One result of all this publishing activity has been the growing enthusiasm moviemakers have shown for his work. One of his novels, Full of Life (1951), was adapted to the screen during his lifetime -- a 1957 adaptation with Richard Conte and Judy Holliday -- but the bulk of the interest has been since his death. Wait Until Spring, Bandini (1938), his first published novel, became a Francis Ford Coppola film in 1989, starring Joe Mantegna and Faye Dunaway. Several of Fante's other books, including his two best novels, Ask the Dust and The Brotherhood of the Grape (1977), have been recently optioned to filmmakers. Three of his other works -- Dreams from Bunker Hill (1982), 1933 Was a Bad Year (1985), and "My Dog Stupid" (in West of Rome, 1986) -- are under consideration for screen adaptation.
For Fante, who worked as a screenwriter during much of his career, most of this recognition came too late for him to enjoy. He died on 8 May 1983 at the Motion Picture and Television Country House in Woodland Hills, California.
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