Robert Towne, Screenwriter of ‘Chinatown’ and ‘Mission Impossible,’ Dies at 89

The screenwriter has worked on several classic films, although his name does not appear in the credits. Among others, “Bonnie and Clyde” and “The Godfather”.

Hollywood screenwriter Robert Towne behind the masterpiece Chinatown Roman Polanski’s The Greatest Screenplay Ever Written, often described as the greatest screenplay ever written, has died at the age of 89, his agent Carri McClure announced on Tuesday, July 2, in a statement to AFP.

Robert Towne, who won an Oscar for his screenplay, died on Monday, “peacefully at home, surrounded by his loving family“, confirmed his agent. He had established himself as a figure of the New Hollywood of the 1970s, and was also known for having written the first two parts of the saga Impossible mission. He worked on the first one, signed Brian De Palma, as “creative consultant“, at the beginning of his career in the 1960s. Several classic films have benefited from his contribution, although his name does not appear in the credits. Among others, Bonnie and Clyde And The Godfather.

For The GodfatherRobert Towne had been greeted on the Oscar stage by Francis Ford Coppola who had been awarded the statuette for best screenplay. The director had paid tribute to him for “the very beautiful scene between Marlon [Brando] and Al Pacino in the garden“.

This mention had propelled Robert Towne to the firmament of New Hollywood. At his peak, he was nominated three years in a row for the Oscar for best screenplay in the mid-1970s, and won the award for ChinatownThe film stars Jack Nicholson as a 1930s private detective whose investigation of a cheating husband uncovers a world of corruption in Los Angeles.

Its complex plot, its dialogues both wise and dark and its bold themes make it Chinatown a revered script in film schools, even if its director Roman Polanski opted for a much more terrifying ending than the one initially envisaged by Robert Towne. The latter also directed a few films during his career.

As a screenwriter, he teamed up with Tom Cruise on Days of Thunderreleased in 1990. A collaboration that the duo had renewed on the first two Impossible mission. Robert Towne also served as a consulting producer on the popular television series Mad Men.