William Goldman obit

William Goldman, Oscar-Winning Screenwriter and Author Behind The Princess Bride, Dies at 87

He was not on the list.

William Goldman, the prolific author and screenwriter that brought joy to generations with The Princess Bride, died at his Manhattan home on Friday, his daughter Jenny Goldman confirmed to the Washington Post. He was 87.

Though Goldman was originally a novelist, he made a splash in the movie industry with his screenplay for the Paul Newman 1966 movie Harper. He later worked with Newman again in 1969’s Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, cementing his status as one of the businesses’s best screenwriter.

He went on to win his first Oscar for the western, and later earned his second for his Watergate-scandal movie All the President’s Men.

But Goldman won over the hearts of audiences everywhere with his novel-turned-movie-turned-cult-hit The Princess Bride. The writer told EW back in 2011 about the origin of the story, which came from his two daughters: Jenny and Susanna.

“I had two little daughters, I think they were 7 and 4 at the time, and I said, ‘I’ll write you a story. What do you want it to be about?’ ” he recalled. “One of them said ‘a princess’ and the other one said ‘a bride.’ I said, ‘That’ll be the title.’ “

The 1973 novel was made into the 1987 movie that is still often quoted today, starring heavyweights like Robin Wright and Mandy Patinkin. Goldman reflected on the movie’s enduring success in the EW interview and admitted that it was one of his favorite things he’d done in his long career.

“The movie was not a phenomenal success. It did okay. But it found this life as time went on,” he said. “I don’t like my writing. I only like two movies I’ve ever written: Butch Cassidy and The Sundance Kid and The Princess Bride.”