John Stanley Joseph Wojtowicz (/vɔɪˈtoʊvɪtʃ/, voy-TOE-vitch;[1] March 9, 1945 – January 2, 2006) was an American bank robber whose story inspired the film Dog Day Afternoon.

In 1971, Wojtowicz met transgender woman Elizabeth Eden at the Feast of San Gennaro in New York City.

[7] On August 22, 1972, Wojtowicz, along with Salvatore Naturile and Robert Westenberg, attempted to rob a branch of the Chase Manhattan Bank at 450 Avenue P in Gravesend, Brooklyn.

Rather than quickly obtaining the money and fleeing as planned, Wojtowicz and Naturile ended up holding seven Chase Manhattan bank employees hostage for fourteen hours.

[7][9] According to Wojtowicz, he was offered a deal for pleading guilty, which the court did not honor, and on April 23, 1973, he was sentenced to 20 years in Lewisburg Federal Penitentiary, of which he served five.

[6][12] Eden, who married and divorced during the time Wojtowicz was imprisoned, died of AIDS-related pneumonia at Genesee Hospital, in Rochester, New York, on September 29, 1987.

Either way, the film was very successful, receiving good reviews and winning the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay at the 1975 ceremony.