Person
Robert Towne
Writing · 1934–2024 · San Pedro, Los Angeles, California, USA
Biography
Robert Towne (born Robert Bertram Schwartz; November 23, 1934 - July 1, 2024) was an American screenwriter, producer, director and actor. He was part of the New Hollywood wave of filmmaking. He is best known for his Academy Award-winning original screenplay for Roman Polanski's Chinatown (1974), which is widely considered one of the greatest screenplays ever written. He later said it was inspired by a chapter in Carey McWilliams's Southern California Country: An Island on the Land (1946) and a West magazine article on Raymond Chandler's Los Angeles. Towne also wrote the sequel, The Two Jakes (1990); the Hal Ashby comedy-dramas The Last Detail (1973) and Shampoo (1975); and the first two Mission: Impossible films. Towne directed the sports dramas Personal Best (1982) and Without Limits (1998), the crime thriller Tequila Sunrise (1988), and the romantic crime drama Ask the Dust (2006). Description above from the Wikipedia article Robert Towne, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.
Known for
Mad Men
Consulting Producer
The Godfather
Story Editor
The Outer Limits
Writer
The Man from U.N.C.L.E.
Writer
Mission: Impossible
Screenplay
Mission: Impossible II
Screenplay
Days of Thunder
Screenplay
Chinatown
Writer
The Firm
Screenplay
Cadillac Desert
Self - Screenwriter, 'Chinatown'
Filmography
- 2019What She Said: The Art of Pauline KaelSelf
- 2013SalingerSelf - Screenwriter
- 2012Welcome to the BasementScreenplay
- 2011The Story of Film: An OdysseySelf
- 2008You Must Remember This: The Warner Bros. StorySelf
- 2008Revolution! The Making of 'Bonnie and Clyde'Self
- 2007Mad MenConsulting Producer
- 2006Ask the DustDirector
- 2005Budd Boetticher: A Man Can Do ThatSelf
- 2004Suspect ZeroProfessor Dates (uncredited)
- 2003A Decade Under the InfluenceSelf
- 2002Reel Radicals: The Sixties Revolution in FilmSelf (uncredited)
- 2001Rescued from the ClosetSelf
- 2001A Sad Flower in the SandSelf
- 2000Mission: Impossible IIScreenplay
- 1998Without LimitsWriter
- 1998Billy Wilder: The Human ComedySelf
- 1997Cadillac Desert: Water and the Transformation of NatureSelf - Screenwriter, 'Chinatown'
- 1997Cadillac DesertSelf - Screenwriter, 'Chinatown'
- 1996Mission: ImpossibleScreenplay
- 1994Love AffairScreenplay
- 1993The FirmScreenplay
- 1991Halloween Monster BashSparks Moran (archive footage)
- 1990The Two JakesWriter
- 1990Days of ThunderScreenplay
- 1988Tequila SunriseScreenplay
- 1988FranticAdditional Writing
- 1987The Pick-up ArtistStan
- 1987Tough Guys Don't DanceAdditional Writing
- 1987The Bedroom WindowExecutive Producer
- 19868 Million Ways to DieAdditional Writing
- 1984Greystoke: The Legend of Tarzan, Lord of the ApesScreenplay
- 1983Deal of the CenturyAdditional Writing
- 1982Personal BestDirector
- 1978Heaven Can WaitAdditional Writing
- 1975ShampooParty Guest (uncredited)
- 1974The YakuzaScreenplay
- 1974ChinatownWriter
- 1974The Parallax ViewAdditional Writing
- 1973The Last DetailScreenplay
- 1972The New CenturionsAdditional Writing
- 1972The GodfatherStory Editor
- 1972Cisco PikeAdditional Writing
- 1971McCabe & Mrs. MillerAdditional Writing
- 1971Drive, He SaidRichard
- 1971The Zodiac KillerMan in Bar #3
- 1968Villa RidesScreenplay
- 1967Bonnie and ClydeAdditional Writing
- 1964The Tomb of LigeiaScreenplay
- 1964The Man from U.N.C.L.E.Writer
- 1963The Outer LimitsWriter
- 1962The Lloyd Bridges ShowWriter
- 1961Creature from the Haunted SeaSparks Moran / Agent XK150 / Narrator
- 1960Last Woman on EarthMartin Joyce
- —Robert Towne
- —Battle of BritainScreenplay
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