan. His parents were poor Italian-American immigrants from Naples (not, like the Corleones, from Sicily). His father, who was a railroad trackman for the New York Central Railroad, deserted the family when Mario was 12, leaving his wife, Maria, to raise their seven children. Although there were, of course, gangs on the New York streets, Mr. Puzo stayed clear of them and conformed, he said, to the formidable structure of his family. As he later recalled, his mother often told him to stay home because ''only bad things happen to you outside.'' Mr. Puzo once spoke of his boyhood environment as ''the stone city.'' Advertisement Continue reading the main story In a preface to a new edition of his second novel, ''The Fortunate Pilgrim,'' Mr. Puzo said that his mother was the model for Don Corleone, the Godfather (the character played by Mr. Brando and later, at an earlier age, by Mr. De Niro).

''Whenever the Godfather opened his mouth,'' he wrote, ''in my own mind I heard the voice of my mother.'' He said ''The Fortunate Pilgrim'' began as a book about himself but was taken over by the character of Lucia Santa, based on his mother: ''My mother was a wonderful, handsome woman, but a fairly ruthless person.'' Please verify you're not a robot by clicking the box. Invalid email address. Please re-enter. You must select a newsletter to subscribe to. Sign Up In a 1988 television dramatization of ''The Fortunate Pilgrim,'' Lucia Santa was played by Sophia Loren. He Started Writing While in High School Mr. Puzo began writing stories in high school and dreamed of making writing his career, but as a young man, in common with his father, he worked for the New York Central Railroad. After serving with the Army in Germany in World War II, he attended the City College of New York on the G.I. Bill and wrote short stories. At the same time Mr.

Puzo was working on his first novel, ''Dark Arena.'' Published in 1955, it dealt with an American veteran of World War II who returns to Germany to look up his former mistress. Nine years later he published ''The Fortunate Pilgrim.'' A reviewer in The New York Times Book Review called it ''a small classic.'' In 1960 Bruce Jay Friedman hired him as an assistant editor of a group of men's magazines (Male, Men, etc.). For those magazines Mr. Puzo wrote action stories, many of them versions of World War II battles. Recalling Mr. Puzo in those days, Mr. Friedman once wrote that his memories all had to do with ''size -- the size of his appetite'' for food and for reading books: ''I have a picture of him sitting in a chair with not one but six volumes in his lap, wetting his finger and taking 'tastes' of each one.'' He spoke also of the size of Mr. Puzo's laugh, ''always filled with amazement at some quirk of human behavior.'' Still supporting himself and his family (his wife and five children) as a freelance writer, Mr.

Puzo began ''The Godfather.'' When the paperback rights to the book were suddenly sold for $410,000, he telephoned his mother. She misunderstood and thought he said $40,000. Three times he told her the real figure, and then she said, ''Don't tell nobody.'' Earlier his mother had been skeptical about his work. After ''The Godfather,'' she called him ''a poet.'' While writing the screenplays for the ''Godfather'' movies with Mr. Coppola and winning two Academy Awards, Mr. Puzo also was a writer on other films (including ''Earthquake,'' ''Superman,'' ''Superman II'' and ''The Cotton Club'') and continued his career as a novelist. He wrote ''Fools Die'' in 1978 (about gambling in Las Vegas) and sold the paperback rights for $2.55 million. He then returned to some of the themes in ''The Godfather'' with ''The Sicilian'' in 1984. ''The Sicilian'' was filmed by Michael Cimino in 1987.

''The Fourth K'' was a novel about a Kennedy cousin who becomes President of the United States in the next century. ''The Last Don,'' published in 1996, was turned into a six-hour television mini-series the next year. Advertisement Continue reading the main story In 1968 he bought a house on Long Island in Bay Shore and over the years expanded and remodeled it. As a friend, Joseph Heller, said yesterday, ''It was a model house in a development, and he asked them to leave the furniture. He was quiet, modest and unassuming. He never asked a favor, and he always granted a request.'' In at least one respect, he was changed by his success. ''He was always a gambler,'' Mr. Heller said, '''and he gambled for higher stakes.'' 'I Fancy Myself An Italian Peasant' In an interview with Camille Paglia in The Times in 1997, Mr. Puzo said, ''I fancy myself an Italian peasant who's living comfortably on his little farm.'' Four of his five children lived nearby. After Mr.

Puzo's wife, Erika, died in 1978, her nurse, Carol Gino, became his companion. In addition to Ms. Gino, he is survived by his five children: Virginia McLauglin, Eugene, Anthony, Joseph, all of whom live on Long Island, and Dorothy of Los Angeles; nine grandchildren; his sister, Evelyn Murphy, and his brother, Antony Cleri. Before he died he had completed ''Omerta,'' a novel that Random House plans to publish next summer. He considered this book the third in his Mafia trilogy (after ''The Godfather'' and ''The Last Don''). In the 1997 Paglia interview, Mr. Puzo said he was ''a Romantic writer'' with ''a sympathy for evil.'' He attributed the popularity of ''The Godfather'' to a ''disenchantment with the American justice system'' as well as a craving for close family ties.

''I hate violence,'' said the father of ''The Godfather.'' Mario Puzo - Biography - IMDb Mario Puzo Biography Showing all 15 items Jump to: Overview (3) | Mini Bio (1) | Spouse (1) | Trivia (8) | Personal Quotes (1) | Salary (1) Overview (3) Mario Gianluigi Puzo 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 Earthquake (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) (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 Earthquake (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 The Godfather: Part II (1974). As the final script featured elements of his original, he was one of the two writers credited for Earthquake (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) Mario Puzo: Quotes, Biography, Works, and a List of Books by Author Mario Puzo Quotes more ï¿½ ï¿½ less "A lawyer with a briefcase can steal more than a thousand men with guns.""A lawyer with his briefcase can steal more than a hundred men with guns.""Even the strongest man needs friends.""Friendship and money: oil and water.""He was a degenerate gambler. That is, a man who gambled simply to gamble and must lose. As a hero who goes to war must die. Show me a gambler and I'll show you a loser, show me a hero and I'll show you a corpse.""I believe in America. America's made my fortune.""I have always believed helping your fellow man is profitable in every sense, personally and bottom line.""Like many businessmen of genius he learned that free competition was wasteful, monopoly efficient. And so he simply set about achieving that efficient monopoly.""Never hate your enemies. It affects your judgment.""The only wealth in this world is children, more than all the money, power on earth.""What we think of as our sensitivity is only the higher evolution of terror in a poor dumb beast. We suffer for nothing.

Our own death wish is our only real tragedy." Biography more ï¿½ ï¿½ less Puzo was born in a poor family of Neapolitan immigrants living in the Hell's Kitchen neighborhood of New York. Many of his books draw heavily on this heritage. After graduating from the City College of New York, he joined the United States Army Air Forces in World War II. Due to his poor eyesight, the military did not let him undertake combat duties but made him a public relations officer stationed in Germany. 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, which was published in 1955. At periods in the 1950s and early 1960s, Puzo worked as a writer/editor for publisher Martin Goodman's Magazine Management Company. Puzo, along with other writers like Bruce Jay Friedman, worked for the company line of men's magazines, pulp titles like Male, True Action, and Swank. Under the pseudonym Mario Cleri, Puzo wrote World War II adventure features for True Action.

Puzo's most famous work, The Godfather, was first published in 1969 after he had heard anecdotes about Mafia organizations during his time in pulp journalism. He later said in an interview with Larry King that his principal motivation was to make money. He had already, after all, written two books that had received great reviews, yet had not amounted to much. As a government clerk with five children, he was looking to write something that would appeal to the masses. With a number one bestseller for months on the New York Times Best Seller List, Mario Puzo had found his target audience. The book was later developed into the film The Godfather, directed by Francis Ford Coppola. The movie received 11 Academy Award nominations, winning three, including an Oscar for Puzo for Best Adapted Screenplay. Coppola and Puzo collaborated then to work on sequels to the original film, The Godfather Part II and The Godfather Part III. Puzo 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 Part II.

Puzo also co-wrote Richard Donner's The Movie and the original draft for Superman II. He also collaborated on the stories for the 1982 movie A Time to Die and the 1984 Francis Ford Coppola movie The Cotton Club. Puzo never saw the publication of his penultimate book, Omertï¿½, 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, Jules Siegel, who had worked closely with Puzo at Magazine Management Company, speculated that Omertï¿½ may have been completed by "some talentless hack." Siegel also acknowledges the temptation to "rationalize avoiding what is probably the correct analysis -- that [Puzo] wrote it and it is terrible." Book@arts Puzo died of heart failure on July 2, 1999 at his home in Bay Shore, Long Island, New York. His family now lives in East Islip, New York.

The Runaway Summer of Davie Shaw (1966) Six Graves to Munich (1967), as Mario Cleri The Godfather (1969) The Sicilian (1984) sequel to The Godfather The Fourth K (1991) The Family (2001) (completed by Carla Gino) Nonfiction The Godfather Papers and Other Confessions (1972) Inside Las Vegas (1977) The Godfather Part II (1974) Earthquake (1974) The Godfather Part III (1990) The Discovery (1992) Order of Mario Puzo Books - OrderOfBooks.com Home | Characters | Authors Order of Mario Puzo Books Mario Puzo (1920-1999) was an American author/screenwriter of crime fiction. Mario was best known for Mafia-themed novels, most notably The Godfather. His family were Italian immigrants living in Hell’s Kitchen, which is where he draws much of his material from.

Mario’s goal when he wrote The Godfather was to write a novel to make him money, as he had already gotten favourable reviews for his work, but the books weren’t commercially successful. He then adapted the novel to the classic film alongside Francis Ford Coppola. Puzo died of heart failure at home in 1999. Mario Puzo became a published author in 1955 with his debut novel The Dark Arena. Below is a list of Mario Puzo’s books in order of when they were originally released: Publication Order of Godfather Books The Godfather

Question: What is the most famous book written by Mario Puzo?
Answer: The Godfather