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Published
15
Film credits
30
Books
5
Awards
William Goldman won two Academy Awards for Best Original Screenplay Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, 1969 and Best Adapted Screenplay All the President’s Men, 1976. He wrote the novels Marathon Man and The Princess Bride, adapting the latter into the 1987 film. His maxim ‘Nobody knows anything’ became a Hollywood staple, and his books Adventures in the Screen Trade and Which Lie Did I Tell? are required reading for screenwriters.
Names, aliases, and relatives of William Goldman — birth name, kin, and personal ties.
William Goldman by the numbers — life, work, and family.
William Goldman — early life, career, personal life, and legacy.
Goldman grew up in Highland Park, Illinois, the younger brother of James Goldman, who later became a screenwriter. His parents were Marion Weil and Maurice Clarence Goldman, descendants of Jewish emigrants from Austria, Germany, and Bohemia; he was a fourth-generation American.
He earned a B.A. from Oberlin College in 1952 and an M.A. from Columbia University in 1956.
Goldman published his first novel The Temple of Gold in 1957. His first screenplay was Masquerade in 1965. He won the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay for Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid 1969. That film was the first of five he wrote for Robert Redford: The Hot Rock 1972, The Great Waldo Pepper 1975, All the President’s Men 1976, and A Bridge Too Far 1977. He adapted his own novel Marathon Man 1976 and later wrote the screenplay for The Princess Bride 1987, based on his novel. Goldman worked as a script doctor on many uncredited drafts. He turned down offers to write The Godfather 1972 and Superman 1978.
Goldman married Ilene Jones on April 15, 1961; they divorced in 1991. They had two daughters: Jenny Rebecca born 1962 and Susanna born 1965, died 2015. After the divorce, he became the only man to judge both the Cannes Film Festival and the Miss America Pageant in the same year, an experience he wrote about in the memoir Hype and Glory. He was a red wine connoisseur and a lifelong New York Knicks fan, holding season tickets for over 40 years.
Three of Goldman’s films are in the National Film Registry: Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, All the President’s Men, and The Princess Bride. He won the Laurel Award for lifetime achievement in screenwriting in 1985 and the Writers Guild of America Award. His books Adventures in the Screen Trade and Which Lie Did I Tell? are required reading for screenwriters, and his maxim Nobody knows anything is still quoted in Hollywood.
The complete filmography of William Goldman — every film, TV show, and documentary credit, ranked by popularity.
Every award, honor, and recognition received by William Goldman — Grammys, hall-of-fame inductions, civic honors, lifetime achievements.
William Goldman's bibliography — every authored, edited, and co-written book, ranked by edition count.
A wall of memorable lines from William Goldman — lyrics, interviews, and off-the-cuff remarks captured over a lifetime.
I Make a Point of Never Reading Anything I’ve Written in Rewrites.
Directors – Even Though We All Know from the Media’s Portrayal of Them That They Are Men and Women of Wisdom and Artistic Vision, Masters of the Subtle Use of Symbolism – Are More Often Than Not a Bunch of Insecure Assholes.
Understand This: All the Sleaze You’ve Heard About Hollywood? All the Illiterate Scumbags Who Scuttle Down the Corridors of Power? They Are There, All Right, and Worse Than You Can Imagine.
I Know an Author Whose Book Was Optioned for a Movie, on the Condition That the Main Character Be Made a Much Younger Man. When the Wind Is Right I Can Almost Hear His Screams.
If Crime Didn’t Pay, There Would Be No Crime.
Little-known facts about William Goldman — origins, oddities, and behind-the-scenes details from a public life.
Goldman’s writing routine involved leaving his Manhattan apartment each morning to work in a nearby office. By 5 p.m. he was happy to stop and enjoy the day, admitting, ‘The sooner I’m done, the sooner I can go to the movies.
He turned down the opportunity to write The Godfather 1972 and Superman 1978.
Rumored to be the true author of the Academy Award-winning screenplay of Good Will Hunting 1997, Goldman denied authorship at a Writers Guild of America meeting. He said he merely met with Ben Affleck and Matt Damon for one day to offer encouragement and suggest cutting an FBI subplot.
Goldman believed Rocky 1976 beat All the President’s Men 1976 for the Best Picture Oscar due to its box office and the Hollywood love for Sylvester Stallone’s rags-to-riches story.
He wrote the screenplays for five films starring Robert Redford: Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid 1969, The Hot Rock 1972, The Great Waldo Pepper 1975, All the President’s Men 1976, and A Bridge Too Far 1977.
He knew he’d succeed as a screenwriter after writing the opening scene in Harper 1966 where Harper recycles coffee grounds, creating empathy via Paul Newman’s performance. Ironically, that scene was the last thing he wrote for the script.
First editions of Goldman’s novels vary in price: a first edition of Marathon Man 1976 can exceed $100, while The Princess Bride 1987 may sell for over $500.
Goldman was recruited as a Hollywood screenwriter after publishing the novel Boys and Girls Together, still in print after 40 years. An earlier novel, Soldier in the Rain, had already been bought for film adaptation in 1963.
Three of his films have been selected for the National Film Registry: Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid 1969, All the President’s Men 1976, and The Princess Bride 1987.
In 2000, Goldman published a sequel to his 1982 book Adventures in the Screen Trade titled Which Lie Did I Tell?
He had two daughters with his wife Ilene Jones: Jenny Rebecca born 1962 and Susanna born 1965, died 2015.
Goldman wrote two books about show business: Adventures in the Screen Trade and Hype and Glory. He coined the famous Hollywood quote Nobody knows anything.
He won the 1985 Laurel Award for lifetime achievement in screenwriting.
Goldman held a B.A. from Oberlin College 1952 and an M.A. from Columbia University 1956.
He served as a member of the jury at the Cannes Film Festival in 1988.
Despite being an Anglophobe, Goldman described London as his favorite city.
In the book Hollywood Animal, screenwriter Joe Eszterhas called Goldman various expletives for ‘writing for the director’s vision’ rather than his own ideas.
Goldman wrote a script for Mission: Impossible II 2000 that was not used; the assignment went to Robert Towne.
Goldman was born to Marion Weil and Maurice Clarence Goldman. He was a fourth-generation American; his family were Jewish emigrants from Austria, Germany, and Bohemia. He was the younger brother of James Goldman.
He was a red wine connoisseur and wrote the wine adventure caper Year of the Comet 1992 as a result of his passion.
After the breakup of his 27-year marriage, Goldman became the only man ever to judge both the Cannes Film Festival and the Miss America Pageant in the same year, documented in the memoir Hype and Glory.
Goldman wrote unproduced scripts for The Blue Lagoon, Flowers for Algernon filmed as Charly, 1968, Papillon, and The Right Stuff.
He was a lifelong New York Knicks fan, holding season tickets for Madison Square Garden for over 40 years, and contributed a writing section to Bill Simmons’s NBA history book discussing Dave DeBusschere.
Quick answers to the questions readers ask most about William Goldman.
Celebrities similar to William Goldman — same craft, ranked by reach.
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