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Robert Towne
Writer

Robert Towne

23 Nov 1934Born
1 Jul 2024Died
89Age at death
32Credits

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.

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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

Filmography

  1. TBARobert TowneFilm
  2. TBABattle of BritainFilm: Screenplay
  3. 2012Welcome to the BasementSeries: Screenplay (1 episode)
  4. 2007Making of ChinatownFilm
  5. 2006Ask the DustFilm: Screenplay, Director
  6. 2004Suspect ZeroFilm: Professor Dates (uncredited)
  7. 2000Mission: Impossible IIFilm: Screenplay
  8. 1998Without LimitsFilm: Writer, Director
  9. 1996Mission: ImpossibleFilm: Screenplay
  10. 1994Love AffairFilm: Screenplay
  11. 1993The FirmFilm: Screenplay
  12. 1991Halloween Monster BashFilm: Sparks Moran (archive footage)
  13. 1990The Two JakesFilm: Writer
  14. 1990Days of ThunderFilm: Screenplay
  15. 1988Tequila SunriseFilm: Screenplay, Director
  16. 1987The Pick-up ArtistFilm: Stan
  17. 19868 Million Ways to DieFilm: Writer
  18. 1984Greystoke: The Legend of Tarzan, Lord of the ApesFilm: Screenplay
  19. 1982Personal BestFilm: Director, Writer
  20. 1975ShampooFilm: Party Guest (uncredited), Writer
  21. 1974The YakuzaFilm: Screenplay
  22. 1974ChinatownFilm: Writer
  23. 1973The Last DetailFilm: Screenplay
  24. 1971Drive, He SaidFilm: Richard
  25. 1971The Zodiac KillerFilm: Man in Bar #3
  26. 1968Villa RidesFilm: Screenplay
  27. 1964The Tomb of LigeiaFilm: Screenplay
  28. 1964The Man from U.N.C.L.E.Series: Writer (1 episode)
  29. 1963The Outer LimitsSeries: Writer (1 episode)
  30. 1962The Lloyd Bridges ShowSeries: Writer (1 episode)
  31. 1961Creature from the Haunted SeaFilm: Sparks Moran / Agent XK150 / Narrator
  32. 1960Last Woman on EarthFilm: Martin Joyce, Screenplay

Biography and credits from TMDB. This website uses TMDB and the TMDB APIs but is not endorsed, certified, or otherwise approved by TMDB.