Herman J. Mankiewicz
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Herman Jacob Mankiewicz (November 7, 1897 in New York City—March 5, 1953 in Hollywood, California) was a legendary Hollywood screenwriter, noted raconteur, and notorious alcoholic. In 1926 Mankiewicz left a job as drama editor at the New Yorker magazine to write for Hollywood. Shortly after his arrival on the West Coast, he sent a telegram to journalist-friend Ben Hecht in New York: "Millions are to be grabbed out here and your only competition is idiots. Don't let this get around." Mankiewicz is best known for his collaboration with Orson Welles on the screenplay of Citizen Kane, for which they both won an Academy Award and famously clashed over credit. Much debate has centered around this dispute, with some critics (notably Pauline Kael) attributing the bulk of Kane's screenplay to Mankiewicz. Mankiewicz wrote and co-wrote many other screenplays (including the original version of Gentlemen Prefer Blondes and The Pride of the Yankees) and served as producer on several Marx Brothers movies. After Citizen Kane, Mankiewicz's career declined, likely a result of alcoholism. He died of uremic poisoning in Hollywood, CA on March 5, 1953, the same day as Joseph Stalin.
Mankiewicz was educated at Columbia University and the University of Berlin. He was the older brother of Joseph L. Mankiewicz and the son of Jewish immigrants from Germany.[link]
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