Writing

Robert Towne

Robert Towne is best known for Mad Men, The Outer Limits, The Man from U.N.C.L.E. and The Story of Film: An Odyssey. Robert Towne was born on November 23, 1934. Robert Towne died on July 1, 2024 at the age of 89.

Born: November 23, 1934
Place of birth: San Pedro, Los Angeles, California, USA
Died: July 1, 2024 (89 years old)

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).

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