Herman J. Mankiewicz

(1897 - 1953)

Born in New York to German immigrants, Herman J. Mankiewicz worked for the Red Cross and The New Yorker before Paramount Publix Corporation hired him as a writer in 1929. His screenwriting credits include It’s a Wonderful World, Pride of the Yankees, Monkey Business, and Dinner at Eight. Desperate for work, Mankiewicz signed away writing credits when he took on a job for Orson Welles in 1940. Upon finishing the script, he is rumored to have called Welles and said, “I want credit. It’s the best thing I’ve ever written.” The script was filmed as Citizen Kane, and together the men won the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay in 1941.