William Weil Goldman (August 12, 1931 - November 16, 2018) was a screen. play and book writer who wrote The Princess Bride and the screenplay for its 1987 film adaptation.
Trivia[]
- The book's prologue centers around a fictionalized version of Goldman in first-person narrative:
- In the 1987 film, his character is turned into a sick grandson.
- In the prologue, the fictional Goldman mentions events in Goldman's actual life:
- Goldman grew up in Highland Park, Illinois, north of Chicago, and lived in New York City.
- Goldman served as a corporal in the Army at Fort Sheridan.
- Goldman was discharged from the Army in September 1954, and a fellow soldier told him that they were screening Gunga Din: Goldman's favorite film. Goldman snuck back onto the base, dressed in uniform, and watched the film.
- Goldman's first book, The Temple of Gold, was published in 1957.
- Goldman worked for the publishing company Harper Brace Jovanovich; his editor was Hiram Haydn.
- He even dedicates the book to Hiram Haydn.
- Goldman wrote the book Boys and Girls Together in 1964.
- Goldman wrote the script for Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid in 1969.
- He even says in the book, "When I die, if the Times gives me an obit, it's going to be because of Butch."
- Goldman wrote the thriller novel Marathon Man in 1974, which would be made into a feature film that was theatrically released in 1976.
- Goldman wrote the script for The Stepford Wives, which was theatrically released in 1975.
- Goldman wrote the script for All The President's Men, which was released in 1976
- In the prologue, Goldman claims that he abridged S. Morgenstern's classic story. Morgenstern is actually a fictional author, created as a framing device for the story.
- Goldman died from pneumonia and colon cancer in 2018, at the age of 87.
- Goldman's fictionalized counterpart is sick with pneumonia as a child.
- Despite writing The Princess Bride, Goldman's career was actually much more renowned for his work as a film screenplay writer, having even won an Oscar by the time the book was written for his screenplay adaptation of Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid.