Puzo, Mario (1920-1999), was an American novelist and screenwriter best known for his novel The Godfather (1969). The novel portrays a New York City family involved in organized crime. The narrative describes the family’s fight for power against other underworld families in the United States.
The motion-picture adaptation of The Godfather in 1972 became one of the most popular and acclaimed movies in history. Puzo shared an Academy Award with director Francis Ford Coppola for his screenplay for the film. He again won an Academy Award as coauthor with Coppola of the screenplay for the sequel, The Godfather, Part II (1974). Puzo co-wrote the screenplay with Coppola for the third film in the series, The Godfather, Part III (1990). He also helped write the screenplays for the films Earthquake (1974), Superman (1978), and Superman II (1980).
Puzo was born in New York City on Oct. 15, 1920. His first novel was The Dark Arena (1955), a grim story set in the American occupation of Germany after the end of World War II in 1945. The Fortunate Pilgrim (1964) is a chronicle of Italian immigrant life from the late 1920’s to the 1940’s. Puzo’s next novel, Fools Die (1978), is an account of gambling, publishing, and filmmaking in the United States. The Sicilian (1984) is a crime novel set in Sicily. The Fourth K (1991) is a political novel set in the near future. The Last Don (1996) and Omerta (published in 2000, after Puzo’s death) return to the subject matter of The Godfather. Puzo died on July 2, 1999.
See also Godfather, The .
