Robert Towne
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). Description above from the Wikipedia article Robert Towne, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.
Known For
Prominent works featuring Robert Towne
The Godfather
Mission: Impossible
Mission: Impossible II
Chinatown
The Firm
Mad Men
Bonnie and Clyde
Days of Thunder
Frantic
Tequila Sunrise
Filmography & Credits
Complete career catalog (70 titles)
| Poster | Title | Character / Role | Type | Year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | Days of Thunder 2 | Characters | Movie | 2028 |
 | What She Said: The Art of Pauline Kael | Self | Movie | 2019 |
 | Salinger | Self - Screenwriter | Movie | 2013 |
 | Welcome to the Basement | Screenplay | TV Series | 2012 |
 | The Story of Film: An Odyssey | Self | TV Series | 2011 |
| Mission: Remarkable - 40 Years of Creating the Impossible | Self | Movie | 2010 | |
 | You Must Remember This: The Warner Bros. Story | Self | Movie | 2008 |
 | Revolution! The Making of 'Bonnie and Clyde' | Self | Movie | 2008 |
 | Making of Chinatown | Self / Appearance | Movie | 2007 |
 | Mad Men | Consulting Producer | TV Series | 2007 |
 | Ask the Dust | Director | Movie | 2006 |
| Ask the Dust | Screenplay | Movie | 2006 |
 | Budd Boetticher: A Man Can Do That | Self | Movie | 2005 |
 | Suspect Zero | Professor Dates (uncredited) | Movie | 2004 |
 | A Decade Under the Influence | Self | Movie | 2003 |
| Reel Radicals: The Sixties Revolution in Film | Self (uncredited) | Movie | 2002 | |
 | Rescued from the Closet | Self | Movie | 2001 |
 | A Sad Flower in the Sand | Self | Movie | 2001 |
 | Mission: Impossible II | Screenplay | Movie | 2000 |
 | Without Limits | Writer | Movie | 1998 |
| Without Limits | Director | Movie | 1998 |
 | Billy Wilder: The Human Comedy | Self | Movie | 1998 |
 | Cadillac Desert | Self - Screenwriter, 'Chinatown' | TV Series | 1997 |
 | Mission: Impossible | Screenplay | Movie | 1996 |
 | Love Affair | Screenplay | Movie | 1994 |
 | The Firm | Screenplay | Movie | 1993 |
 | Halloween Monster Bash | Sparks Moran (archive footage) | Movie | 1991 |
 | The Two Jakes | Writer | Movie | 1990 |
| The Two Jakes | Characters | Movie | 1990 |
 | Days of Thunder | Screenplay | Movie | 1990 |
| Days of Thunder | Story | Movie | 1990 |
 | Little Nemo: Adventures in Slumberland | Story Consultant | Movie | 1989 |
 | Tequila Sunrise | Screenplay | Movie | 1988 |
| Tequila Sunrise | Director | Movie | 1988 |
 | Frantic | Additional Writing | Movie | 1988 |
 | The Pick-up Artist | Stan | Movie | 1987 |
 | Tough Guys Don't Dance | Additional Writing | Movie | 1987 |
 | The Bedroom Window | Executive Producer | Movie | 1987 |
 | 8 Million Ways to Die | Additional Writing | Movie | 1986 |
| 8 Million Ways to Die | Writer | Movie | 1986 |
 | Greystoke: The Legend of Tarzan, Lord of the Apes | Screenplay | Movie | 1984 |
 | Deal of the Century | Additional Writing | Movie | 1983 |
 | Personal Best | Director | Movie | 1982 |
| Personal Best | Producer | Movie | 1982 |
| Personal Best | Writer | Movie | 1982 |
 | Heaven Can Wait | Additional Writing | Movie | 1978 |
 | Shampoo | Party Guest (uncredited) | Movie | 1975 |
| Shampoo | Writer | Movie | 1975 |
 | The Yakuza | Screenplay | Movie | 1974 |
 | Chinatown | Writer | Movie | 1974 |
 | The Parallax View | Additional Writing | Movie | 1974 |
 | The Last Detail | Screenplay | Movie | 1973 |
 | The New Centurions | Additional Writing | Movie | 1972 |
 | The Godfather | Story Editor | Movie | 1972 |
 | Cisco Pike | Additional Writing | Movie | 1972 |
 | McCabe & Mrs. Miller | Additional Writing | Movie | 1971 |
 | Drive, He Said | Richard | Movie | 1971 |
| Drive, He Said | Additional Writing | Movie | 1971 |
 | The Zodiac Killer | Man in Bar #3 | Movie | 1971 |
 | Villa Rides | Screenplay | Movie | 1968 |
 | Bonnie and Clyde | Additional Writing | Movie | 1967 |
 | The Tomb of Ligeia | Screenplay | Movie | 1964 |
 | The Man from U.N.C.L.E. | Writer | TV Series | 1964 |
 | The Outer Limits | Writer | TV Series | 1963 |
 | The Lloyd Bridges Show | Writer | TV Series | 1962 |
 | Creature from the Haunted Sea | Sparks Moran / Agent XK150 / Narrator | Movie | 1961 |
 | Last Woman on Earth | Martin Joyce | Movie | 1960 |
| Last Woman on Earth | Screenplay | Movie | 1960 |
 | Robert Towne | Self / Appearance | Movie | — |
| Battle of Britain | Screenplay | Movie | — |