Mancini, Anthony 1939-

PERSONAL:

Born January 17, 1939, in New York, NY; son of Ugo (a construction foreman) and Emma Mancini; married Patricia McNees (a writer and editor), April 22, 1967 (divorced); married Maria Cellario (an actress), June 25, 1978; children: (first marriage) Romana; (second marriage) Nicholas. Ethnicity: "White Italian-American." Education: Fordham University, B.A., 1961. Politics: "Humanist/skeptic." Religion: Roman Catholic. Hobbies and other interests: Shooting pool, playing basketball, opera, reading.

ADDRESSES:

Home—New York, NY. Office—Journalism Program, Department of English, Brooklyn College of the City University of New York, Brooklyn, NY 11210; fax: 212-732-0096. Agent—Lazear Agency, 431 2nd St., Ste. 300, Hudson, WI 54016. E-mail—[email protected]

CAREER:

New York Post, New York, NY, reporter, 1959-76; Brooklyn College of the City University of New York, Brooklyn, NY, member of faculty, beginning 1980, professor of journalism, 1989—, and director of journalism program. New York University, adjunct professor, beginning 1977. Military service: U.S. Army, 1961-63.

MEMBER:

Authors Guild, Authors League of America, Professional Staff Congress.

AWARDS, HONORS:

First prize, Uniformed Firefighters Association, 1977, for newspaper feature "Inside a Hospital Burn Center."

WRITINGS:

NOVELS

Minnie Santangelo's Mortal Sin, Coward (New York, NY), 1975.

Minnie Santangelo and the Evil Eye, Coward (New York, NY), 1977.

The Miracle of Pelham Bay Park, Dutton (New York, NY), 1982.

Menage, D.I. Fine (New York, NY), 1988.

The Yellow Gardenia, D.I. Fine (New York, NY), 1990.

Talons, D.I. Fine (New York, NY), 1991.

Godmother, D.I. Fine (New York, NY), 1993.

OTHER

Contributor to books, including Kissinger: The Public and Private Story, New American Library (New York, NY), 1974. Reporter and correspondent from Frankfurt, Germany, for Overseas Weekly, 1965-66. Contributor to popular magazines, including Travel and Leisure, Self, Cosmopolitan, Penthouse, and Gentleman's Quarterly, and to newspapers. Mancini's books have been published in Japan, Finland, Romania, Germany, France, Spain, and the Netherlands.

SIDELIGHTS:

Anthony Mancini once told CA: "I am an identical twin. My brother Joseph is also a writer for the New York Post. I have lived in Germany and Italy."

Later, Mancini commented: "I write to fend off boredom. I write to earn money (‘None but a blockhead,’ said Sam Johnson). I write to learn. I write to suffer. I write to avoid suffering. I write to avoid working. I write to avoid playing. I write out of habit. I write because I can't sing arias or play the piano. I used to write to keep the wolf from the door; now I write out of some forlorn hope that I will find something to say. I write to keep off the streets.

"Everybody I read or have read influences my work. I steal from everybody. I don't plagiarize, but I ‘pinch effects,’ as Lawrence Durrell put it. Maybe someday I'll learn how to do it on my own. I doubt it.

"I have a simple writing process. I turn on the computer and wait for the beads of blood to form on my forehead.

"I have been inspired to write on the subjects I have chosen through some mysterious and probably dishonest process that will do until a better one comes along. The struggle is to go from word to word, phrase to phrase, clause to clause, sentence to sentence, paragraph to paragraph, chapter to chapter, book to book, and keep yourself from getting up from the chair, eating too much, drinking too much, or going absolutely nuts."

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

PERIODICALS

Library Journal, January, 1989, Rex E. Klett, review of Menage, p. 105; August, 1991, Edwin B. Burgess, review of Talons, p. 146.

Publishers Weekly, November 27, 1981, Barbara A. Bannon, review of The Miracle of Pelham Bay Park, p. 80; November 18, 1988, Sybil Steinberg, review of Menage, p. 68; July 27, 1990, Sybil Steinberg, review of The Yellow Gardenia, p. 223; June 21, 1991, review of Talons, p. 51; September 13, 1993, review of Godmother, p. 92.