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The son of famed director and screenwriter Joseph L. Mankiewicz (All About Eve [1950], Guys and Dolls [1955], Cleopatra [1963]) and the nephew of Citizen Kane screenwriter Herman Mankiewicz, Tom Mankiewicz was genuine Hollywood royalty. He grew up in Beverly Hills and New York, spent summers on his dad's film sets, had his first drink with Humphrey Bogart, dined with Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton, went to the theater with Ava Gardner, and traveled the world writing for Brando, Sinatra, and Connery. Although his family connections led him to show business, Tom "Mank" Mankiewicz forged a career of his own, becoming a renowned screenwriter, director, and producer of acclaimed films and television shows. He wrote screenplays for three James Bond films -- Diamonds Are Forever (1971), Live and Let Die (1973), and The Man with the Golden Gun (1974) -- and made his directorial debut with the hit TV series Hart to Hart (1979--1984). My Life as a Mankiewicz is a fascinating look at the life of an individual whose creativity and work ethic established him as a member of the Hollywood writing elite.
Mankiewicz details his journey through the inner world of the television and film industries, beginning with his first job as production assistant on The Comancheros (1961), starring John Wayne. My Life as a Mankiewicz illuminates his professional development as a writer and director, detailing his friendships and romantic relationships with some of Hollywood's biggest stars as well as his struggle with alcohol and drugs. With the assistance of Robert Crane, Mankiewicz tells a story of personal achievement and offers an insider's view of the glamorous world of Hollywood during the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s.
""Tom Mankiewicz was as close to royalty as one can get in Hollywood.... He was also a raconteur of the highest order and many of his favorite stories appear in My Life as a Mankiewicz." --Los Angeles Times" --
""One of the best personal accounts of show business ever published." --Weekly Standard" --
""Every aspiring film writer, producer, director and movie fanatic should lay hands on this book."--Liz Smith, Huffington Post" --
Preface ix
Prologue: This Will Never Happen to You 1
1 The Family 3
2 The 1940s: Growing Up 13
3 The 1950s: Developing a Character 25
4 The 1960s: Hollywood Off-Ramp 49
5 The 1960s Gallery 101
6 The 1970s: Arrival 133
7 The 1970s Gallery 237
8 The 1980s: Calling Dr. Mankiewicz 249
9 The 1980s Gallery 301
10 The 1990s: What a Fucking Business 313
11 The Tag: Out of Film 327
Acknowledgments 341
Filmography 343
Index 349
Overview
The son of famed director and screenwriter Joseph L. Mankiewicz (All About Eve [1950], Guys and Dolls [1955], Cleopatra [1963]) and the nephew of Citizen Kane screenwriter Herman Mankiewicz, Tom Mankiewicz was genuine Hollywood royalty. He grew up in Beverly Hills and New York, spent summers on his dad's film sets, had his first drink with Humphrey Bogart, dined with Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton, went to the theater with Ava Gardner, and traveled the world writing for Brando, Sinatra, and Connery. Although...