Herman J. Mankiewicz

American screenwriter

Born: November 7, 1897 · Died: March 5, 1953

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Who was Herman J. Mankiewicz?

Herman Jacob Mankiewicz ( MANG-kə-wits; November 7, 1897 – March 5, 1953) was an American screenwriter who, with Orson Welles, wrote the screenplay for Citizen Kane (1941). Alexander Woollcott said that Mankiewicz was the "funniest man in New York". Mankiewicz was often asked to fix other writers' screenplays, with much of his work uncredited. His writing style became valued in the films of the 1930s—a style that included a slick, satirical, and witty humor, in which dialogue almost totally carried the film, and which eventually become associated with the "typical American film" of that period. In addition to Citizen Kane, he wrote or worked on films including The Wizard of Oz, Man of the World, Dinner at Eight, The Pride of the Yankees and The Pride of St. Louis.

Mankiewicz in the Columbia University yearbook, 1917

Historical significance

Both Mankiewicz and Welles went on to receive the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay for the film. Mankiewicz was previously a Berlin correspondent for Women’s Wear Daily, assistant theater editor at The New York Times, and the first regular drama critic at The New Yorker.

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MLA

“Herman J. Mankiewicz.” thisDay, thisday.info/people/herman-j-mankiewicz/. Accessed 9 Nov. 2026.

APA

Herman J. Mankiewicz. (n.d.). thisDay. Retrieved November 9, 2026, from https://thisday.info/people/herman-j-mankiewicz/

Chicago

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