Francis Ford Coppola (born April 7, 1939) is an Italian-American film director, producer and screenwriter. Away from showbusiness, Coppola is also a vintner, magazine publisher and hotelier. He is a graduate of Hofstra University where he studied theatre. He earned an M.F.A. in film directing from the UCLA Film School. He is most renowned for directing the Godfather films, The Conversation and Apocalypse Now.

Life

Childhood

Coppola was born in Detroit, Michigan, to a family of Italian ancestry (his grandparents were immigrants from Bernalda, Basilicata).ISBN 0-306-80598-7 He received his middle name in honor of Henry Ford and because he was born at the Henry Ford Hospital.; can be viewed at www.youtube.com/watch?v=18pZjqLaMMA Coppola is son of Italia (née Pennino) and arranger/composer Carmine Coppola, who was the first flautist for the Detroit Symphony Orchestra. He was the second of three children (his older brother was August Coppola and younger sister is actress Talia Shire). Two years later, Carmine became the first flautist for the NBC Symphony Orchestra and the family moved to New York City, finding a home in Woodside, Queens, where Francis spent the remainder of his childhood.