JOSEPH L. MANKIEWICZ
Name: Joseph Leo Mankiewicz
Born: 11 February 1909 Wilkes-Barre
Died: 5 February 1993 Bedford, New York
Joseph Leo Mankiewicz (February 11, 1909 – February 5, 1993) was an American
screenwriter, director, and producer.
Born in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania to Franz Mankiewicz and Johanna Blumenau,
Jewish immigrants from Germany, Mankiewicz moved with his family to New York
City where he graduated in 1924 from Stuyvesant High School. In 1928, he
obtained a bachelor's degree from Columbia University. For a time he worked in
Berlin, Germany, as a foreign correspondent for the Chicago Tribune newspaper
before being lured into the motion picture business.
During his long career in Hollywood, Mankiewicz wrote forty-eight screenplays,
including All About Eve, for which he won an Academy Award. He also produced
more than twenty films including The Philadelphia Story which was nominated for
the Academy Award for Best Picture in 1941. However, he is best known for the
films he directed, twice winning the Academy Award for Directing. In 1944, he
produced The Keys of the Kingdom, which starred his wife, Rose Stradner, and
Gregory Peck.
In 1958, Mankiewicz directed The Quiet American an adaptation of Graham Greene's
1955 novel about the seed of American military involvement in what would become
the Vietnam War. Mankiewicz, under career pressure from the climate of anti-Communism
and the Hollywood blacklist, distorted the message of Greene's book, changing
major parts of the story to appeal to a national audience. A cautionary tale
about America's blind support for "anti-Communists" was turned into, according
to Greene, a "propaganda film for America."
He was the younger brother of Herman J. Mankiewicz. His sons are writer/director
Tom Mankiewicz and producer Christopher Mankiewicz. Daughter is Alexandra
Mankiewicz.
On his passing in 1993, Joseph Mankiewicz was interred in Saint Matthew's
Episcopal Churchyard cemetery, Bedford, New York.
Name: Joseph Leo Mankiewicz
Born: 11 February 1909 Wilkes-Barre
Died: 5 February 1993 Bedford, New York
Joseph Leo Mankiewicz (February 11, 1909 – February 5, 1993) was an American
screenwriter, director, and producer.
Born in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania to Franz Mankiewicz and Johanna Blumenau,
Jewish immigrants from Germany, Mankiewicz moved with his family to New York
City where he graduated in 1924 from Stuyvesant High School. In 1928, he
obtained a bachelor's degree from Columbia University. For a time he worked in
Berlin, Germany, as a foreign correspondent for the Chicago Tribune newspaper
before being lured into the motion picture business.
During his long career in Hollywood, Mankiewicz wrote forty-eight screenplays,
including All About Eve, for which he won an Academy Award. He also produced
more than twenty films including The Philadelphia Story which was nominated for
the Academy Award for Best Picture in 1941. However, he is best known for the
films he directed, twice winning the Academy Award for Directing. In 1944, he
produced The Keys of the Kingdom, which starred his wife, Rose Stradner, and
Gregory Peck.
In 1958, Mankiewicz directed The Quiet American an adaptation of Graham Greene's
1955 novel about the seed of American military involvement in what would become
the Vietnam War. Mankiewicz, under career pressure from the climate of anti-Communism
and the Hollywood blacklist, distorted the message of Greene's book, changing
major parts of the story to appeal to a national audience. A cautionary tale
about America's blind support for "anti-Communists" was turned into, according
to Greene, a "propaganda film for America."
He was the younger brother of Herman J. Mankiewicz. His sons are writer/director
Tom Mankiewicz and producer Christopher Mankiewicz. Daughter is Alexandra
Mankiewicz.
On his passing in 1993, Joseph Mankiewicz was interred in Saint Matthew's
Episcopal Churchyard cemetery, Bedford, New York.