William Goldman was born on August 12, 1931 in Chicago Illinois. He was born to Marion Goldman (mother) and Maurice Goldman (father).William is the younger brother of James Goldman. He grew up in a Jewish family. Goldman attended Columbia University in New York, New York in 1956. Goldman recieved his BA in English during this time. He also attended Oberlin College in Oberlin, Ohio in 1952. This is where he received his MA degree. He later married Ilene Jones and eventualy got a divorce. Ilene and William had two girls, Jenny and Susanna Goldman. After he divorced his wife he became the only male ever to judge both Cannes Film Festival and the Miss American Pageant in the same year. William Goldman is a screenwriter, novelist, playwright, and a non-fiction writer. Most of his works are considered to be postmodern. Some of the books he has written include: The Princess Bride, No Way to Treat a Lady, Solider in the Rain, and Marathon Man. "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid" and "The Princess Bride" are just a few of his screenplays. William is two-time Academy Award winner and one of the most successful screenwriters and script doctors in Hollywood. On some book covers for the Princess Bride they read "S. Morgenstern" however this is just William Goldman's pen name. William Goldman has been influential to other authors such as: Stephanie Meyer, Dean Koontz, and Joesph Finder. People who were influential to Goldman were: Irwin Shaw, Ingmar Bergman, and F. Scott Fitzgerald.

Jewish, Religious, Religious speakers, Jewish Heritage,