Robert Towne, Oscar-winning writer of ‘Chinatown’, dies aged 89

3 July, 2024

Robert Towne

Robert Towne, the Oscar-winning writer of Chinatown has died, aged 89.

The writer passed away at home on Monday (July 1) among family and friends, his publicist said. A cause of death was not disclosed.

Chinatown, starring Jack Nicholson, is still considered to be one of the greatest screenplays of all time and earned an Oscar for Towne in 1975.

He had an illustrious writing career in Hollywood and also earned Academy Award nominations for his films Shampoo, The Last Detail and Greystoke. In 1997, he was given a lifetime achievement award from the Writers Guild of America.

Towne’s success in the film industry came after his early work writing on television shows including The Man From UNCLE and The Lloyd Bridges Show.

Towne got his big break after a chance meeting with Warren Beatty via Towne’s psychiatrist. As Beatty worked on the script for Bonnie And Clyde, he brought in Towne who worked on script revisions for the film.

His work on the film was uncredited and also ghost wrote on several projects. He also contributed to The Godfather and Heaven Can Wait.

Chinatown was considered his masterpiece and is still taught in script writing classes as an example of an outstanding screenplay.

He laster said the script was partly inspired by a book published in 1946, Carey McWilliams’ Southern California: An Island on the Land.

He told The Hollywood Reporter in 2009: “In it was a chapter called ‘Water, Water, Water’, which was a revelation to me. And I thought: ‘Why not do a picture about a crime that’s right out in front of everybody.’”

Towne also ventured into directing, working on Personal Best and Tequila Sunrise. He later also penned The Two Jakes, a sequel to Chinatown.

He later wrote on Days of Thunder starring Tom Cruise and reunited with Cruise again on The Firm and the first two Mission: Impossible movies.

His last film was Ask the Dust, a film he wrote and directed that came out in 2006.

You can see some of the many tributes to Towne here:

 

 

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