---
name: "William Goldman"
canonical: "https://film.one/person/william-goldman"
fi1m_id: "william-goldman"
imdb_id: "nm0001279"
tmdb_id: 348
wikidata_id: "Q506885"
roles: ["Writer"]
born: "12 August 1931"
died: "16 November 2018"
reviewed_on_fi1m: 7
average_fi1m_score: 80
average_as: "writer"
average_over: 6
updated: "2026-10-04T23:38:58.485049+00:00"
licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL."
---

# William Goldman

## Identity

William Goldman

- **Canonical:** https://film.one/person/william-goldman
- **Type:** Person
- **Fi1m ID:** william-goldman
- **IMDb ID:** nm0001279
- **TMDB ID:** 348
- **Wikidata ID:** Q506885
- **Same entity:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Goldman, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q506885, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001279/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/348

Writer. Born 12 August 1931 in Chicago, Illinois, USA. Died 16 November 2018.

## Details

- **Work:** Writer
- **Born:** 12 August 1931, Chicago, Illinois, USA
- **Died:** 16 November 2018
- **Active:** 1969–1994
- **Titles on Fi1m:** 7: 6 writing, 1 producing
- **Frequently works with:** [Andrew Scheinman](https://film.one/person/andrew-scheinman.md), [Dustin Hoffman](https://film.one/person/dustin-hoffman.md), [Robert Redford](https://film.one/person/robert-redford.md), [Rob Reiner](https://film.one/person/rob-reiner.md)
- **Academy Awards:** 2 Oscars (2 won)
- **Average Fi1m score:** 80, as writer, over 6 titles
- **Fi1m score by decade:** 1960s 84 (1), 1970s 82 (2), 1980s 75 (2), 1990s 74 (2)
- **Fi1m against the critics:** 80 to 72 across 6 titles
- **Score spread:** 4 at 80+, 2 at 60–79, 0 under 60
- **Genres:** Drama 5, Thriller 3, Adventure 2, Crime 2, Western 2, Action 1
- **Screen time:** 12 hours of reviewed films
- **Box office:** $470m across 6 films with figures
- **Elsewhere:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Goldman, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q506885, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001279/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/348

## Streaming the US now

- **Disney+:** [*The Princess Bride*](https://film.one/film/the-princess-bride.md) (86)
- **HBO Max:** [*Misery*](https://film.one/film/misery.md) (83)
- **Apple TV:** [*Marathon Man*](https://film.one/film/marathon-man.md) (74)
- **Amazon Prime Video:** [*Maverick*](https://film.one/film/maverick.md) (64)

For United States; add `?region=XX` for another country.

## Biography

William Goldman (1931–2018) was an American novelist, playwright and screenwriter. He began his career as a novelist in the 1950s before moving into screenwriting, where he became known for adapting his own novels and those of other writers.

Goldman received Academy Awards for Best Original Screenplay for *Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid* (1969) and Best Adapted Screenplay for *All the President's Men* (1976). His other notable screenplays include *The Princess Bride* (1987), *Misery* (1990), *Maverick* (1994) and *Absolute Power* (1997). He also wrote the novels *Marathon Man* (1974) and *The Princess Bride* (1973), both of which he adapted for the screen.

*Sources: en.wikipedia.org, nytimes.com.*

## On Fi1m (7)

### Wrote (6) — the average rests on these

- *Maverick* (1994), Fi1m 64, Writer — [page](https://film.one/film/maverick.md)
- *Misery* (1990), Fi1m 83, Screenplay — [page](https://film.one/film/misery.md)
- *The Princess Bride* (1987), Fi1m 86, Novel, Screenplay — [page](https://film.one/film/the-princess-bride.md)
- *All the President's Men* (1976), Fi1m 90, Screenplay — [page](https://film.one/film/all-the-presidents-men.md)
- *Marathon Man* (1976), Fi1m 74, Screenplay, Novel — [page](https://film.one/film/marathon-man.md)
- *Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid* (1969), Fi1m 84, Writer — [page](https://film.one/film/butch-cassidy-and-the-sundance-kid.md)

### Produced (1)

- *Twins* (1988), Fi1m 64, Script Researcher — [page](https://film.one/film/twins.md)

## Complete filmography (31)

Every credit, newest first. Titles without a page can be requested for review on the HTML page.

- *Home Movie: The Princess Bride* (2020), series, Novel, Screenplay
- *Wild Card* (2015), Screenplay, Novel
- *Dreamcatcher* (2003), Screenplay
- *Hearts in Atlantis* (2001), Screenplay
- *The General's Daughter* (1999), Screenplay
- *Good Will Hunting* (1997), Thanks — Fi1m 82, [page](https://film.one/film/good-will-hunting.md)
- *Absolute Power* (1997), Screenplay
- *The Ghost and the Darkness* (1996), Screenplay
- *The Chamber* (1996), Screenplay
- *Maverick* (1994), Writer — Fi1m 64, [page](https://film.one/film/maverick.md)
- *Chaplin* (1992), Screenplay
- *Year of the Comet* (1992), Writer
- *Memoirs of an Invisible Man* (1992), Screenplay
- *Misery* (1990), Screenplay — Fi1m 83, [page](https://film.one/film/misery.md)
- *Twins* (1988), Script Researcher — Fi1m 64, [page](https://film.one/film/twins.md)
- *The Princess Bride* (1987), Screenplay, Novel — Fi1m 86, [page](https://film.one/film/the-princess-bride.md)
- *Heat* (1986), Screenplay, Novel
- *Butch and Sundance: The Early Days* (1979), Characters, Producer
- *Magic* (1978), Screenplay, Novel
- *A Bridge Too Far* (1977), Screenplay
- *Marathon Man* (1976), Novel, Screenplay — Fi1m 74, [page](https://film.one/film/marathon-man.md)
- *All the President's Men* (1976), Screenplay — Fi1m 90, [page](https://film.one/film/all-the-presidents-men.md)
- *The Great Waldo Pepper* (1975), Writer
- *The Stepford Wives* (1975), Screenplay
- *The Hot Rock* (1972), Screenplay
- *Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid* (1969), Writer — Fi1m 84, [page](https://film.one/film/butch-cassidy-and-the-sundance-kid.md)
- *No Way to Treat a Lady* (1968), Novel
- *Harper* (1966), Screenplay
- *Masquerade* (1965), Screenplay
- *Soldier in the Rain* (1963), Novel
- *Magic*, Novel, Original Film Writer

## Gallery

- ![William Goldman](https://film.one/media/person/77450/gallery-4e845fde66d8.jpg) William Goldman — thedemonhog, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c4/William_Goldman.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail_unscaled)
- ![Dibujo de la portada de la novela "The color of Light", escrita por William Goldman. (2018)](https://film.one/media/person/77450/gallery-9343c34cbf64.jpg) Dibujo de la portada de la novela "The color of Light", escrita por William Goldman. (2018) — Mperdiguero, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://thumb.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/11/FotoWIKI.dibujo.jpg/1280px-FotoWIKI.dibujo.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail)
- ![Collectie / Archief : Fotocollectie Anefo Reportage / Serie : [ onbekend ] Beschrijving : Persconferentie i.v.m. film "Een brug te ver" ("A Bridge too Far"); re (1976)](https://film.one/media/person/77450/gallery-4a36c11a33c3.jpg) Collectie / Archief : Fotocollectie Anefo Reportage / Serie : [ onbekend ] Beschrijving : Persconferentie i.v.m. film "Een brug te ver" ("A Bridge too Far"); re (1976) — Hans Peters for Anefo, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://thumb.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/64/Persconferentie_i.v.m._film_Een_brug_te_ver_%28A_Bridge_too_Far%29_rechts_James%2C_Bestanddeelnr_928-5444.jpg/1280px-Persconferentie_i.v.m._film_Een_brug_te_ver_%28A_Bridge_too_Far%29_rechts_James%2C_Bestanddeelnr_928-5444.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail)
- ![Theatrical advertisement for the film, The Stepford Wives, 19 January, 1975.](https://film.one/media/person/77450/gallery-391d59559c45.jpg) Theatrical advertisement for the film, The Stepford Wives, 19 January, 1975. — Columbia Pictures, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons (https://thumb.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d3/The_Stepford_Wives_ad_-_19_January_1975.jpg/1280px-The_Stepford_Wives_ad_-_19_January_1975.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail)
- ![Collectie / Archief : Fotocollectie Anefo Reportage / Serie : De filmmakers van "Een brug te ver" komen aan op Schiphol i.v.m. de filmopnames in Nederland Besch (1975)](https://film.one/media/person/77450/gallery-03629d376a8c.jpg) Collectie / Archief : Fotocollectie Anefo Reportage / Serie : De filmmakers van "Een brug te ver" komen aan op Schiphol i.v.m. de filmopnames in Nederland Besch (1975) — Bert Verhoeff for Anefo, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://thumb.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/cc/V.l.n.r._regisseur_Richard_Attenborough%2C_scenarioschrijver_William_Goldman_en_pr%2C_Bestanddeelnr_928-0660.jpg/1280px-V.l.n.r._regisseur_Richard_Attenborough%2C_scenarioschrijver_William_Goldman_en_pr%2C_Bestanddeelnr_928-0660.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail)
- ![Title: William Goldman, author, screenwriter Creator(s): Gotfryd, Bernard, photographer Date Created/Published: 2 September 1987. Medium: 1 photograph : color t](https://film.one/media/person/77450/gallery-52f0fbdbb64f.jpg) Title: William Goldman, author, screenwriter Creator(s): Gotfryd, Bernard, photographer Date Created/Published: 2 September 1987. Medium: 1 photograph : color t — Gotfryd, Bernard, photographer, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons (https://thumb.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/b2/William_Goldman%2C_author%2C_screenwriter.jpg/1280px-William_Goldman%2C_author%2C_screenwriter.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail)

## Awards

### Academy Awards — 2 won

- 1977: Best Writing, Adapted Screenplay (won), for *All the President's Men*
- 1970: Best Writing, Original Screenplay (won), for *Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid*

### Other awards — 2 won, 1 nominated

- Hugo Awards 1988: Best Dramatic Presentation (won), for *The Princess Bride*
- Locus Award for Best Fantasy Novel 1984: Locus Award for Best Fantasy Novel (nominated), for *The Silent Gondoliers*
- Edgar Awards 1967: Edgar Awards (won)

*From Wikidata, which records wins more completely than nominations.*

---
© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Canonical: https://film.one/person/william-goldman