Beloved author and Academy Award winning screenwriter, William Goldman, has died at age 87.
If you ask people what William Goldman’s most famous work is, you are likely to get several differing (though equally passionate) responses.
He won Oscars for Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid and All the President’s Men. He also converted his own novels – The Princess Bride and Marathon Man into screenplays.
William Goldman’s career spanned over five decades. His first novel, The Temple of Gold, was published in 1957 and launched his writing career.
Goldman always said that he considered himself a novelist who also happened to write screenplays. He famously said of the film industry “nobody knows anything” and earned a reputation for being a Hollywood wiseman.
In his book, Adventures in the Screen Trade, William Goldman wrote about how little valued screenwriters are in Hollywood – ranking somewhere between “the man who guards the studio gate and the man who runs the studio (this week)”.
Goldman refused to work in Hollywood, preferring to live in New York. There are many reports of him flying to Los Angeles for a few days in order to meet with studio executives only to then fly home to New York in order to write. He was considered a mentor to many famous screenwriters, including Aaron Sorkin.
“He wrote so many unforgettable movies, so many thunderous novels and works of non- fiction, and while I’ll always wish he’d written one more, I’ll always be grateful for what he’s left us.” – Alan Sorkin
The Princess Bride has gathered a cult following with both the movie and the book loved by generations. Other notable screenplays written by Goldman include The Stepford Wives, A Bridge Too Far, Papillon and Misery.
William Goldman will long be remembered as a beloved author and master storyteller.
About the Contributor
Sarah McDuling
Sarah McDuling is Booktopia's Category Manager for Children's and Young Adult Books. She has been in the bookselling game for almost a decade and a dedicated booklover since birth (potentially longer). At her happiest when reading a book, Sarah also enjoys talking/writing/tweeting about books. In her spare time, she often likes to buy a lot of books and take photographs of books. You can follow her on Twitter and Instragram @sarahmcduling
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