Nicholas Pileggi

Nicholas Pileggi (, ; born February 22, 1933) is an American author, screenwriter, film producer and journalist. He is the widower of director and journalist Nora Ephron. He wrote the 1985 non-fiction book Wiseguy and co-wrote the screenplay for Goodfellas, its 1990 film adaptation, for which he received a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay.

Early life Pileggi was born and raised in Brooklyn, the elder son of an Italian immigrant father, Nicola ("Nick") Pileggi from Calabria, a musician who played slide trombone in a cinema orchestra for silent films and subsequently also owned shoe stores, and an American-born mother, Susie. Pileggi also co-wrote the screenplay for the film City Hall (1996), starring Al Pacino. He served as an executive producer for American Gangster (2007), a biographical crime film based on the career of drug lord Frank Lucas. He also authored Blye, Private Eye (1987).

He wrote the foreword to Frank Ragano's memoir Mob Lawyer. Pileggi co-wrote the pilot of the CBS television series Vegas, which first aired in September 2012.

Personal life Pileggi's first marriage ended in divorce around 1979. Pileggi was married to fellow author, journalist, and filmmaker Nora Ephron from 1987 until her death in 2012.

Partial filmography Year Film Role Notes 1990 Goodfellas Screenwriter BAFTA – Best Screenplay – Adapted (1991)Chicago Film Critics Association Award for Best Screenplay 1993 Father Hood Producer 1994 Loyalty & Betrayal: The Story of the American Mob Screenwriter Television documentary film 1995 Casino Screenwriter 1996 City Hall Screenwriter 2007 Kings of South Beach Screenwriter and producer Television film American Gangster Executive producer 2012 Vegas Co-creator and executive producer Television series 2019 The Irishman Executive producer 2025The Alto KnightsScreenwriter

Books

Introductions