Remembering Mario Puzo: Celebrated writer and creator of ‘The Godfather’

Mario Puzo is best known for his best-selling novel, ‘The Godfather.’ Made into a chilling crime drama in 1972, its film version focused on an Italian family.

Popular author-scriptwriter Mario Puzo is worldwide known for his best-selling novel, ‘The Godfather.’ Made into a chilling crime drama in 1972, its film version focused on an Italian family. It chronicled the life of patriarch Vito Corleone (Brando), and 

Mario Puzo joined New York's New School for Social Research and Columbia University before becoming a full time writer. He had also worked for a script writing firm along with Bruce Jay Friedman and Dorothy Gallagher.(Francis Ford Coppola, Robert Evans, Mario Puzo, and Albert S. Ruddy) (Photo | IMDB)

'The Godfather' won the Oscars for Best Picture, Best Actor (Brando) and Best Adapted Screenplay (for Puzo and Coppola) and was followed by sequels, ‘The Godfather Part II’ (1974) and ‘The Godfather Part III’ (1990). (Photo | IMDB)

'The Dark Arena' and 'The Fortunate Pilgrim' are two of his other critically acclaimed novels. Mario Puzo died in 1999 when he was working on the storyline of fourth 'Godfather' movie. (Photo | IMDB)

Considered as a masterpiece in world cinema, the film had had a tremendous influence on Indian movies as well. Some of the prominent Indian movies, like Kamal Haasan’s ‘Nayakan’ and Ram Gopal Varma’s ‘Sarkar’ trilogy were the major adaptations of the Hollywood flick. (YouTube screengrab)

'I respect those that tel me the truth, no matter how hard it is.' (Photo | IMDB)