Young mario puzo biography
American novelist, best-known for his Godfather saga. Puzo's novel stayed on The New York Times' best-seller list for sixty-seven weeks. The work had a deep impact on American society through its film adaptation, and the saying "I'll make him an offer he can't refuse" has became a clich&#;. However, Puzo always claimed that he had never met a gangster in his life before writing his book.
Mario Puzo was born into an immigrant family in New York City in the area known as "Hell's Kitchen". Both of his parents, Antonio and Maria Le Conti Puzo, were illiterate immigrants from Avellino, a town outside Naples. His father worked as a railway trackman for the New York Central Railroad. Puzo's mother had four children from a previous marriage; her first husband had been killed in a dokcs accident. At one time or another Puzo and his brothers also worked for the railroad. "But everybody hated their jobs except my oldest brother who had a night shift and spent most of his working hours sleeping in freight cars," Puzo recalled.
When Puzo was in his early teen, his father deserted the family and they moved to a housing project in the Bronx. His brother Antionio was diagnosed with schizophrenia and institutionalized. The discovery of public libraries and the world of literature led Puzo in the direction of writing, although his mother wanted him to become a railroad clerk, and had no understanding of his omnivorous reading. After graduating from Commerce High School, Puzo worked as a switchboard attendant for the railroad. During World War II her served in the US Air Force stationed in East Asia and Germany. For his combat service, he earned numerous decorations, though he never fired a shot &#; he had poor eyesight. After the war he stayed in Germany as a civilian public relations man for the Air Force. Puzo then studied at the New School for Social Research, New York, and at Columbia University. During this period he took class
Puzo, Mario,
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Biography
Mario Puzo was born in to Neopolitan parents in the Italian immigrant neighborhood of Hell's Kitchen in New York City. He served in the U.S. Army during World War II and was stationed in Germany. Although he did not engage in combat activities due to poor eyesight. Upon returning home, he enrolled at the New School for Social Research on the GI Bill and embarked on a professional life as a writer. During the s and s Puzo wrote essays and articles for Martin Goodman's Magazine Management company as well as a number of popular men's magazines, including Male and Swank. His first novel, The Dark Arena, was published by Random House in It was well-received but was not a financial success. Ten years later, in , Puzo published his semi-autobiographical novel, The Fortunate Pilgrim, which recounted his mother's experience emigrating to the United States from Italy. While The Fortunate Pilgrim was praised by critics-The New York Times dubbed it "a small classic"-the book's poor sales left Puzo in financial peril. The combined profits from Puzo's first two novels totaled $6, in the s. Born October 15, Died July 02, Website Genre Literature & Fiction, Classics, Mafia edit data American author, screenwriter, and journalist (–) Mario Francis Puzo (; Italian:[ˈmaːrjoˈputtso,-ddzo]; October 15, – July 2, ) was an American author and screenwriter. He wrote crime novels about the Italian-American Mafia and Sicilian Mafia, most notably The Godfather (), which he later co-adapted into a film trilogy directed by Francis Ford Coppola. He received the Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay for the first film in and for Part II in Puzo also wrote the original screenplay for the Superman film and its sequel. His final novel, The Family, was released posthumously in Puzo was born in the Hell's Kitchen section of New York City to Italian immigrants from the Province of Avellino; his father was from Pietradefusi and his mother from Ariano Irpino. When Puzo was 12, his father, who worked as a trackman for the New York Central Railroad, was committed to the Pilgrim State Hospital for schizophrenia, and his wife Maria was left to raise their seven children. Mario Puzo served in the United States Army Air Forces in Germany in World War II, and later graduated from the City College of New York. Puzo married a German woman, Erika Lina Broske, with whom he had five children. When Erika died of breast cancer at the age of 57 in , her nurse, Carol Gino, became Puzo's companion. In , Puzo's first short story, "The Last Christmas," was published in American Vanguard and republished in the anthology New Voices: American Writing Today #1. After the war, he wrote his first book, the novel The Dark Arena, which was published in In , Bruce Jay Friedman hired Puzo as an assistant editor of a group of men's pulp magazines with titles such as Male, Men. Under the pen name Mario Cleri, Puzo wrote World War II adventure features for magazine True Action
According to Puzo, writing The Godfather was a means to financial end. He was 45 years old, a father of five, and knee-deep in debt (owing "$20, to relatives, finance companies, banks and assorted bookmakers and loan sharks"). Puzo recounted it was "really time to grow up and sell out." His publisher encouraged him to write about Italian Americans and suggested that a book about the Mafia would sell. Published in , The Godfather chronicles the business dealings and melodrama of the Corleone crime family. The novel spent sixty-seven weeks on The New York Times best seller list and went on to sell an estimated 21 million copies worldwide. After the book's unexpected success Puzo told the press that he "wished like hell" he had "written it better. Mario Puzo
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 , 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
At periods in the s and early s, Puzo worked as a writer/editor for publisher Martin Goodman's Magazine Management Company. Puzo, along with other writers lPuzo 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 , 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
At periods in the s and early s, 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 after he had heard anecdotes about Mafia organizations during his tim Mario Puzo
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