Mario Puzo Net Worth

What is Mario Puzo's Net Worth?

Mario Puzo was an author and screenwriter who had a net worth of $20 million at the time of his death. Mario Puzo was best known for writing the crime novel "The Godfather" and co-writing its three film adaptations with Francis Ford Coppola. For the first two films, he won Academy Awards for Best Adapted Screenplay. Puzo also co-wrote the screenplays for the 1978 film "Superman" and its 1980 sequel.

Early Life and Education

Mario Puzo was born on October 15, 1920 in New York City to Italian immigrants from the province of Avellino. He had six siblings. When Puzo was 12 years old, his father was committed to Pilgrim State Hospital for schizophrenia; the kids were subsequently raised by their mother, Maria. During World War II, Puzo served in the United States Army Air Forces in Germany. He later graduated from the City College of New York.

Novels

Puzo's first novel, "The Dark Arena," was published in 1955. It follows an American World War II veteran who returns to Germany to be with his girlfriend. Puzo's next novel was "The Fortunate Pilgrim," about a family of Italian immigrants in New York City; it was published in 1965. He followed that in 1966 with "The Runaway Summer of Davie Shaw," a children's novel about a boy who embarks across the United States on a pony. In 1967, Puzo published "Six Graves to Munich" under the pseudonym Mario Cleri. An expansion of a short story that had appeared in Male magazine, it concerns a former American World War II intelligence agent who seeks revenge on the Gestapo who captured and tried to kill him. Puzo's next novel would be the one to catapult him to fame: "The Godfather." Published in 1969, the crime novel focuses on the machinations of a fictional Mafia family in postwar New York City. "The Godfather" was a massive success, remaining on the New York Times Best Seller list for 67 weeks and selling more than nine million copies in two years. Puzo later wrote a sequel, "The Sicilian," which was published in 1984.

Between "The Godfather" and "The Sicilian," Puzo wrote "Fools Die," which was published in 1978. Set in New York, Las Vegas, and Hollywood, it deals with the worlds of publishing, gambling, and film, and features a protagonist largely based on Puzo himself. Following "The Sicilian" in 1984, Puzo wrote "The Fourth K," set during the presidency of fictional Kennedy family member Francis Xavier Kennedy. It was published in 1990. Six years later, Puzo published "The Last Don," about an aging Mafia don and his family's struggle to retain power. That would be Puzo's final novel released during his lifetime, as he passed away at the end of the decade. His novel "Omertà" was released posthumously in 2000, and his last novel, "The Family," was completed by his longtime girlfriend Carol Gino and published in 2001. The latter focuses on the despotic Pope Alexander VI and his scheming children Cesare and Lucrezia Borgia.

Short Stories and Nonfiction

Puzo published his first short story, "The Last Christmas," in American Vanguard magazine in 1950. In the 1960s, going under the pseudonym Mario Cleri, he penned a number of World War II adventure stories for the pulp magazines Male and True Action. Also as Cleri, he wrote the nonfiction books "Test Yourself: Are You Heading for a Nervous Breakdown?" and "The Six Million Killer Sharks That Terrorize Our Shores." Later works of nonfiction by Puzo include "The Godfather Papers and Other Confessions" (1972) and "Inside Las Vegas" (1977).

Screenplays

Puzo began his screenwriting career adapting his hit novel "The Godfather" into a feature film, directed and co-written by Francis Ford Coppola. Starring Marlon Brando, Al Pacino, James Caan, Robert Duvall, and Diane Keaton, among others, it was released in 1972 to enormous critical and commercial success. In addition to becoming the highest-grossing film of the year, it received 11 Academy Award nominations and won three, including Best Adapted Screenplay for Puzo and Coppola. "The Godfather" went on to be widely regarded as one of the greatest films ever made. Puzo and Coppola reunited for "The Godfather Part II," which came out in 1974. Another hit, it won six Academy Awards, including another Best Adapted Screenplay trophy for Puzo and Coppola. Like the first film, it also won Best Picture. Puzo had a screenwriting credit on another film in 1974, the disaster drama "Earthquake."

In the latter half of the 1970s, Puzo co-wrote the screenplay to the superhero film "Superman," which was released in 1978. Starring Christopher Reeve as the eponymous Man of Steel, it became the second-highest-grossing film of the year. Puzo went on to co-write the screenplay to the sequel, "Superman II," which came out in 1980. A decade later, he reunited with Coppola for the third and final film in the "Godfather" film trilogy, "The Godfather Part III." Although it was mostly successful critically and commercially, earning seven Academy Award nominations, it failed to receive a nomination for Best Adapted Screenplay. Puzo subsequently co-wrote the screenplay to the historical adventure film "Christopher Columbus: The Discovery," directed by John Glen and released in 1992.

Personal Life and Death

Puzo was married to Erika Lina Broske from 1946 until her passing from breast cancer in 1978. Together, they had five children. Puzo went on to have a longtime relationship with his wife's nurse, Carol Gino.

On July 2, 1999, Puzo passed away from heart failure at his home in New York. He was 78 years of age.