- Known For
- Writing
- Born
- November 23, 1934
- Place of Birth
- San Pedro, Los Angeles, California, USA
- Died
- July 1, 2024
Robert Towne
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). D…
Filmography
movieWhat She Said: The Art of Pauline Kael
2019 · Self
movieSalinger
2013 · Self - Screenwriter
tvWelcome to the Basement
2012 · Screenplay
tvThe Story of Film: An Odyssey
2011 · Self
Mission: Remarkable - 40 Years of Creating the Impossible
movieMission: Remarkable - 40 Years of Creating the Impossible
2010 · Self
movieYou Must Remember This: The Warner Bros. Story
2008 · Self
movieRevolution! The Making of 'Bonnie and Clyde'
2008 · Self
tvMad Men
2007 · Consulting Producer
movieAsk the Dust
2006 · Director, Screenplay
movieBudd Boetticher: A Man Can Do That
2005 · Self
movieSuspect Zero
2004 · Professor Dates (uncredited)
movieA Decade Under the Influence
2003 · Self
Reel Radicals: The Sixties Revolution in Film
movieReel Radicals: The Sixties Revolution in Film
2002 · Self (uncredited)
movieRescued from the Closet
2001 · Self
movieA Sad Flower in the Sand
2001 · Self
movieMission: Impossible II
2000 · Screenplay
movieWithout Limits
1998 · Writer, Director
movieBilly Wilder: The Human Comedy
1998 · Self
movieCadillac Desert: Water and the Transformation of Nature
1997 · Self - Screenwriter, 'Chinatown'
tvCadillac Desert
1997 · Self - Screenwriter, 'Chinatown'
movieMission: Impossible
1996 · Screenplay
movieLove Affair
1994 · Screenplay
movieThe Firm
1993 · Screenplay
movieHalloween Monster Bash
1991 · Sparks Moran (archive footage)
movieThe Two Jakes
1990 · Writer, Characters
movieDays of Thunder
1990 · Screenplay, Story
movieTequila Sunrise
1988 · Screenplay, Director
movieFrantic
1988 · Additional Writing
movieThe Pick-up Artist
1987 · Stan
movieTough Guys Don't Dance
1987 · Additional Writing
movieThe Bedroom Window
1987 · Executive Producer
movie8 Million Ways to Die
1986 · Additional Writing, Writer
movieGreystoke: The Legend of Tarzan, Lord of the Apes
1984 · Screenplay
movieDeal of the Century
1983 · Additional Writing
moviePersonal Best
1982 · Director, Producer, Writer
movieHeaven Can Wait
1978 · Additional Writing
movieShampoo
1975 · Party Guest (uncredited), Writer
movieThe Yakuza
1974 · Screenplay
movieChinatown
1974 · Writer
movieThe Parallax View
1974 · Additional Writing
movieThe Last Detail
1973 · Screenplay
movieThe New Centurions
1972 · Additional Writing
movieThe Godfather
1972 · Story Editor
movieCisco Pike
1972 · Additional Writing
movieMcCabe & Mrs. Miller
1971 · Additional Writing
movieDrive, He Said
1971 · Richard, Additional Writing
movieThe Zodiac Killer
1971 · Man in Bar #3
movieVilla Rides
1968 · Screenplay
movieBonnie and Clyde
1967 · Additional Writing
movieThe Tomb of Ligeia
1964 · Screenplay
tvThe Man from U.N.C.L.E.
1964 · Writer
tvThe Outer Limits
1963 · Writer
tvThe Lloyd Bridges Show
1962 · Writer
movieCreature from the Haunted Sea
1961 · Sparks Moran / Agent XK150 / Narrator
movieLast Woman on Earth
1960 · Martin Joyce, Screenplay
movieRobert Towne
—
Battle of Britain
movieBattle of Britain
— · Screenplay