MARIO Puzo was born in New York and, following military service in World War II, attended New York's New School for Social Research and Columbia University His best-known novel, The Godfather, was preceded by two critically acclaimed novels published in the early sixties, The Fortunate Pilgrim and The Dark Arena; in 1978 he published Fools Die and in 1984 The Sicilian. Mario Puzo is also the author of several screenplays, including Superman and Superman II, and, most recently, Godfather III. For both of his screen adaptations of The Godfather he won Academy Awards.