Robert Towne

Writer

1934-11-23 – 2024-07-01 · San Pedro, Los Angeles, California, USA

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).

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• The Godfather (1972) — Story Editor
• Mission: Impossible (1996) — Screenplay
• Mission: Impossible II (2000) — Screenplay
• Chinatown (1974) — Writer
• The Firm (1993) — Screenplay
• Bonnie and Clyde (1967) — Additional Writing
• Days of Thunder (1990) — Screenplay, Story
• Frantic (1988) — Additional Writing
• Tequila Sunrise (1988) — Director, Screenplay
• Greystoke: The Legend of Tarzan, Lord of the Apes (1984) — Screenplay
• McCabe & Mrs. Miller (1971) — Additional Writing
• Heaven Can Wait (1978) — Additional Writing
• The Last Detail (1973) — Screenplay
• Suspect Zero (2004) — Professor Dates (uncredited)
• The Parallax View (1974) — Additional Writing
• The Two Jakes (1990) — Writer, Characters
• Shampoo (1975) — Party Guest (uncredited), Writer
• The Yakuza (1974) — Screenplay
• The Pick-up Artist (1987) — Stan
• The Tomb of Ligeia (1964) — Screenplay
• Little Nemo: Adventures in Slumberland (1989) — Story Consultant
• Ask the Dust (2006) — Screenplay, Director
• 8 Million Ways to Die (1986) — Additional Writing, Writer
• The Bedroom Window (1987) — Executive Producer