‘Godfather’ papers were offered and Dartmouth, naturally, couldn’t refuse

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. — Illinois Gov. Bruce Rauner has donated his collection of “The Godfather” author Mario Puzo’s papers to his alma mater, Dartmouth College.

The New Hampshire school says in a news release it was “an offer they couldn’t refuse,” echoing one of the movie’s famous lines.

The 50 boxes of papers donated by Rauner and his wife Diana will be housed at the college’s Rauner Special Collections Library. They include draft manuscripts, correspondence and other records from the novelist and screenwriter’s career.

Among the papers are notes between Puzo and “The Godfather” director Francis Ford Coppola, and Puzo’s program from the Academy Awards when the movie won best picture.

The school will display select papers starting Thursday through June 30. In the meantime, an archivist will prepare the collection for research use.

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