Mario Francis Puzo was an American author and screenwriter best known for his crime novels about the Italian-American Mafia, notably The Godfather (1969). Born on October 15, 1920, in New York City, Puzo grew up in a poor family of Neapolitan immigrants in the Hell's Kitchen neighborhood. His heritage heavily influenced his writing.

After graduating from the City College of New York, Puzo joined the United States Army Air Forces during World War II, serving as a public relations officer in Germany due to poor eyesight. His career as a writer began in the 1950s with his first short story publication, "The Last Christmas," and later his first book, The Dark Arena (1955).

Puzo's masterwork, The Godfather, redefined the crime novel genre and led to a renowned film trilogy co-adapted with director Francis Ford Coppola. Puzo won the Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay for the first two films of the series. Besides The Godfather, Puzo wrote the original screenplay for the 1978 film Superman and its 1980 sequel.

Puzo passed away on July 2, 1999, but his legacy continued with the posthumous release of his final novel, The Family, in 2001. His influence on literature and film, particularly within the scope of organized crime narratives, remains significant.