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William Goldman | |
|---|---|
 Goldman in 1987 | |
| Born | (1931-08-12)August 12, 1931 Chicago, Illinois, U.S. |
| Died | November 16, 2018(2018-11-16) (aged 87) New York City, U.S. |
| Pen name | S. Morgenstern, Harry Longbaugh |
| Occupation |
|
| Education | Oberlin College (BA) Columbia University (MA) |
| Genre | Drama, fiction, literature, thriller |
| Spouse | |
| Children | 2 |
| Relatives | James Goldman (brother) |
William Goldman (August 12, 1931 – November 16, 2018) was an American novelist, playwright, and screenwriter. He first came to prominence in the 1950s as a novelist before turning to screenwriting. Among other accolades, Goldman won two Academy Awards in both writing categories: first for Best Original Screenplay forButch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969) and then for Best Adapted Screenplay forAll the President's Men (1976).
His other well-known works include his thriller novelMarathon Man (1974) and his cult classic comedy/fantasy novelThe Princess Bride (1973), both of which he also adapted for film versions.
Goldman was born in Chicago on August 12, 1931, the second son of Marion (née Weil) and Maurice Clarence Goldman.[1] He grew up inHighland Park, Illinois, and was raisedJewish.[2] Goldman's father was a successful businessman, working in Chicago and in a partnership, but he suffered from alcoholism, which cost him his business. He "came home to live and he was in his pajamas for the last five years of his life," according to Goldman.[3] His father committed suicide while Goldman was still in high school. It was a 15-year-old Goldman who discovered the body. His mother was deaf, which created additional stress in the home.[4]
Goldman attendedOberlin College inOberlin, Ohio. According to his memoirAdventures in the Screen Trade (1983), Goldman began to write when he took a creative-writing course in college. His grades in the class were "horrible".[5] He was an editor of Oberlin's literary magazine. He submitted his short stories to the magazine anonymously; he recalls that the other editors read his submissions and remarked, "We can't possibly publish this shit."[5] He graduated from college in 1952.
At that time, theKorean War was occurring, so he was drafted into theU.S. Army shortly thereafter.[6] Because he knew how to type, he was assigned as a clerk inthe Pentagon, Defense headquarters. He was discharged with the rank ofcorporal in September 1954. He returned to graduate studies under theGI Bill, earning aMaster of Arts degree atColumbia University, graduating in 1956. Throughout this period, he was writing short stories in the evenings, but struggled to have them published.[7]
Goldman did not originally intend to become a screenwriter. His main interests were poetry, short stories, and novels. In 1956, he completed a master's thesis at Columbia University on the comedy of manners in America.[8]
His older brotherJames Goldman was a playwright and screenwriter. They shared an apartment in New York with their friendJohn Kander. Also an alumnus of Oberlin, Kander was working on his Ph.D. in music, and the Goldman brothers wrote thelibretto for his dissertation. Kander was the composer of more than a dozen musicals, includingCabaret andChicago, and all three of them eventually won Academy Awards.[5] On June 25, 1956, Goldman began writing his first novelThe Temple of Gold, completing it in less than three weeks.[9] He sent the manuscript to agentJoe McCrindle, who agreed to represent him; McCrindle submitted the novel to Knopf, who agreed to publish it if he doubled the length. It sold well enough in paperback to launch Goldman on his career.[10] He wrote his second novelYour Turn to Curtsy, My Turn to Bow (1958) in a little more than a week. It was followed bySoldier in the Rain (1960), based on Goldman's time in the military. It sold well in paperback and was turned intoa film, though Goldman had no involvement in the screenplay.
Goldman and his brother received a grant to do some rewriting on the musicalTenderloin (1960). They then collaborated on their own play,Blood, Sweat and Stanley Poole (1961), and on the musical,A Family Affair (1962), written with John Kander. Both plays had short runs.
Goldman began writingBoys and Girls Together, but found that he sufferedwriter's block.[11] His writer's block continued, but he had an idea for the novelNo Way to Treat a Lady (1964) based on theBoston Strangler. He wrote it in two weeks, and it was published under the pseudonym Harry Longbaugh—a variant spelling of theSundance Kid's real name, which Goldman had been researching since the late 1950s. He then finishedBoys and Girls Together, which became a best seller.[12]
Cliff Robertson read an early draft ofNo Way to Treat a Lady and hired Goldman to adapt the short storyFlowers for Algernon for the movies. Before he had even finished the script, Robertson recommended him to do some rewriting on the spy spoofMasquerade (1965), in which Robertson was starring. Goldman did that, then finished theAlgernon script.[13] Robertson disliked it, though, and hiredStirling Silliphant, instead, to work on what becameCharly (1968).[5][14]
ProducerElliot Kastner had optioned the film rights toBoys and Girls Together. Goldman suggested that Kastner make a film of theLew Archer novels ofRoss Macdonald and offered to do an adaptation. Kastner agreed, and Goldman choseThe Moving Target. The result wasHarper (1966) starringPaul Newman, which was a big hit.[15]
Goldman returned to novels, writingThe Thing of It Is... (1967). He taught atPrinceton and wished to write something, but he could not come up with an idea for a novel. Instead, he wroteButch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, his first original screenplay, which he had been researching for eight years. He sold it for $400,000, the highest price ever paid for an original screenplay at that time.[5] The movie was released in 1969, a critical and commercial success that earned Goldman anAcademy Award for Best Original Screenplay. The money enabled Goldman to take some time off and research the nonfictionThe Season: A Candid Look at Broadway (1969).[16]
Goldman adapted Steven Linakis's novelIn the Spring the War Ended into a screenplay, but it was not filmed. Neither were scripts ofThe Thing of It Is, which came close to being made several times in the early '70s, andPapillon, on which he worked for six months and three drafts; the book was filmed, but little of Goldman's work was used.[17] He returned to novels withFather's Day (1971), a sequel toThe Thing of It Is…. He also wrote the screenplay forThe Hot Rock (1972).
Goldman's next novel wasThe Princess Bride (1973); he also wrote a screenplay, but it was more than a decade before the film was made. That same year, he contracted a rare strain of pneumonia, which resulted in his being hospitalized and affected his health for months. This inspired him into a burst of creativity, including several novels and screenplays.[18][19]
Goldman's novel writing moved in a more commercial direction following the death of his editorHiram Haydn in late 1973.[20] This started with the children's bookWigger (1974), followed by the thrillerMarathon Man (1974), which he sold to Delacorte as part of a three-book deal worth $2 million. He sold movie rights toMarathon Man for $450,000.[21]
His second book for Delacorte was the thrillerMagic (1976), which he sold to Joe Levine for $1 million. He did the screenplays for the film versions ofMarathon Man (1976) andMagic (1978). He also wrote the screenplay forThe Stepford Wives (1975), which he says was an unpleasant experience because directorBryan Forbes rewrote most of it; Goldman tried to take his name off it, but they would not let him.[22] He was reunited with directorGeorge Roy Hill and starRobert Redford onThe Great Waldo Pepper (1975), which Goldman wrote from an idea of Hill.
Redford hired Goldman to write the script ofAll the President's Men (1976).
Goldman wrote the famous line "Follow the money" for the screenplay ofAll the President's Men; while the line is often attributed toDeep Throat, it is not found inBob Woodward's notes nor in Woodward andCarl Bernstein's book or articles.[23] The book does have the far less-quotable line from Woodward to SenatorSam Ervin, who was about to begin his own investigation: "The key was the secret campaign cash, and it should all be traced..."[24]
Goldman was unhappy with the movie.The Guardian says that he changes the subject when asked about the movie, but suggests that his displeasure may be because he was pressured to add a romantic interest to the film.[5] In his memoir, Goldman says of the film that if he could live his life over, he would have written the same screenplays, "Only I wouldn't have come nearAll the President's Men."[25] He said that he has never written as many versions of a screenplay as he did for that movie.[25] Speaking of his choice to write the script, he said: "Many movies that get made are not long on art and are long on commerce. This was a project that seemed it might be both. You don't get many and you can't turn them down."[9]
InMichael Feeney Callan's bookRobert Redford: The Biography, Redford is reported as stating that Goldman did not actually write the screenplay for the movie,[26] a story that was excerpted inVanity Fair.[27]Written By magazine conducted a thorough investigation of the screenplay's many drafts and concluded, "Goldman was the sole author ofAll The President's Men. Period."[25]
Goldman had a happier experience when hired byJoseph E. Levine to writeA Bridge Too Far (1977) based on the book byCornelius Ryan. Goldman later wrote a promotional book,Story of A Bridge Too Far (1977), as a favor to Levine, and signed a three-film contract with the producer worth $1.5 million.[21]
He wrote a novel about Hollywood,Tinsel (1979), which sold well. He wrote two more films for Levine,The Sea Kings andYear of the Comet, but did not write a third. He did a script aboutTom Horn;Mr. Horn (1979), was filmed for TV.[28]
Goldman was the original screenwriter for the film version ofTom Wolfe's novelThe Right Stuff; directorPhilip Kaufman wrote his own screenplay without using Goldman's material, because Kaufman wanted to includeChuck Yeager as a character; Goldman did not.[16]
He wrote a number of other screenplays around this time, includingThe Ski Bum; a musical adaptation ofGrand Hotel (1932) that was going to be directed byNorman Jewison; andRescue, the story of the rescue ofElectronic Data Systems employees during theIranian Revolution. None were made into films.
After several of his screenplays were not filmed, Goldman found himself in less demand as a screenwriter. He published a memoir about his professional life in Hollywood,Adventures in the Screen Trade (1983), which summed up the entertainment industry in the opening sentence of the book, "Nobody knows anything."[29][30][31]
He focused on novels:Control (1982),The Silent Gondoliers (1983),The Color of Light (1984),Heat (1985), andBrothers (1986). The latter, a sequel toMarathon Man, was Goldman's last published novel.
Goldman attributed his return to Hollywood to signing with talent agentMichael Ovitz atCreative Artists Agency. He went to work onMemoirs of an Invisible Man, although he left the project relatively early.
Hollywood's interest in Goldman was reawakened; he wrote the scripts for film versions ofHeat (1986) andThe Princess Bride (1987). The latter was directed byRob Reiner forCastle Rock, which hired Goldman to write the screenplay for Rob Reiner's 1990adaptation ofStephen King's novelMisery, considered "one of [King's] least adaptable novels".[16] The movie, for whichKathy Bates received anAcademy Award, performed well with critics and at the box office.[16]
Goldman continued to write nonfiction regularly. He published a collection of sports writing,Wait Till Next Year (1988) and an account of his time as a judge at both the Cannes Film Festival and the Miss America Pageant,Hype and Glory (1990).
Goldman began to work steadily as a "script doctor", doing uncredited work on films includingTwins (1988),A Few Good Men (1992),Indecent Proposal (1993),Last Action Hero (1993),Malice (1994),Dolores Claiborne (1995), andExtreme Measures. Most of these movies were by Castle Rock.
He was credited on several other movies:Year of the Comet (1992), which was eventually filmed by Castle Rock, but was not a success; the biopicChaplin (1992), directed byRichard Attenborough;Maverick (1994), a popular hit;The Chamber (1996), from a novel byJohn Grisham;The Ghost and the Darkness (1996), an original script based on a true story;Absolute Power (1997) forClint Eastwood; andThe General's Daughter (1999), from the novel byNelson DeMille.
Goldman wrote another volume of memoirs,Which Lie Did I Tell? (2000), and a collection of his essays,The Big Picture: Who Killed Hollywood? and Other Essays (2001).
His later screenplay credits includeHearts in Atlantis (2001) andDreamcatcher (2003), both from novels by Stephen King. He adaptedMisery into a stage play, which made its debut on Broadway in 2015 in a production starringBruce Willis andLaurie Metcalf.[32]
His script forHeat was filmed again asWild Card (2015), starring Jason Statham.
After his death, screenwriterPeter Morgan wrote that Goldman had completed a final book on Hollywood, comparing the production of three different films, including Morgan'sFrost/Nixon, but that the book had run into legal problems and was never published.[33] Writers Tony Gilroy and Scott Frank said Goldman spent considerable time mentoring and advising other writers.[34]
In their feature on Goldman,IGN said, "It's a testament to just how truly great William Goldman is at his best that I actually had to think hard about what to select as his 'Must-See' cinematic work".[16] The site described his script forAll the President's Men as a "model of storytelling clarity... and artful manipulation".[16]
Art Kleiner, writing in 1987, said, "William Goldman, a very skilled storyteller, wrote several of the most well-known films of the past 18 years—includingMarathon Man, part ofAll the President's Men, andButch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid."[35]
Three of Goldman's scripts have been voted into theWriters Guild of America hall-of-fame's 101 Greatest Screenplays list.[25]
In his book evaluating Goldman's work,William Goldman: The Reluctant Storyteller (2014), Sean Egan said Goldman's achievements were made "without ever lunging for the lowest common denominator. Although his body of work has been consumed by millions, he has never let his populism overwhelm a glittering intelligence and penchant for upending expectation."[36]
In 2000, Goldman said of his writing:
Someone pointed out to me that the most sympathetic characters in my books always died miserably. I didn't consciously know I was doing that. I didn't. I mean, I didn't wake up each morning and think, today I think I'll make a really terrific guyso I can kill him. It just worked out that way. I haven't written a novel in over a decade... and someone very wise suggested that I might have stopped writing novels because my rage was gone. It's possible. All this doesn't mean a helluva lot, except probably there is a reason I was the guy who gave Babe over to Szell in the "Is it safe?" scene and that I was the guy who put Westley into The Machine. I think I have a way with pain. When I come to that kind of sequence I have a certain confidence that I can make it play. Because I come from such a dark corner.[37]
Goldman also said of his work:"I [don't] like my writing. I wrote a movie calledButch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid and I wrote a novel calledThe Princess Bride and those are the only two things I've ever written, not that I'm proud of, but that I can look at without humiliation."[38]
He won twoAcademy Awards: one forBest Original Screenplay forButch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, andBest Adapted Screenplay forAll the President's Men. He also won twoEdgar Awards, from theMystery Writers of America, for Best Motion Picture Screenplay: forHarper in 1967, and forMagic (adapted from his 1976 novel) in 1979. In 1985, he received theLaurel Award for Screenwriting Achievement from theWriters Guild of America.
He was married to Ilene Jones from 1961 until their divorce in 1991; the couple had two daughters, Jenny and Susanna.[39] Ilene, a native ofTexas, modeled forNeiman Marcus; Ilene's brother was actorAllen Case.[40][41]
Goldman was survived by his partner of nineteen years, Susan Burden, his daughter, Jenny, and a grandson.[42] His daughter, Susanna, died in 2015.
Goldman said that his favorite writers wereMiguel de Cervantes,Anton Chekhov,Somerset Maugham,Irwin Shaw, andLeo Tolstoy.[9]
He was a die-hard fan of theNew York Knicks, having held season tickets atMadison Square Garden for over 40 years. He contributed a writing section toBill Simmons's bestselling book about the history of the NBA, in which he discussed the career ofDave DeBusschere.
Goldman died at hisManhattan apartment on November 16, 2018, due tocolon cancer complicated bypneumonia. He was 87.[43][44][45]
Consultant
Uncredited
Source:[49]
The Thing of It Is series:
Babe Levy series:
Stand-alones:
I had heard that the rules were different in Hollywood, where, as the screenwriter William Goldman famously put it, 'nobody knows anything.'
...it becomes more apparent every year that William Goldman's great rule of studio film-making applies to the independent world as well: Nobody knows anything.
