William Goldman, Oscar-winning screenwriter of All the President’s Men, The Princess Bride, dies at 87

William Goldman, the Oscar-winning screenwriter of Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid and All the President’s Men, passed away aged 87 in his Manhattan residence on Friday.

William Goldman. Image via Twitter

The Washington Post reports Goldman died of complications from colon cancer and pneumonia.

The great William Goldman, my dear friend of 40 years, passed away this morning at the age of 87. All he did in the same career was write "The Princess Bride" and "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid" and the screenplay for "All the President's Men." And that is the short list.

— Mike Lupica (@MikeLupica) November 16, 2018

Born into a Jewish family in Chicago in 1931, he started his career as novelist and wrote his first film script – Masquerade – in 1965. He penned books such as Marathon Man (1976), Magic (1978) and The Princess Bride (1987) and later their popular screen adaptations. He also wrote the screenplays for The Stepford Wives, Misery and Maverick.

He was a noted "script doctor" and reworked films like A Few Good Men and Indecent Proposal without taking credits.

Goldman's memoir Adventures In The Screen Trade has become one of the most influential books for aspiring screenwriters. The book is also known for his famous declaration that "nobody knows anything" about the movie business.