Renowned screenwriter and director Robert Towne has passed away at the age of 89. According to his publicist Carrie McClure, Towne died at his Los Angeles home, surrounded by loved ones.
Throughout his illustrious career, Towne worked behind the scenes on several notable films, often uncredited. His early work included script doctoring duties on Marathon Man, The Missouri Breaks, and Heaven Can Wait. However, it was his collaboration with director Francis Ford Coppola on The Godfather that brought him recognition, as Coppola publicly acknowledged Towne’s contribution to the film’s iconic garden scene.
Towne also penned the script for The Last Detail, starring Jack Nicholson. Although his directing career did not reach the same level of acclaim as his writing, he did direct the 1992 sports drama Without Limits, starring Billy Crudup, which received critical acclaim. His other directing credits include the 1988 crime drama Tequila Sunrise, featuring Mel Gibson, Michelle Pfeiffer, and Kurt Russell.
In the 1990s, Towne’s writing career reached new heights with the success of several Tom Cruise films, including The Firm and the first two Mission: Impossible movies.
