Herman Mankiewicz Biography (1897-1953)

Full name, Herman Jacob Mankiewicz; born November 7, 1897, in New York, NY; died of uremic poisoning March 5, 1953, in Beverly Hills, CA; raised in New York City and Wilkes Barre, PA; son of Frank and Johanna (maiden name, Blumenau) Mankiewicz; brother of Joseph L. Mankiewicz (a director and screenwriter);married Shulamith Sara Aaronson, July 1, 1920; children: Donald Martin, Frank, Johanna. Career: Screenwriter and producer. American Jewish Chronicle, New York City, managing editor, 1916-17; American Red Cross Newsservice, Paris, France, 1919-20; New York World, foreign correspondent, 1920-23; NewYork Times, dramatic department, 1923-26; The New Yorker, drama critic, 1923-26. Military service: U.S. Army, flying cadet, 1917-18; U.S. Marines, private first class, 1918-19. Awards, Honors: Academy Award (with Orson Welles), best original screenplay, 1942, for Citizen Kane; Academy Award nomination (with Jo Swerling), best screenplay, 1943, for The Pride of the Yankees..

Nationality: American
Gender: Male
Occupation: Screenwriter, producer
Birth Details: November 7, 1897; New York, New York, United States
Death Details: March 5, 1953; Beverly Hills, California, United States

Famous Works

CREDITS
Film Work
Producer
Monkey Business, Paramount, 1931
Million Dollar Legs, Paramount, 1932
Horse Feathers, Paramount, 1932
Duck Soup, Paramount, 1933
My Dear Miss Aldrich, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, 1937
A Woman's Secret, RKO Radio Pictures, 1949
Film Appearances
Newspaperman, Citizen Kane (also known as American and John Citizen, U.S.A.), RKO Radio Pictures, 1941
WRITINGS
Screenplays, Except Where Indicated
Story, The Road to Mandalay, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, 1926
Story, Stranded in Paris, Paramount, 1926
Fashions for Women, Paramount, 1927
Adaptation and dialogue, The Dummy, Paramount, 1929
And story and dialogue, The Man I Love, Paramount, 1929
Dialogue, Thunderbolt, Paramount, 1929
Adaptation, Honey, Paramount, 1930
Adapter, The Royal Family of Broadway (also known as Theatre Royale), Paramount, 1930
Dialogue, Love Among the Millionaires, Paramount, 1930
Dialogue, The Vagabond King, Paramount, 1930
Adaptation and dialogue, Ladies Love Brutes, Paramount, 1930
Dialogue, True to the Navy, Paramount, 1930
Adaptation and dialogue, Men Are Like That, Paramount, 1930
Man of the World, Paramount, 1930
Ladies' Man, Paramount, 1931
Dude Ranch, Paramount, 1931
Girl Crazy, RKO Radio Pictures, 1932
Dancers in the Dark, Paramount, 1932
The Lost Squadron, RKO Radio Pictures, 1932
Meet the Baron, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, 1933
Another Language, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, 1933

Dinner at Eight, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, 1933
Stamboul Quest, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, 1934
The Show-Off, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, 1934
Escapade (also known as Masquerade), Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, 1935
After Office Hours, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, 1935
Three Maxims (also known as The Show Goes On), Gaumont, 1936
Love in Exile, Capital, 1936
My Dear Miss Aldrich, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, 1937
John Meade's Woman, Paramount, 1937
(Uncredited) The Wizard of Oz, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, 1939
Story, It's a Wonderful World, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, 1939
(With Orson Welles) Citizen Kane (also known as American and John Citizen), RKO Radio Pictures, 1941
Rise and Shine, Twentieth Century-Fox, 1941
(With Jo Swerling) The Pride of the Yankees, RKO Radio Pictures, 1942
Stand By for Action (also known as Cargo of Innocents), Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, 1943
Christmas Holiday, Universal, 1943
The Spanish Main, RKO Radio Pictures, 1945
The Enchanted Cottage, RKO Radio Pictures, 1945
A Woman's Secret, RKO Radio Pictures, 1949
The Pride of St. Louis, Twentieth Century-Fox, 1952
Title Writer for Silent Films
A Gentleman of Paris, Paramount, 1927
Figures Don't Lie, Paramount, 1927
The City Gone Wild, Paramount, 1927
The Spotlight, Paramount, 1927
Honeymoon Hate, Paramount, 1927
The Gay Defender, Paramount, 1927
Two Flaming Youths (also known as The Side Show), Paramount, 1927
The Last Command, Paramount, 1928
His Tiger Wife (also known as His Tiger Lady and A Nightof Mystery), Paramount, 1928
The Dragnet, Paramount, 1928
The Barker, Warner Bros., 1928
Abie's Irish Rose, Paramount, 1928
Love and Learn, Paramount, 1928
Gentleman Prefer Blondes, Paramount, 1928
Something Always Happens, Paramount, 1928
A Night of Mystery (also known as The Code of Honour), Paramount, 1928
The Magnificent Flirt, Paramount, 1928
The Mating Call, Paramount, 1928
The Water Hole, Paramount, 1928
Take Me Home, Paramount, 1928
Avalanche, Paramount, 1928
Three Weekends, Paramount, 1928
The Love Doctor, Paramount, 1929
The Canary Murder Case, Paramount, 1929
The Mighty, Paramount, 1929
Stage Plays
(With George Kaufman) The Good Fellow, a Play in Three Acts, S. French, 1931
Other
Contributor to Vanity Fair, Life, Saturday Evening Post, and Saturday Revue.

Further Reference

Adaptations:

The play The Wild Man of Borneo was adapted to film by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer and released in 1941; the play The Good Fellow was adapted tofilm by Paramount and released in 1943; the film Dinner At Eight wasadapted as a television movie for TNT, 1989.

OTHER SOURCES

Books:

Dictionary of Literary Biography, Volume 26: American Screenwriters, Gale (Detroit, MI), 1984.
Kael, Pauline, The Citizen Kane Book, Bantam Books (New York City), 1971.
Meryman, Richard, Mank: The Wit, World, and Life of Herman Mankiewicz, Morrow (New York City), 1978.*

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