Joseph L. Mankiewicz
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 FestivalNominated
- 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 PrizeWinner
- 1951Grand Prize of the FestivalNominated
- 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