Nicholas Pileggi Biography

Fast Facts

• Won Best Screenplay for "Goodfellas" at the 1991 Chicago Film Critics Association Awards, an honor that he shared with Martin Scorsese
• His father, Nick Pileggi, owned his own shoe store
• In the 1950s, he worked as a journalist for the Associated Press, specializing in crime reporting
• Adapted his books "Casino: Love and Honor in Las Vegas" and "Wiseguy: Life in a Mafia Family" into movies, which were both co-written and directed by Martin Scorsese
• Was able to incorporate some of his journalistic research into organized crime and the Mafia into his creative works
• Joined PEN, a writers' organization dedicated to maintaining interest in the written word
• Contributed to New York magazine and others for 30 years while building contacts as a journalist