Photo: International News / Public domain (source: Wikimedia Commons)
My Take
Herman J. Mankiewicz fascinates me because he co-wrote what many consider the greatest American film ever made. Sharing the 1942 Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay with Orson Welles for Citizen Kane secured him a place in cinema history, even as debates about authorship have followed the film for decades. A New Yorker and Columbia graduate who came from journalism, he brought a sharp, literate wit to Hollywood screenwriting. I think his story captures the tension of the studio era: brilliant writers doing enduring work while wrestling with credit and recognition. To me, Citizen Kane alone makes his legacy permanent.
Overview
Herman Jacob Mankiewicz ( MANG-kə-wits; November 7, 1897 – March 5, 1953) was an American screenwriter who, with Orson Welles, wrote the screenplay for Citizen Kane (1941). Both Mankiewicz and Welles went on to receive the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay for the film.
Summary adapted from Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.
1. Profile
- Name (English)
- Herman J. Mankiewicz
- Name (Japanese)
- ハーマン・J・マンキーウィッツ
- Reading
- はーまん・J・まんきーうぃっつ
- Born
- November 7, 1897 – March 5, 1953
- Zodiac / Chinese zodiac
- Scorpio / Rooster
- Origin
- New York City, New York, United States
- Blood type
- Private
- Height
- Private
- Agency
- Private
- Occupation
- screenwriter / film producer / journalist
2. Background
- Elementary school
- Private
- Junior high
- Private
- High school
- Private
- University
- Columbia University
Awards & achievements
- 1942 Academy Award for Best Writing, Original Screenplay
3. Relationships
- Spouse
- Private
- Children
- Private
- Parents
- Private
- Siblings
- Private
4. Personality
Motto
Private
6. Links
Screenwriter — see all → · Film producer — see all → · More people from United States →
7. About this entry
Tags
- Last updated
- 2026-06-02
Facts are limited to publicly available information up to 2024; non-public items are marked "Private / Unknown". English text is machine-assisted (facts translated by Sonnet, "My Take" written by Opus 4.8). The Japanese page is the source of record.