Biography
Robert Towne was an American screenwriter, director and script doctor. Born Robert Bertram Schwartz on 23 November 1934 in San Pedro, Los Angeles, he died on 1 July 2024. He began his career writing for Roger Corman and studying acting alongside Jack Nicholson before becoming a prominent figure in the New Hollywood era.
Towne received an Academy Award for his original screenplay for Chinatown (1974), directed by Roman Polanski. He was also nominated for The Last Detail (1973) and Shampoo (1975), both directed by Hal Ashby, and wrote the sequel The Two Jakes (1990). He contributed uncredited work to films including Bonnie and Clyde (1967) and The Godfather (1972). Later credits include the screenplays for Days of Thunder (1990), The Firm (1993) and the first two Mission: Impossible films (1996, 2000). He directed Personal Best (1982), Tequila Sunrise (1988) and Without Limits (1998).
Towne used the pseudonym P. H. Vasak for Greystoke: The Legend of Tarzan, Lord of the Apes (1984). He received a lifetime achievement award from the Writers Guild of America in 1997 and worked as a consulting producer on the television series Mad Men.
