Mario Puzo

Mario Gianluigi Puzo (/ˈpuːzoʊ/; Italian: [ˈmaːrjo ˈpuddzo]; October 15, 1920 – July 2, 1999) was an American author, screenwriter and journalist of Italian descent. He is known for his crime novels about the Mafia, most notably The Godfather (1969), which he later co-adapted into a three-part film saga directed by Francis Ford Coppola. He received the Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay for the first film in 1972 and Part II in 1974. Puzo also wrote the original screenplay for the 1978 Superman film. His last novel, The Family, was released posthumously in 2001. 2Life and career Puzo was born in the Hell's Kitchen neighborhood of New York City, into a poor family from Pietradefusi, Province of Avellino, Campania, Italy. 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 195