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Robert Towne
Robert Towne (born Robert Bertram Schwartz; November 23, 1934 – July 1, 2024) was an American screenwriter and director. He started writing films for Roger Corman, including The Tomb of Ligeia in 1964, and was later part of the New Hollywood wave of filmmaking.
Towne wrote and won an Academy Award for Roman Polanski's Chinatown (1974); starring Jack Nicholson, widely considered one of the greatest screenplays ever written, as well as its sequel, The Two Jakes (1990). For Hal Ashby, he penned the comedy-dramas The Last Detail (1973) and Shampoo (1975). He collaborated with Tom Cruise on the films Days of Thunder (1990), The Firm (1993) and the first two installments of the Mission: Impossible franchise (1996, 2000).
Towne directed the sports dramas Personal Best (1982) and Without Limits (1998), the crime thriller Tequila Sunrise (1988), and the romantic drama Ask the Dust (2006).
Towne was born Robert Bertram Schwartz in Los Angeles, California, the son of Helen and Lou Schwartz, a clothing store owner and property developer who changed the family's name from "Schwartz" to "Towne." Towne grew up in San Pedro and Rolling Hills and attended Chadwick School. His family was Jewish, and had emigrated from Romania on his father's side and Russia on his mother's. He had a younger brother, Roger, who co-wrote the 1984 film The Natural starring Robert Redford.
He graduated from Pomona College in Claremont, California, studying philosophy and literature. After college, Towne served in the U.S. Army before doing odd jobs including working as a tuna fisherman.
Towne originally sought work as a writer and actor. He took an acting class with Roger Corman taught by Jeff Corey where his classmates also included Jack Nicholson (with whom he shared an apartment), Irvin Kershner, and Sally Kellerman.
Corman was known for giving work to untested people of talent. Towne wrote the screenplay for the Corman-financed Last Woman on Earth (1960), in which Towne also played one of the lead roles.
The following year he also starred in the Corman-financed Creature from the Haunted Sea (1961).
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Robert Towne
Robert Towne (born Robert Bertram Schwartz; November 23, 1934 – July 1, 2024) was an American screenwriter and director. He started writing films for Roger Corman, including The Tomb of Ligeia in 1964, and was later part of the New Hollywood wave of filmmaking.
Towne wrote and won an Academy Award for Roman Polanski's Chinatown (1974); starring Jack Nicholson, widely considered one of the greatest screenplays ever written, as well as its sequel, The Two Jakes (1990). For Hal Ashby, he penned the comedy-dramas The Last Detail (1973) and Shampoo (1975). He collaborated with Tom Cruise on the films Days of Thunder (1990), The Firm (1993) and the first two installments of the Mission: Impossible franchise (1996, 2000).
Towne directed the sports dramas Personal Best (1982) and Without Limits (1998), the crime thriller Tequila Sunrise (1988), and the romantic drama Ask the Dust (2006).
Towne was born Robert Bertram Schwartz in Los Angeles, California, the son of Helen and Lou Schwartz, a clothing store owner and property developer who changed the family's name from "Schwartz" to "Towne." Towne grew up in San Pedro and Rolling Hills and attended Chadwick School. His family was Jewish, and had emigrated from Romania on his father's side and Russia on his mother's. He had a younger brother, Roger, who co-wrote the 1984 film The Natural starring Robert Redford.
He graduated from Pomona College in Claremont, California, studying philosophy and literature. After college, Towne served in the U.S. Army before doing odd jobs including working as a tuna fisherman.
Towne originally sought work as a writer and actor. He took an acting class with Roger Corman taught by Jeff Corey where his classmates also included Jack Nicholson (with whom he shared an apartment), Irvin Kershner, and Sally Kellerman.
Corman was known for giving work to untested people of talent. Towne wrote the screenplay for the Corman-financed Last Woman on Earth (1960), in which Towne also played one of the lead roles.
The following year he also starred in the Corman-financed Creature from the Haunted Sea (1961).