Writing
63
Man
23 Nov 1934
1 Jul 2024 (89)
San Pedro, Los Angeles, California, USA
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).
| Year | Movie / TV show / Other | Role |
|---|---|---|
| 2019 | What She Said: The Art of Pauline Kael | Self |
| 2013 | Salinger | Self - Screenwriter |
| 2011 | The Story of Film: An Odyssey | Self |
| 2008 | You Must Remember This: The Warner Bros. Story | Self |
| 2008 | Revolution! The Making of 'Bonnie and Clyde' | Self |
| 2005 | Budd Boetticher: A Man Can Do That | Self |
| 2004 | Suspect Zero | Professor Dates (uncredited) |
| 2004 | The 50 Worst Movies Ever Made | Agent XK150 (archive footage) |
| 2003 | A Decade Under the Influence | Self |
| 2001 | Rescued from the Closet | Self |
| 2001 | A Sad Flower in the Sand | Self |
| 1998 | AFI's 100 Years... 100 Movies | Self |
| 1998 | Billy Wilder: The Human Comedy | Self |
| 1997 | Cadillac Desert: Water and the Transformation of Nature | Self - Screenwriter, 'Chinatown' |
| 1987 | The Pick-up Artist | Stan |
| 1975 | Shampoo | Party Guest (uncredited) |
| 1971 | The Zodiac Killer | Man in Bar #3 |
| 1971 | Drive, He Said | Richard |
| 1961 | Creature from the Haunted Sea | Sparks Moran / Agent XK150 / Narrator |
| 1960 | Last Woman on Earth | Martin Joyce |
| Year | Movie / TV show / Other | Role |
|---|---|---|
| 2012 | Welcome to the Basement | Screenplay |
| — | Battle of Britain | Screenplay |
| 2006 | Ask the Dust | Screenplay |
| 2006 | Ask the Dust | Director |
| 2000 | Mission: Impossible II | Screenplay |
| 1998 | Without Limits | Director |
| 1998 | Without Limits | Writer |
| 1996 | Mission: Impossible | Screenplay |
| 1994 | Love Affair | Screenplay |
| 1993 | The Firm | Screenplay |
| 1990 | Days of Thunder | Screenplay |
| 1990 | Days of Thunder | Story |
| 1990 | The Two Jakes | Writer |
| 1990 | The Two Jakes | Characters |
| 1988 | Frantic | Additional Writing |
| 1988 | Tequila Sunrise | Director |
| 1988 | Tequila Sunrise | Screenplay |
| 1987 | The Bedroom Window | Executive Producer |
| 1987 | Tough Guys Don't Dance | Additional Writing |
| 1986 | 8 Million Ways to Die | Additional Writing |
| 1986 | 8 Million Ways to Die | Writer |
| 1984 | Greystoke: The Legend of Tarzan, Lord of the Apes | Writer |
| 1983 | Deal of the Century | Additional Writing |
| 1982 | Personal Best | Director |
| 1982 | Personal Best | Producer |
| 1982 | Personal Best | Writer |
| 1978 | Heaven Can Wait | Additional Writing |
| 1977 | Orca | Screenplay |
| 1975 | Shampoo | Writer |
| 1974 | Chinatown | Screenplay |
| 1974 | The Parallax View | Additional Writing |
| 1974 | The Yakuza | Screenplay |
| 1973 | The Last Detail | Screenplay |
| 1972 | The New Centurions | Additional Writing |
| 1972 | Cisco Pike | Additional Writing |
| 1971 | McCabe & Mrs. Miller | Additional Writing |
| 1971 | Drive, He Said | Additional Writing |
| 1968 | Villa Rides | Screenplay |
| 1967 | Bonnie and Clyde | Additional Writing |
| 1964 | The Tomb of Ligeia | Screenplay |
| 1963 | The Outer Limits | Writer |
| 1962 | The Lloyd Bridges Show | Writer |
| 1960 | Last Woman on Earth | Screenplay |