Mario Puzo

(October 15, 1920 – July 2, 1999) was an American author, screenwriter and journalist. He is best known for his crime novels about the Mafia, including Fools Die, The Last Don and, 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 The Godfather Part II in 1974. Puzo also wrote the original screen- play for the 1978 film Superman.