1939-present
Who Is Francis Ford Coppola?
Francis Ford Coppola first found directorial success with Finian’s Rainbow in 1968. He gained international critical attention for his screenwriting talents, with 1970’s Patton. Two years later, he released The Godfather (1972). In 1997, he stepped away from directing for a time. In 2007, he returned to hands-on filmmaking with Youth Without Youth.
Quick Facts
FULL NAME: Francis Ford Coppola
BORN: April 7, 1939
BIRTHPLACE: Detroit, Michigan
SPOUSE: Eleanor Coppola (1963-2024)
CHILDREN: Gian-Carlo, Roman, and Sofia Coppola
ASTROLOGICAL SIGN: Aries
Early Life
Francis Ford Coppola was born on April 7, 1939, in Detroit. Stricken with polio as a child, he was bedridden and found creative ways to entertain himself, including producing his own puppet shows. Coppola developed an interest in movies early on and studied theater at Hofstra University in New York.
After graduating in 1960, Coppola moved to California to attend the prestigious film program at University of California, Los Angeles, where he learned from many great instructors, including pioneering director and screenwriter Dorothy Arzner.
Movies: The Godfather, Apocalypse Now, and Dracula
While in graduate school, Coppola worked with B-movie king Roger Corman. It was Corman that gave him first shot of directing a feature film, 1963’s Dementia 13, which Coppola also wrote. While that movie failed to take off, he found directorial success with the 1968 musical Finian’s Rainbow.
Coppola first gained international critical attention for his screenwriting talents, earning an Academy Award for 1970’s Patton. Two years later, he released what is considered to be one of his best works, The Godfather (1972). Based on a novel by Mario Puzo, the critically acclaimed saga centered on the Corleones, an Italian American family involved in organized crime. Marlon Brando played the family’s patriarch with Al Pacino as his son and reluctant successor.
The Godfather earned Coppola his first Oscar nomination for Best Director. He also scored a second screenplay win, as the film won Best Picture and Brando was named Best Actor but refused the award.
The sequel, The Godfather Part II (1974), was equally well received. Its 11 Academy Award nominations bested that of the original, and this time around Coppola did win Best Director. He also took home Oscar statuettes for the movie’s screenplay and as a co-producer when The Godfather Part II won Best Picture.
Continuing to make outstanding films, Coppola produced the riveting Vietnam War drama Apocalypse Now in 1979. Starring Martin Sheen, the movie was an imaginative retelling of Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness. Coppola also served as the executive producer on the family-friendly classic The Black Stallion that same year.
In the 1980s and ’90s, the director made several movies that included wayward teen drama The Outsiders (1983), glittering jazz age saga The Cotton Club (1984), and a faithful adaptation of the classic vampire tale Bram Stoker’s Dracula (1992). He also created the final chapter to his mafia trilogy, The Godfather Part III (1990).
Other Ventures: Winery and Producing Movies
After The Rainmaker (1997), Coppola stepped away from directing for a time. He focused much of his energies on other ventures, especially his California winery. Working behind the scenes, Coppola served as a producer on his daughter Sofia Coppola’s first directorial effort, 1999’s The Virgin Suicides. He has also been an executive producer for a number of movies and TV shows, including Lost in Translation (2003), Kinsey (2004), Marie Antoinette (2006), and The Good Shepherd (2006).
Later Movies
In 2007, Coppola returned to hands-on filmmaking with Youth Without Youth, which he adapted from a novella by Mircea Eliade, a Romanian philosopher. At the time, Coppola told Entertainment Weekly, “I’m announcing a new phase where I make more personal films.” The filmmaker next directed 2009’s Tetro, a drama about an Italian immigrant family. Switching genres, Coppola then directed and wrote the 2011 thriller Twixt.
In addition to his own work, Coppola has many relatives in the film industry. His sister is actor Talia Shire, and his nephew is actor Nicolas Cage. In addition to daughter Sofia, he and his wife, Eleanor, also have a son named Roman who directs and acts as well. Their late son, Gian-Carlo Coppola, was an actor. He died in a boating accident in 1986. Gian-Carlo’s daughter, Gia Coppola, made her first foray into directing and screenwriting with 2013’s Palo Alto.
Quotes
- No bastard ever won a war by dying for his country. He won it by making the other poor dumb bastard die for his country.
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