Robert Towne, the celebrated screenwriter who penned the critically acclaimed film, Chinatown, has passed away at the age of 89. Towne’s publicist revealed that the writer died at his home in Los Angeles, surrounded by friends and family, but no cause of death has been released.
Chinatown, which starred Jack Nicholson and was released in 1974, won Towne an Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay. The film has since become a cult classic and is considered one of the greatest screenplays of all time. Towne’s other notable work includes the critically acclaimed films Shampoo, The Last Detail, and Greystoke, for which he also received Oscar nominations. In 1997, the Writers Guild of America gave him a lifetime achievement award for his contribution to the film industry.
Before rising to fame in Hollywood, Towne worked on various television shows, including The Man from UNCLE and The Lloyd Bridges Show. His breakthrough came after a chance encounter with Warren Beatty, who brought him in to work on script revisions for Bonnie and Clyde. Towne also worked on The Godfather and Heaven Can Wait, though he was uncredited for his contributions.
Aside from his work behind the camera, Towne also directed films, including Personal Best and Tequila Sunrise. He wrote the screenplay for The Two Jakes, a sequel to Chinatown, and also wrote scripts for movies like Days of Thunder and the Mission: Impossible series.
Towne’s death has been widely mourned throughout Hollywood, with many figures in the film industry paying tribute to his remarkable body of work
Read the full article on NME here: Read More