Mario Gianluigi Puzo (1920 –1999) was an American author known for his novels about the Mafia, especially The Godfather (1969)

The canon of crime fiction: The Godfather by Mario Puzo.

Writings

Stout started his literary career in the 1910s writing for the pulps, publishing romance, adventure, and some borderline detective stories. Rex Stout's first stories appeared among others in All-Story Magazine. He sold articles and stories to a variety of magazines, and became a full-time writer in 1927. Stout lost the money he had made as a businessman in 1929.

In Paris in 1929 he wrote his first book, How Like a God, an unusual psychological story written in the second person. During the course of his career Stout mastered a variety of literary forms, including the short story, the novel, and science fiction, among them a pioneering political thriller, The President Vanishes (1934).

After he returned to the U.S. Stout turned to writing detective fiction. The first was Fer-de-Lance, which introduced Nero Wolfe and his assistant Archie Goodwin. The novel was published by Farrar & Rinehart in October 1934, and in abridged form as Point of Death in The American Magazine (November 1934). In 1937, Stout created Dol Bonner, a female private detective who would reappear in his Nero Wolfe stories. After 1938 Stout focused solely on the mystery field. Stout continued writing the Wolfe series -- at least one adventure per year -- until his death in 1975.

During WWII Stout cut back on his detective writing, joined the Fight for Freedom organization, and wrote propaganda. He hosted three weekly radio shows, and coordinated the volunteer services of American writers to help the war effort. After the war Stout returned to writing Nero Wolfe novels, and took up the role of gentleman farmer on his estate at High Meadows in Brewster, north of New York City. He served as President of the Authors Guild and of the Mystery Writers of America. In 1959 he received the Grand Master Award from the latter organization.

The Wolfe Pack, an organization of Stout and Wolfe aficionados, holds events for readers of the series including bimonthly book discussions and an annual Assembly and Banquet in New York, and publishes the biennial Gazette.

Major post-war Nero Wolfe books: The Second Confession (1949); The Black Mountain (1954); Before Midnight (1955); Too Many Clients (1960); Gambit (1962).

Puzo was born on October 15, 1920, into a poor family of Sicilian immigrants living in the Hell's Kitchen neighborhood of Manhattan, New York City. 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 as a corporal and was stationed in Asia and Germany. His first book, The Dark Arena, came out in 1955.

His most famous work, The Godfather, was first published in 1969 after he had heard anecdotes about Mafia organizations during his time in pulp journalism.

The Godfather was later developed into a trilogy of popular, highly-acclaimed films directed by Francis Ford Coppola released in 1972, 1974 and 1990.

In addition to co-writing the screenplay with Coppola, Puzo also 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 1978's Superman: The Movie and 1980s Superman II.

Puzo never saw the publication of his last book, Omertà, but the manuscript was finished and so became his last work. In a review originally published in the San Francisco Chronicle, Jules Siegel, who had worked closely with Puzo at Magazine Management Company, doubted that Puzo had actually finished the novel, and expressed the view that it may have been completed by "some talentless hack."

Puzo died of heart failure on July 2, 1999 at his home in Bay Shore, Long Island, New York.

The Godfather is a novel that details the story of a fictitious Sicilian Mafia family settled in USA and headed by Don Vito Corleone, who became synonymous with the Italian Mafia. The novel covers the years 1945 to 1955, and also provides the backstory of Vito Corleone from early childhood to adulthood. The book made the English dictionary richer with new words like consiglieri, caporegime, Cosa Nostra, and omertà.

Much controversy surrounds the title of the book and its underworld implications. Although it is widely reported that Puzo was inspired to use "Godfather" as a designator for a Mafia leader from his experience as a reporter, the term "The Godfather" was first used in connection with the Mafia during Joe Valachi's testimony during the 1963 Congressional Hearing on Organized Crime.

The Godfather referred to in the title is Vito Corleone, whose surname recalls the town of Corleone, Sicily. Similarly, the maiden name of Corleone's mother is Corigliano, named after the town of Corigliano Calabro, Calabria; an area well known for 'Ndrangheta activity. Vito has four biological children: Santino "Sonny" Corleone, Frederico "Fredo" Corleone, Michael Corleone, and Costanza "Connie" Corleone. He also has an informally adopted son, Tom Hagen, who became the Corleones' consigliere. He is also the godfather of a famous singer and movie star Johnny Fontane.

In 1972, a film adaptation of the novel was released, starring Marlon Brando as Don Vito Corleone, Al Pacino as Michael Corleone, and directed by Francis Ford Coppola. Mario Puzo assisted with writing the screenplay and with other production tasks. The film grossed approximately $134 million and won various awards, including three Academy Awards, five Golden Globes and a Grammy and is considered to be one of the greatest films of all time. The sequel, The Godfather, Part II won 6 Oscars, and became the first sequel to win the Oscar for Best Picture.

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