Stranger Than Pulp Fiction

Speaker 1 This is an iHeart podcast.

Speaker 2 When I looked in the mirror, I expected to see weight loss from my GLP-1.

Speaker 2 Not unwanted hollowing in my face, sagging skin, and wrinkles. My face looking older? That was never part of my plan.
So I did something about it. I restored my skin's glow and refreshed my look.

Speaker 2 Learn how you can take back your youthful appearance at faceafterweightloss.com. That's faceafterweightloss.com.

Speaker 4 Making the holidays magical for everyone on your list? It's no small feat. But with TJ Maxx, your magic multiplies.

Speaker 4 With quality finds arriving daily through Christmas Eve, you'll save on Lux Cashmere the latest tech, toys, and more.

Speaker 4 So you can check off every name on your list and treat yourself to a holiday look that'll turn heads. Now you know where to go to make all that holiday magic.
It's TJ Maxx, of course.

Speaker 4 It's shaping up to be a very magical holiday.

Speaker 5 Ah, greetings for my bath, festive friends. The holidays are overwhelming, but I'm tackling this season with PayPal and making the most of my money.
Getting 5% cash back when I pay in four.

Speaker 3 No fees, no interest. I used it to get this portable spa with jets.

Speaker 6 Now the bubbles can cling to my sculpted but pruny body. Make the most of your money this holiday with PayPal.

Speaker 7 Save the offer in the app. NS1231, see paypal.com/slash promo terms.
Points give your renee for cash more paying for subject to terms and approval. PayPal Inc.
at MLS 910-457.

Speaker 8 Adobe Acrobat Studio, so brand new. Show me all the things PDFs can do.
Do your work with ease and speed. PDF spaces is all you need.
Do hours of research in an instant.

Speaker 8 With key insights from an AI assistant. Pick a template with a click.
Now your Prezo looks super slick. Close that deal, yeah, you won.
Do that, doing that, did that, done.

Speaker 3 Now you can do that, do that with Acrobat.

Speaker 8 Now you can do that, do that with the all-new Acrobat.

Speaker 4 It's time to do your best work with the all-new Adobe Acrobat Studio.

Speaker 9 How would you feel if you went back to prison?

Speaker 10 I'll have to protect myself again, Senator.

Speaker 10 I'll have to kill or be killed again.

Speaker 3 September 19th, 1963, a dead broke writer is lying on his couch in suburban New York. He's glued to his television set, but he's not watching a mob movie.
He's watching a Senate hearing.

Speaker 9 This is a special report from CBS News in Washington. The Congress and Coza Nostra.

Speaker 3 The testimony is from Coza Nostra insider Joseph Valachi, who would become better known as the first man to rat on the mob on national television.

Speaker 9 The sworn testimony you just heard came from the lips of Joseph Valachi, lips that supposedly were sealed 33 years ago when he joined America's underworld crime syndicate. Coza Nostra.

Speaker 3 The world he describes has a name, a name that's new to most Americans, mafia.

Speaker 9 Would it be fair to say that you went back to prison, that you'd be a dead man?

Speaker 10 If they got up me, I wouldn't be in there five minutes, Senator.

Speaker 3 Meanwhile, the man watching his television set would say he had never met a real gangster, but he knows enough to see the story for what it is.

Speaker 10 As the senator put it before, what did I get out of it? What did you get out of it? Nothing but misery. Oh, you know, as you all understand, once you're in, you're in, you can't get out.

Speaker 3 The man on the couch sees a true American story: a web of family and brutality, loyalty, and betrayal, fathers and sons, immigration, and the American dream.

Speaker 3 The man doesn't know it yet, but this inspiration will stay with him for years to come. The man's name, Mario Puzzo.

Speaker 12 I'm Mark Seale, and I'm Nathan King.

Speaker 3 And this is Leave the Gun, Take the Cannoli. In today's episode, we're taking a closer look at the real-life mafia stories that influence Mario Puzzo's book.

Speaker 12 And diving into the life and career of the unlikely author who ascended from the depths of hell's kitchen to the glitz and glam of Hollywood.

Speaker 3 We'll also learn how Puzzo's novel landed in the hands of Paramount executive Robert Evans when he needed it most.

Speaker 12 So let's get started.

Speaker 9 Did you do anything for the family at all in this time, or did they just do things for you?

Speaker 10 Just go out, kill for them.

Speaker 9 You'd go out what?

Speaker 10 Kill.

Speaker 12 Mark, the Valachi hearings are infamous. Joseph Vellace was a made man, a member of the Genovese crime family, and longtime henchman for mob boss Vito Genovese.

Speaker 3 Yes, and it was absolutely shocking at the time, especially since Joe Vellace knew exactly how the mob treated snitches.

Speaker 12 Well, he had some first-hand experience. He was intimately familiar with the story of Alberto Iguichi.

Speaker 3 And it's a particularly gruesome story. When I was researching for the book, it stood out as an incredible example of the brutality of the mafia.

Speaker 12 Iguichi was a baker from Toronto, but Baker is sort of in quotes, isn't it?

Speaker 3 Baker is definitely in quotes. He was really a heroin smuggler and an associate of the Magadino crime family in Buffalo.

Speaker 3 And in May of 1961, he was indicted along with 19 others in a $150 million heroin smuggling ring.

Speaker 12 We're talking about the notorious French Connection heroin smuggling ring that started in the 30s and stretched from Indochina all the way to France, then to Canada and the U.S.

Speaker 3 And one of those 19 others was our mob man turned informant, Joseph Valachi.

Speaker 3 And while in jail together, Valachi listened as Iguichi absolutely railed against Magadeno, who he had expected to raise money for his bail, but instead was letting him rot in jail.

Speaker 12 It's generally not a good idea to talk badly about a crime boss as you're in prison.

Speaker 3 Not at all. Iguichi ended up having to sell his house to make bail and was apparently threatening to flip on Magadino.

Speaker 12 But it didn't last long because in October of 1961, Alberto left his wife and daughters in Toronto to meet Magadino. He never made it though.

Speaker 12 He ended up badly beaten, burned, really gruesomely disfigured in a cornfield.

Speaker 3 I wrote in the book that it was like encountering an animal or something. The police couldn't even tell that it was human.

Speaker 3 It was in the middle of a circle that had been burned into the grass like a demented sign from hell.

Speaker 12 And no one really knows who did it, but people suspect that Magadino had caught wind of the fact that Iguichi was railing against him and speaking poorly and taking his name in vain and had something done about it.

Speaker 12 Now, the rest of the story is incredibly complicated, and we don't have time to tell it here, but it's a tale of brotherhood and betrayal and threats on people's lives.

Speaker 12 And ultimately, Joseph Vellachi ends up fearing for his life.

Speaker 9 It was at this point, apparently, when Valachi decided to sing for protection.

Speaker 9 An FBI agent was assigned to him full-time, and the Justice Department began filling in the blanks on its chart of Cosa Nostra. This is Valachi's great value, says the department.

Speaker 9 He is the first member of Cosa Nostra publicly to confirm its existence.

Speaker 12 And this is how we get hours of televised Senate testimony about the inner workings of the mafia.

Speaker 3 And it's the first time the word mafia was ever heard by most Americans.

Speaker 12 But Americans had had some understanding of organized crime.

Speaker 3 Yes, in the 1950s there was something called the Kafauver hearings, which were televised in 14 cities across America. And it was something else.
It was a hit.

Speaker 3 It was like a prime time reality show that people were glued to their television sets to watch.

Speaker 3 It was a parade of what one publication called 600 gangsters, pimps, bookies, and shady lawyers who testified about the activities of organized crime.

Speaker 12 Up until that that point, this is something that had existed in the shadows, and suddenly it's in living rooms across America.

Speaker 12 You have these gangsters on screen talking about, or in some cases, not talking about their crimes. This was pretty electrifying stuff in its day.

Speaker 3 Yes, it sure was. 30 million Americans tuned in.
And remember, this is still in the early days of TV.

Speaker 12 Was this the hearing where Frank Costello testified without showing his face?

Speaker 3 Yes, Frank Costello, the all-powerful leader of the Luciano crime family, was shot only from the neck down, so you couldn't see his face. And he wouldn't really say anything.

Speaker 3 But still, just to watch him in the hearings was a huge hit. The New York Times headlined its article, Costello, TV's first headless star, only his hands entertain audiences.

Speaker 9 You must have in your mind some things you've done that you can speak of to your credit as an American citizen. If so, what are they?

Speaker 9 Paid my tax.

Speaker 3 this was like the sopranos in real life but nothing compared to the velatchi hearings 10 years later yes 10 years later joseph bellachi did what costello would not he told and showed everything

Speaker 11 may i ask at this time when did you become a member of this organization?

Speaker 10 1930. What is the name of it causing us in Italian.
Our thing

Speaker 10 and our family in English.

Speaker 12 And he said a lot in those 31 hours of testimony.

Speaker 3 Yeah, he gives almost everything. He tells about what the initiation rites were.
He tells the codes. He tells the hierarchy.

Speaker 10 Well, this is a secret organization. How do you get to know this?

Speaker 10 He's a member of the same family. He'll introduce them to you, for instance, as a friend of ours.
That means a member.

Speaker 10 Now, if he happens to be with someone that isn't a friend of ours, he would just simply say, meet a friend of mine, which means nothing. That's the code between us.

Speaker 3 The mob put out a hit on him, offering $100,000 to anyone who could take him out, but it was too late. He had already spilled everything on national television, and he even used the word, Godfather.

Speaker 12 And on the other side of the television screen, Mario Puzzo is soaking all of this in in like a sponge.

Speaker 3 Yeah, that's right. I mean, the testimony was authentic.
It was real. But Mario Puzzo was a writer, an author, a great researcher.

Speaker 3 So he's sitting at home in the suburbs of New York, lying on his couch, watching these hearings like everybody else. But he did what nobody else did.

Speaker 3 He was able to take these hearings and fictionalize them and create a family that was even more romantic, more dangerous, more influential than anything he's seen on television.

Speaker 3 He created the Corleone family.

Speaker 12 You've described Puzzo as a white whale in your reporting of the story because you never actually got to speak to him. But how did you get to the heart of his story and his background?

Speaker 3 To my eternal regret, Mario Puzzo had passed away by the time I started working on the magazine article and, of course, later the book.

Speaker 3 But he would tell his incredible story himself in numerous newspapers and magazine articles and later in interviews.

Speaker 3 And I was able to speak to his eldest daughter, Dorothy Puzzo, who told me in an email that she thought most likely her father had tossed all of the research, all of the writing that he had done on the movie and the book, The Godfather.

Speaker 3 She said, you know, he was a poor aspiring writer. Who would know to keep that stuff? But to my astonishment and amazement, And good fortune, those things weren't tossed.
They were saved.

Speaker 3 And they're now on display at at Dartmouth University in a library there. You can see his writing on the back of boulders, which he liked to use with a red sharpie.
You can see his typewriter.

Speaker 3 You can read early drafts of both the novel and the screenplay of The Godfather.

Speaker 3 And then later in my research for the book, I was able to speak with his son, Anthony Puzzo, who was invaluable in telling me about his illustrious father, the frog who became a prince of Hollywood and the true hero of the Godfather.

Speaker 13 Time for a sofa upgrade: introducing Anibay sofas, where designer style meets budget-friendly prices. Every Anibay sofa is modular, allowing you to rearrange your space effortlessly.

Speaker 13 Perfect for both small and large spaces, Anibay is the only machine-washable sofa inside and out. Say goodbye to stains and messes with liquid and stain-resistant fabrics that make cleaning easy.

Speaker 13 Liquids simply slide right off. Designed for custom comfort, our high-resilience foam lets you choose between a sink-in-feel or a supportive memory foam blend.

Speaker 13 Plus, our pet-friendly, stain-resistant fabrics ensure your sofa stays beautiful for years. Don't compromise quality for price.
Visit washable sofas.com to upgrade your living space today.

Speaker 13 Sofas start at just $699 with no risk returns and a 30-day money-back guarantee. Get early access to Black Friday now.
The biggest sale of the year can save you up to 60% off.

Speaker 13 Plus, free shipping and free returns. Shop now at sofas.com.
Offers are subject to change and certain restrictions may apply.

Speaker 14 Does anything go better than LEGO and Star Wars?

Speaker 15 I don't think so.

Speaker 19 Kids will love becoming a part of the galactic action while playing out their favorite adventures, like with Django Fett's Starship.

Speaker 20 I mean, this LEGO set is fantastic.

Speaker 19 It features a detailed recreation of Django Fett's Starship with four stud shooters, a seismic charge dropping function, and wings that rotate with gravity.

Speaker 15 Plus, it has three minifigures, Django Fett with two two blasters and a jetpack, young Boba Fett, and Llama Sue.

Speaker 21 Perfect for endless play. Now, for the big fans, there's Django Fett's Fire Spray class starship from the Ultimate Collector series.

Speaker 26 Packed with details and surprises for fans, this large-scale set is perfect for anyone hunting for a mindful building escape.

Speaker 20 Plus, you end up with a fantastic display piece.

Speaker 27 You can build this while your little ones build the kids set.

Speaker 15 You'll be like Django and Boba building an adventure.

Speaker 22 Shop now for Star Wars Lego sets on Lego.com or in Lego retail stores.

Speaker 1 We know no one's journey is the same. That's why Delta Sky Miles lets you do it your way.

Speaker 1 From earning miles on reloads for coffee runs, shopping, and things you do every day, to connecting you to new places and experiences, a Sky Miles membership fits into your lifestyle, letting you do more of what makes you, you.

Speaker 1 It's more than travel. It's the membership that flies, dines, streams, rides, and arrives with you.
Every great journey deserves a great story.

Speaker 1 And when you have a membership that's as unique as you are, there's no telling how your story will unfold or where that journey will take you next.

Speaker 1 Skymiles is the membership that will be here for all your big and small moments. The membership that's there for every solo adventure or family trip.

Speaker 1 The membership that comes with the power of partnership from brands you love. The membership that moves with with you.
Learn more at delta.com slash skymiles.

Speaker 28 Some moments in life stay with you forever.

Speaker 28 In a special segment of On Purpose brought to you by eBay, I share a story about a book that changed my life early in my journey and how I was able to find the same exact edition on eBay.

Speaker 28 It was more than just a purchase. It was a reconnection with a memory that shaped my purpose.
There are certain books that don't just give you information, they shift the way you see the world.

Speaker 28 I remember reading one when I was younger that completely changed me. Years later, I found myself thinking about that book again.
I wanted the same edition back. Not a reprint, that exact one.

Speaker 28 So I started searching. And that's when I found it on eBay.
That's what I love about eBay, where you can rediscover the pieces of your past that still inspire your present.

Speaker 28 Shop eBay for millions of finds, each with a story. eBay, things people love.
Listen to On Purpose on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to podcasts.

Speaker 12 Where did Puzo come from? Because in a lot of ways, he's the most unlikely character of all in this story.

Speaker 3 Yes, his life was like an unlikely fairy tale.

Speaker 3 As he wrote in various accounts, including his 1972 memoir, The Godfather Papers and Other Confessions, Mario was born into one of the worst sections of New York, whose very name evokes its depravity, Hell's Kitchen.

Speaker 3 And he was born into a family of immigrants, many of them illiterate, including his mother, who he said could not even read or sign her name, but who employed language like a weapon.

Speaker 3 Many of the terms that Mario used in the Godfather, he said, were straight out of his mama's mouth.

Speaker 9 Because a man that doesn't spend time with his family can never be a real man.

Speaker 3 He grew up in a large family in a tenement flat, and Puzo claimed he never met an honest-to-God gangster, even though they were all around him.

Speaker 12 Was his mother worried that he would fall prey to the bad element in the neighborhood?

Speaker 3 Absolutely. His mother was very protective of Mario, but she wasn't worried about guns so much as girls.
Mario claimed he never had that many dates, though.

Speaker 12 And he was one of 13 kids.

Speaker 3 Yes, and from the beginning, he was different from the rest. He loved gambling.
He loved to pitch pennies and play cards, and he liked to read.

Speaker 3 And early on, he would read Dostoevsky and go to the library.

Speaker 12 And for a long time, he was sort of a hopeless character. Fame and fortune eluded him, right, Mark?

Speaker 3 Yeah, for a long, long time. He grew up, he was very impoverished.
They were so poor that Mario said that once his teacher asked all the students to bring a can of food for the poor.

Speaker 3 And Mario would say they didn't know we were the poor. And he went out anyway with the other kids in his neighborhood, and they went out and stole cans of food to be able to bring it to school.

Speaker 12 What did his mom think about his profession as a writer?

Speaker 3 Well, her greatest aspiration for Mario was that he would become a railroad clerk and get a steady salary. He liked to say, every family has a chooch, the Italian word for donkey.

Speaker 3 And he goes, in my family, the chooch was me. College, he would later write, wasn't an option.

Speaker 3 There were two high schools in his neighborhood, and his mom and sister thought he should go to the one that didn't prepare you for college. He asked, why didn't you urge me to attend college?

Speaker 3 And his sister says, because you were stupid.

Speaker 12 And he didn't become a writer right away, did he?

Speaker 3 No, poor Mario, he suffered so much before finding his future as a writer. Things were so grim for Mario Puzo that when World War II broke out, he was excited to get away from home.

Speaker 3 So he joined the military. You know, it was a dream to him.
He was assigned to the 4th Armored Division, Private Puzzo. He's deployed to Europe.
He drove a Jeep. He had affairs.

Speaker 3 He found a wife, a German woman who he fell in love with and brought back to America. And best of all, he found material for his first novel.

Speaker 12 That sounds like World War II was the best thing that ever happened to him.

Speaker 3 Well, not immediately. Typical to Mario is the suffering.
He had dreams of being a writer, but he didn't know where to start.

Speaker 3 So he went to the city college of New York on the GI Bill and he studied literature and creative writing. And then he did what would become his trademark.
He struggled. His weight went up.

Speaker 3 His bank account went down. He was broke all the time.
He was gambling. He was adrift.

Speaker 3 He got a job as a clerk at the Manhattan Armory, but he never had enough money to quit his day job to become a writer. He wanted to write high art.
He wanted to be an artistic writer.

Speaker 3 He wanted to be like Dostoevsky or other writers he admired. But it was all just a struggle for him.

Speaker 3 Some of his diaries still exist and it's just full of torment and loss, and the theme that money is just ruining everything.

Speaker 12 And does he sit down and write his war novel?

Speaker 3 Yes. All along, he's writing his first novel, The Dark Arena, which gets published by Random House in 1954.
And he thinks, wow, this is it. You know, I'm a published author.

Speaker 3 But the reviews were mixed. It didn't do for him what he expected.
And Mario got an advance of $3,500,

Speaker 3 which was quickly gone. His weight was way up, his hopes were way down, and then on Christmas Eve, something incredible happened.
He was at home and he suffered a severe gallbladder attack.

Speaker 3 He called a taxi, which drove him to New York City in excruciating pain. He arrived at the VA hospital and just then the attack worsened.

Speaker 3 He opened the door of the taxi and he fell out and he landed in a gutter. And he wrote about it later in Time magazine, Here I am, a published author, and I'm lying in a gutter, dying like a dog.

Speaker 3 At that moment, I decided I'm going to become rich and famous.

Speaker 12 Wow, so he had really hit rock bottom. How long did it take for him to pull himself up by his bootstraps?

Speaker 3 Well, a long time because just because you say you want something to happen doesn't mean it will.

Speaker 3 By 1960, Mario's family had grown to five kids, and his job was in danger because the FBI was investigating his unit for helping young soldiers evade the draft.

Speaker 3 Mario was never charged, but he ended up quitting his job and pursuing the most unusual path for a writer who aspired to high art.

Speaker 12 He decided to become a pulp fiction writer.

Speaker 3 Exactly. It was a company called Magazine Management.
And if there was any man who was destined to write pulp fiction, it was Mario Puzo.

Speaker 3 I was able to speak with one of his colleagues, John Bowers, and he said Mario was just able to use his research to invent whole worlds. But Mario had infinite energy at writing.

Speaker 3 He just can write like nobody's business. So he walked in the pulp fiction offices of magazine management.
It's a smoke-filled office.

Speaker 3 It's full of men and women sitting over clattering typewriters, pumping out copy for like this never-ending flood flood of trash magazines with names like mail and stag and for men only.

Speaker 3 They were called magazines, but they were really sort of rags. And soon Mario Puzo was pumping out salacious stories of brave GIs, of damsels in distress.

Speaker 12 He even wrote a story that took place in Hawaii where mobsters busted in a gambling parlor, right?

Speaker 3 Exactly. Yeah, that was just one of the many stories, but I think that was the first of all the ones that I saw that really tackled some instance of the mafia.

Speaker 12 And of course, most of it was just dreamed up.

Speaker 3 Not most of it. All of it was dreamed up.
I mean, he said once that he would take a real-life battle where 7,000 people got killed and turn it into a bloody battle where 100,000 died.

Speaker 3 I wish you could read some of those magazine magazines stories. It was larger than life.

Speaker 3 It didn't have to depend upon fact-checking at all. He'd amp up the action no matter what, and that became his trademark.
He became one of the top pulp fiction writers of all time.

Speaker 3 Before, you know, he was aspiring to high art. He was spending these time on these novels that didn't make him any money.

Speaker 3 He had enormous expenses, not only the bookies that he owed money to, but also, you know, he had a family of five kids. He had to make a living.
He had to bring money home.

Speaker 3 And he owed money to the IRS. He owed money to his family.
He owed money to the bookkeepers. And he kept kept gambling.
He kept eating. He kept living this life that was just way beyond his means.

Speaker 12 And as much as he aspired to high art, it seems like he was almost destined to write pulp fiction. I mean, after eight years doing it, he was pretty much the most successful of any of them.

Speaker 3 Well, yeah, but he was not making a huge amount of money. Yeah, I believe we got something like $150, something like that, for the week.

Speaker 3 So he went back to his publisher and said, you know, I'm ready for my third book, my third novel.

Speaker 3 And his publisher said, forget about it, Mario. They weren't ready to assign him a third book.

Speaker 3 And one of the editors said, well, you know, if the fortunate pilgrim had a little bit more of that mafia stuff in it, maybe it would sell. And those words rang in Mario Puzzo's head.

Speaker 3 A little bit more of that mafia stuff.

Speaker 12 And that's when it all clicked for him. He remembered how he had been engrossed by the Valachi hearings.

Speaker 3 It's like a scene out of a movie.

Speaker 3 I mean, here's this overweight, overwrought, in-depth writer, and he pays 10 bucks for the 10-volume transcripts of the Capfauver hearings, and he gets access to his friend Peter Mas's book on the Valachi hearings, and he gets a lot of other research, and he sits down in his basement.

Speaker 3 and he cranks out a 10-page outline and he takes it to his agent, the legendary Candido Donatio, and she sends it out to various publishers. And much to Mario's surprise, one of them gives him $5,000.

Speaker 3 And what does he do? Of course, he spends the money and he doesn't work on the book.

Speaker 12 God, seriously?

Speaker 3 Yes, he gambles. He spends some money on his family, obviously.
And soon the money is all gone.

Speaker 12 But the important thing is that he has a fire lit under him and he has to deliver the book.

Speaker 3 Not so fast, Nathan. There's one place a struggling writer can turn to for some fast cash.

Speaker 12 This must be when he goes to Hollywood.

Speaker 3 Allegedly.

Speaker 12 Evan says Puzo shows up at the gates of Paramount, 35 pages under his arm, looking broke, and sells the option to Paramount for $12,500.

Speaker 3 And Mario claims he sold the option through his agent and the story editor at Paramount and that he never even went to California.

Speaker 12 Well, regardless of what happened, he sold the option to Paramount.

Speaker 3 For big money for Mario too, $12,500.

Speaker 12 So now he writes the book.

Speaker 3 Yes, he goes home, he walks down the stairs to his basement, and there between the pool table and the constant racket of his five kids, a mafia family rises up from his typewriter.

Speaker 3 And what a family it is. He gets the name from a town in Sicily, one of the most mafia-infested towns in the country, Corleone.

Speaker 3 There's Don Vito Corleone, the godfather. There's the eldest son and heir apparent, Santino, known as Sonny.
There's the middle son, the poor, suffering, subservient Fredo.

Speaker 3 And there's the youngest, the future, the college boy who chose to enlist in the military instead of the mafia, Michael.

Speaker 13 Tired of spills and stains on your sofa? Wash away your worries with Anibay. AniBay is the only machine-washable sofa inside and out where designer quality meets budget-friendly prices.

Speaker 13 That's right, sofas start at just $699.

Speaker 13 Enjoy a no-risk experience with pet-friendly, stain-resistant, and changeable slip covers made with performance fabric.

Speaker 13 Experience cloud-like comfort with high-resilience foam that's hypoallergenic and never needs fluffing. The sturdy steel frame ensures longevity, and the modular pieces can be rearranged anytime.

Speaker 13 Shop washable sofas.com for early Black Friday savings up to 60% off site-wide, backed by a 30-day satisfaction guarantee. If you're not absolutely in love, send it back for a full refund.

Speaker 13 No return shipping or restocking fees, every penny back. Upgrade now at washablesofas.com.
Offers are subject to change and certain restrictions may apply.

Speaker 14 Does anything go better than Lego and Star Wars?

Speaker 15 I don't think so.

Speaker 19 Kids will love becoming a part of the galactic action while playing out their favorite adventures, like with with Django Fett's Starship.

Speaker 20 I mean, this LEGO set is fantastic.

Speaker 19 It features a detailed recreation of Django Fett's Starship with four stud shooters, a seismic charge dropping function, and wings that rotate with gravity.

Speaker 15 Plus, it has three minifigures, Django Fett with two blasters and a jetpack, Young Boba Fett, and Llama Su.

Speaker 21 Perfect for endless play.

Speaker 24 Now, for the big fans, there's Django Fett's Fire Spray class starship from the Ultimate Collector series.

Speaker 26 Packed with details and surprises for fans, this large-scale set is perfect for anyone hunting for a mindful building escape.

Speaker 20 Plus, you end up with a fantastic display piece.

Speaker 27 You can build this while your little ones build the kids set.

Speaker 15 You'll be like Django and Boba building an adventure.

Speaker 22 Shop now for Star Wars Lego sets on Lego.com or in Lego retail stores.

Speaker 1 We know no one's journey is the same. That's why Delta Sky Miles lets you do it your way.

Speaker 1 From earning miles on reloads for coffee runs, shopping, and things you do every day, to connecting you to new places and experiences, a Sky Miles membership fits into your lifestyle, letting you do more of what makes you, you.

Speaker 1 It's more than travel. It's the membership that flies, dines, streams, rides, and arrives with you.
Every great journey deserves a great story.

Speaker 1 And when you have a membership that's as unique as you are, There's no telling how your story will unfold or where that journey will take you next.

Speaker 1 Skymiles is the membership that will be here for all your big and small moments. The membership that's there for every solo adventure or family trip.

Speaker 1 The membership that comes with the power of partnership from brands you love. The membership that moves with you.
Learn more at delta.com slash skymiles.

Speaker 28 Some moments in life stay with you forever.

Speaker 28 In a special segment of On Purpose brought to you by eBay, I share a story about a book that changed my life early in my journey and how I was able to find the same exact edition on eBay.

Speaker 28 It was more than just a purchase, it was a reconnection with a memory that shaped my purpose. There are certain books that don't just give you information, they shift the way you see the world.

Speaker 28 I remember reading one when I was younger that completely changed me. Years later, I found myself thinking about that book again.
I wanted the same edition back. Not a reprint, that exact one.

Speaker 28 So I started searching and that's when I found it on eBay. That's what I love about eBay, where you can rediscover the pieces of your past that still inspire your present.

Speaker 28 Shop eBay for millions of finds, each with a story. eBay, things people love.

Speaker 28 Listen to on purpose on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to podcasts.

Speaker 3 Mario, of course, claimed he had never met an honest-to-goodness gangster, but he looked for inspiration wherever he could.

Speaker 3 One story I just loved from when he was writing the book was that one night in 1966, the author Gay Talese and his wife Nan invited Mario to dinner at the home of Talese's aunt, Susan Peleggi.

Speaker 3 And Susan Peleggi, of course, is the mother of the also famous writer, Nick Peleggi, who had gone to write the novel Wise Guy.

Speaker 12 which was the foundation for Goodfellas.

Speaker 3 Exactly. And Gay Tales had written the organized crime classic, Honor Thy Father.
And so here's a newcomer to the realm, Mario Puzzo, the author of the forthcoming Godfather at the same table.

Speaker 3 So he takes one look at Nan Talese, who'd grown up on the Upper East Side, who was from a different world, very genteel, educated.

Speaker 3 And he immediately found a model for the wife of Michael Corleone, Kay.

Speaker 12 So he was really pulling from all around him for inspiration.

Speaker 3 That was the brilliance of Mario Puzzo that he would find inspiration in unlikely places.

Speaker 3 So, another thing I was able to discover is that Mario, being Mario and loving Las Vegas more than any other place on earth, probably, would go to Las Vegas regularly and gamble at, among other places, the Sands Hotel.

Speaker 3 And I was able to interview Ed Walters, who worked as a pit boss at the Sands.

Speaker 30 Tell me when you first saw Mario Puzo. Mario Puzzo came to Vegas.
He used to play in, he used to come to Vegas a lot.

Speaker 30 He was a roulette fiend. He played roulette.

Speaker 3 And he said that Mario would come in and gamble and at the same time ask questions for his forthcoming book about the mob.

Speaker 30 He was a little pudgy guy, and I met him through, he was talking to this dealer on the roulette wheels. And I was on the wheels at that time.
And I was standing, I'd listen to him.

Speaker 30 I'd answer questions myself.

Speaker 3 He'd ask questions about Sinatra

Speaker 3 and the mob and money. And

Speaker 3 because of me, then I opened up about, because he had things wrong. And I said, well, no, you got to mix it up.

Speaker 3 The mob and the mafia are not the same thing. You got

Speaker 3 the mafia are all Italians. They're all blood guys from a certain place and thing.

Speaker 30 No, the mob is different.

Speaker 30 And then I explained to him the outfit and all these terms.

Speaker 3 And of course, Ed Walters, who knew a bit about the mob because he had come from New York City where he had known a lot of people that were, let's say, somehow connected, told Mario a bit, you know, to keep him gambling there.

Speaker 3 And Mario would ask questions about who was who and what was what. And as long as he kept gambling, Ed Walters kept talking.

Speaker 30 Was he taking notes and everything while you were telling him this? No, he didn't at first, but then he started to.

Speaker 3 And pretty soon Mario had an insight into the Vegas aspect of the mob, which figured into the godfather quite a bit.

Speaker 30 He'd say, so Eddie, tell me, how keep this Sinatra in the mob? And I said, hold it, hold it, hold it.

Speaker 30 I said, Sinatra ain't in the mob. Stop it.
He said, guys, told me he's in the mob. That's been full of shit.
But Sinatra's not in the mob. He works for us.
He's a fucking entertainer.

Speaker 30 And he thought, wow, that's interesting. So Bario would be playing while he's talking to him? Yeah.

Speaker 30 Yeah, all the time. Oh, he couldn't have it just sit there and take notes, no.
Why?

Speaker 30 Oh, yeah. We don't want no fucking guy sitting in our casino taking notes.
So you let him do it because he was playing? Yes, Yes, because he's playing. Oh, so

Speaker 30 that was good for you.

Speaker 30 Well, yeah, of course.

Speaker 30 I told some people, he's writing a book or some shit. I don't know.

Speaker 30 But as long as he plays, as long as he plays,

Speaker 30 fine. But there's no way.

Speaker 30 If a guy was ever sitting there taking notes, what he did, we'd come down and say,

Speaker 30 what are you writing a book? Yeah, get the fuck out of here.

Speaker 12 So do you think Mario knew he had to do something different here? I mean, you mentioned his daughter, Dorothy, saying that he couldn't have have known this book would be a success.

Speaker 3 No, of course he didn't think it was going to be a great success while he was writing it. He was writing, as he always did, he liked to say, for a paycheck.

Speaker 3 But at the same time, he had decided give up on high art and those aspirations to be a Dostoevsky or something like that, you know, to be a fine art writer.

Speaker 3 He was writing a sensational story about a sensational family in a sensational world, and he had no aspirations of writing high art. He wanted to turn this book into bucks.

Speaker 3 He wanted to make money on The Godfather.

Speaker 12 Funnily enough, with his back against the wall, he ends up turning out the most Dostoevsky-esque of all of his novels.

Speaker 3 Yeah, I know

Speaker 3 it became something of a masterpiece. I mean, I wouldn't say it was, you know, incredible literature, but at the same time, it was a page turner, a pot boiler.

Speaker 3 It had all the attributes of like Valley of the Dolls or something like that, but set in the world of organized crime.

Speaker 3 I don't think he expected it to do what it did, though, still.

Speaker 3 I think he thought he was going to, you know, write a book for money, get his $5,000 advance and maybe some royalties, pay off some debts, and then get on to the next project.

Speaker 3 Instead, it took the world by storm.

Speaker 12 Well, when he was down in that basement and the kids were screaming, he would shout, quiet, don't you know I'm writing a bestseller here?

Speaker 3 Yeah, but I think that was a joke. You know, the kids would laugh, he would laugh.
I think he had no idea that he was writing a bestseller.

Speaker 3 And I don't think he'd ever dreamed The Godfather would become an international bestseller and a model for possibly the greatest movie of all time.

Speaker 12 When he does eventually finish the book, what happens?

Speaker 3 So, he leaves the pages with his agent, Candido Donatio.

Speaker 3 And in true Mario Puzzo fashion, he takes his money, he takes his family, and he flies off to Europe for a big vacation with lots of food and gambling.

Speaker 12 But isn't he still broke?

Speaker 3 He's broker than he ever has been. He doesn't have the money to go to Europe.
He finances the trip by getting cash advances on his credit card.

Speaker 3 He and his family have a great time, but when he returns home, he's eight grand in debt. Can you imagine? Eight grand back then is a fortune.

Speaker 3 He goes straight to his agent's office in hopes that she can, as he would later write, pull a slick magazine assignment out of her sleeve and bail him out.

Speaker 3 Instead, she informs him that Putnam, his publisher, has offered money for the paperback rights to The Godfather. And Mario goes, how much?

Speaker 3 And she goes, $375,000.

Speaker 3 Wow.

Speaker 12 Even now, that's a really good offer. So does he take it?

Speaker 3 Well, he doesn't believe it.

Speaker 3 He says this must be some kind of Madison Avenue come-on he thinks they're joking after all the biggest advance up to that point for paperback rights had been 400 000 so candida d'nadio his agent picks up the phone calls his editor at putlam bill targ and the editor says the amount is not correct the offer had already gone up to 400 000 wow

Speaker 3 And when the dust had settled and the deal was done, Mario Puzo had sold the paperback rights to the Godfather for $410,000, setting a new record.

Speaker 12 Does he get that all at once?

Speaker 3 Of course not.

Speaker 3 They give him $100,000 and he takes it to the bank where he said the teller had always, you know, looked at him in askance when he needed money or, you know, cashed his little checks and he showed him the $100,000 check just to watch him grovel, he said.

Speaker 3 He quit his job at magazine management and he went home and promptly spent the $100,000. And he was back at his publisher a few months later saying, could you give me another $100,000?

Speaker 3 And they said, Mario, we just gave you $100,000. And he said, $100,000 doesn't last forever.

Speaker 12 Well, broke or not, The Godfather was published on March 10th, 1969, and it shot to the top of the bestseller list.

Speaker 3 Absolutely. It was an instant success.

Speaker 12 But Puzo is sort of the most critical about the lack of artistic merit in The Godfather. It's not as good as the preceding two novels.
He said, I wrote it to make money.

Speaker 3 Yeah, Puzo said if he knew it was going to be such a hit, he would have written it a lot better.

Speaker 3 But The Godfather was a sensation. The reviews were ecstatic.
Even the New York Times gave it a rave. Puzzo, all of a sudden, this nobody writer begins living very large.

Speaker 3 He's a superstar on his way to becoming one of the best-selling writers in the world. He's on the Today Show.
He's being courted in restaurants.

Speaker 3 All of a sudden, champagne would appear at his table from a certain interested party across the room, which were made men who felt sure that he would have some kind of insight, information, or maybe he was a made man himself.

Speaker 3 He became a superstar. The book spent 67 weeks on the bestseller list.

Speaker 12 Miraculously, his vow in the gutter to become rich and famous had suddenly become true.

Speaker 3 And in Hollywood, too, all of a sudden, Bob Evans remembered the dead froke writer who appeared in his office with those 35 pages under his arm.

Speaker 29 And the book came out and it became the biggest book in a decade.

Speaker 3 The only problem, the distribution department at Paramount didn't want to make the movie.

Speaker 29 Nobody wanted to make it. As a matter of fact, Paramount refused to make it for a while.
They said, mafia films don't sell. We did the Brotherhood two years ago.
It failed.

Speaker 29 We're not going to make this.

Speaker 3 Apparently, the studio told Evans that the only way it could be made was if he could do it for under $2 million.

Speaker 3 So Evans turned to a producer at Paramount who was known for getting stuff made on the cheap. The soon-to-be legendary Al Ruddy.
I get a call one time. Do I want to produce the Godfather?

Speaker 3 I thought it was a joke. Yeah, of course, my favorite book.
I never read it. He'd wear the anthem of New York to be Charlie Blue Dorn.
So I go to New York, I read the book on the plane.

Speaker 3 God fell a low.

Speaker 3 Leave the Gun, Take the Cannoli is a production of Air Mail and iHeartMedia.

Speaker 12 The podcast is based on the book of the same name written by our very own Mark Seale.

Speaker 3 Our producer is Tina Mullen.

Speaker 12 Research assistants by Jack Sullivan.

Speaker 3 Jonathan Dressler was our development producer.

Speaker 12 Our music supervisor is Randall Poster. Our executive producers are meet, Nathan King, Mark Seal, Dylan Fagan, and Graydon Carter.

Speaker 3 Special thanks to Bridget Arseneau and everyone at CDM Studios.

Speaker 12 A comprehensive list of sources and acknowledgments can be found in Mark Seale's book, Leave the Gun, Take the Cannoli, published by Gallery Books, an imprint of Simon Schuster.

Speaker 14 Does anything go better than LEGO and Star Wars?

Speaker 15 I don't think so.

Speaker 19 Kids will love becoming a part of the galactic action while playing out their favorite adventures, like with Django Fett's Starship.

Speaker 20 I mean, this LEGO set is fantastic.

Speaker 19 It features a detailed recreation of Django Fett's Starship with four stud shooters, a seismic charge-dropping function, and wings that rotate with gravity.

Speaker 15 Plus, it has three minifigures: Django Fett with two blasters and a jetpack, Young Boba Fett, and Llama Sue.

Speaker 21 Perfect for endless play.

Speaker 24 Now, for the big fans, there's Django Fett's Fire Spray class starship from the Ultimate Collector series.

Speaker 21 Packed with details and surprises for fans, this large-scale set is perfect for anyone hunting for a mindful building escape.

Speaker 20 Plus, you end up with a fantastic display piece.

Speaker 27 You can build this while your little ones build the kids set.

Speaker 15 You'll be like Django and Boba building an adventure.

Speaker 22 Shop now for Star Wars Lego sets on Lego.com or in Lego retail stores.

Speaker 5 Greetings for my bath, festive friends. The holidays are overwhelming, but I'm tackling this season with PayPal and making the most of my money.
Getting 5% cash back when I pay in four.

Speaker 3 No fees, no interest. I used it to get this portable spa with jets.

Speaker 6 Now the bubbles can cling to my sculpted but pruny body. Make the most of your money this holiday with PayPal.

Speaker 7 Save the offer in the app. NS1231, see paypal.com/slash promo terms.
Points can be renewed for cash more paying for subject to terms and approval. PayPal Inc.
at MLS 910-457.

Speaker 4 Making the holidays magical for everyone on your list? It's no small feat. But with TJ Maxx, your magic multiplies.

Speaker 4 With quality finds arriving daily through Christmas Eve, you'll save on Lux Cashmere, the latest tech, toys, and more.

Speaker 4 So you can check off every name on your list and treat yourself to a holiday look that'll turn heads. Now you know where to go to make all that holiday magic.
It's TJ Maxx, of course.

Speaker 4 It's shaping up to be a very magical holiday.

Speaker 31 When you need a break, skip the scrolling. Visit myprize.us.
The games are super exciting and you can actually win. Myprize.us is the most fun, free-to-play social casino around.

Speaker 31 Everyone deserves to win big. All the slots and table games you love with incredible bonuses.
Sign up today for an incredible welcome package.

Speaker 6 MyPrize.us is a free-to-play social casino. Users must be 18 or older to play.
Void work prohibited by law. Visit myprize.us for more details.

Speaker 31 When you need a break, make it memorable. Visit myprize.us.
Real prizes, real winners, real easy.

Speaker 1 This is an iHeart Podcast.