Robert Towne
Age: N/A | From: San Pedro, Los Angeles, California, USA
Person Details
Birthday:
Aliases: P. H. Vasak , Роберт Таун
Gender: Male
Place of birth: San Pedro, Los Angeles, California, USA
Homepage:
Movie Involvements: 54
TV Involvements: 5
Most Famous Work
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).
Most Famous Work
The Outer Limits
(1963) Writer
Chinatown
(1974) Screenplay
Mission: Impossible
(1996) Screenplay
Mission: Impossible II
(2000) Screenplay
Orca
(1977) Screenplay
The Firm
(1993) Screenplay
The Lloyd Bridges Show
(1962) Writer
Tequila Sunrise
(1988) DirectorActing
| Year | Character | Movie/Tv |
|---|---|---|
| 2019 | Self | |
| 2013 | Self - Screenwriter | |
| 2011 | Self | |
| 2008 | Self | |
| Self | ||
| 2005 | Self | |
| 2004 | Professor Dates (uncredited) | |
| Agent XK150 (archive footage) | ||
| 2003 | Self | |
| 2001 | Self | |
| Self | ||
| 1998 | Self | |
| Self | ||
| 1997 | Self - Screenwriter, 'Chinatown' | |
| 1987 | Stan | |
| 1975 | Party Guest (uncredited) | |
| 1971 | Richard | |
| Man in Bar #3 | ||
| 1961 | Sparks Moran / Agent XK150 / Narrator | |
| 1960 | Martin Joyce | |
| Year | Character | Movie/Tv |
Writing
| Year | Role | Movie/Tv |
|---|---|---|
| 2012 | Screenplay | |
| 2006 | Screenplay | |
| 2000 | Screenplay | |
| 1998 | Writer | |
| 1996 | Screenplay | |
| 1994 | Screenplay | |
| 1993 | Screenplay | |
| 1990 | Writer | |
| Characters | ||
| Screenplay | ||
| Story | ||
| 1988 | Screenplay | |
| 1986 | Writer | |
| 1984 | Writer | |
| 1982 | Writer | |
| 1977 | Screenplay | |
| 1975 | Writer | |
| 1974 | Screenplay | |
| Screenplay | ||
| 1973 | Screenplay | |
| 1968 | Screenplay | |
| 1964 | Screenplay | |
| 1963 | Writer | |
| 1962 | Writer | |
| 1960 | Screenplay | |
| Screenplay | ||
| Year | Role | Movie/Tv |
Directing
| Year | Role | Movie/Tv |
|---|---|---|
| 2006 | Director | |
| 1998 | Director | |
| 1988 | Director | |
| 1982 | Director | |
| Year | Role | Movie/Tv |
Crew
| Year | Role | Movie/Tv |
|---|---|---|
| 1988 | Additional Writing | |
| 1987 | Additional Writing | |
| 1986 | Additional Writing | |
| 1983 | Additional Writing | |
| 1978 | Additional Writing | |
| 1974 | Additional Writing | |
| 1972 | Additional Writing | |
| Additional Writing | ||
| 1971 | Additional Writing | |
| Additional Writing | ||
| 1967 | Additional Writing | |
| Year | Role | Movie/Tv |
Production
| Year | Role | Movie/Tv |
|---|---|---|
| 1987 | Executive Producer | |
| 1982 | Producer | |
| Year | Role | Movie/Tv |
