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Joseph L. Mankiewicz Biography

Birth Name:Joseph Leo Mankiewicz

Birth Place:Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, United States

Profession Writer, Producer, Director, Actor, Soundtrack

Fast Facts

Served as president of the Screen Director's Guild in 1950
Became the first American to be awarded the Italian Order of Merit in 1965
Received a bachelor's degree from Columbia University before taking a job with the Chicago Tribute as a reporter
Among other relatives in show business, he is the uncle of Frank Mankiewicz, the campaign manager for Robert F․ Kennedy before he was assassinated in 1968
Quote: "I felt the urge to direct because I couldn't stomach what was being done with what I wrote․"
A well-rounded filmmaker, he would spend 17 years as a screenwriter for Paramount before producing for MGM and later directing for Twentieth Century Fox
After establishing himself in Hollywood, he moved to New York in the early '50s with intentions to write for Broadway, but continued to work with film
Responsible for popularizing the filmmaking technique mise-en-scene, a specific design aesthetic that is visually stimulating for the audience
Suffered from a severe dermatological condition that caused the skin on his fingertips to crack, thus explaining why he was always seen wearing white gloves while directing

Awards

1931Oscar-Best Writing, Adaptation: nominated
1949Grand Prize of the Festival-: nominated
1949DGA Award-Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Motion Pictures: winner
1950Oscar-Best Writing, Screenplay: winner
1950Oscar-Best Director: winner
1950NYFCC Award-Best Director: winner
1950WGA Award (Screen)-Best Written American Comedy: winner
1951Oscar-Best Writing, Screenplay: winner
1951Oscar-Best Writing, Story and Screenplay: nominated
1951Oscar-Best Director: winner
1951Top 10 Film Award-Best Film: nominated
1951Jury Special Prize-: winner
1951Grand Prize of the Festival-: nominated
1951DGA Award-Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Motion Pictures: winner
1951Golden Globe-Best Director: nominated
1951Golden Globe-Best Screenplay: winner
1951WGA Award (Screen)-Best Written American Drama: nominated
1951WGA Award (Screen)-Best Written American Comedy: winner
1951WGA Award (Screen)-The Robert Meltzer Award (Screenplay Dealing Most Ably with Problems of the American Scene): nominated
1952Bodil-Best American Film (Bedste amerikanske film): winner
1952Kinema Junpo Award-Best Foreign Language Film: winner
1952WGA Award (Screen)-Best Written American Comedy: nominated
1953Oscar-Best Director: nominated
1953DGA Award-Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Motion Pictures: nominated
1954Bodil-Best American Film (Bedste amerikanske film): winner
1954DGA Award-Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Motion Pictures: nominated
1955Oscar-Best Writing, Story and Screenplay: nominated
1955Top 10 Film Award-Best Film: nominated
1955WGA Award (Screen)-Best Written American Drama: nominated
1956WGA Award (Screen)-Best Written American Musical: nominated
1958Top 10 Film Award-Best Film: nominated
1964Golden Globe-Best Director: nominated
1965Primetime Emmy-Outstanding Program Achievements in Entertainment: nominated
1973Oscar-Best Director: nominated