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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.*