Richard Donner

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Richard Donner (born Richard Donald Schwartzberg; April 24, 1930 – July 5, 2021) was an American filmmaker. Described as "one of Hollywood's most reliable makers of action blockbusters",<ref>Template:Cite encyclopedia</ref><ref name="Barson"/> Donner directed some of the most financially successful films of the 1970s and 1980s.<ref name="Deadline">Template:Cite news</ref> His 50-year career crossed genres and influenced trends among filmmakers across the world.<ref name="Deadline" />

Donner began his career in 1957 as a television director. In the 1960s, he directed episodes of the series The Rifleman, The Man from U.N.C.L.E., The Fugitive, The Twilight Zone, The Banana Splits, and many others. Donner made his film debut with the low-budget aviation drama X-15 in 1961, but had his critical and commercial breakthrough with the horror film The Omen in 1976. He directed the landmark superhero film Superman in 1978,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> which provided an inspiration for the fantasy film genre to eventually gain artistic respectability and commercial dominance. Donner later went on to direct films in the 1980s such as The Goonies and Scrooged, while reinvigorating the buddy cop film genre with the Lethal Weapon series.

Donner and his wife, Lauren, owned a production company, The Donners' Company, which is most successful for producing the Free Willy and X-Men film franchises. Donner also produced Tales from the Crypt and co-wrote several comic books for Superman publisher DC Comics. In 2000, Donner received the President's Award from the Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror Films.

Early years

Richard Donald Schwartzberg was born in the Bronx, New York City, to Russian Jewish parents,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Hattie (Horowitz) and Fred Schwartzberg.<ref name=Variety>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> His father owned a small furniture-manufacturing business and his mother was a housewife.<ref name=Variety/> He had a sister, Joan.<ref name=Variety/> His grandfather owned a Brooklyn movie theatre which had an early influence on his perception of film.

After graduating from high school, Donner served in the U.S. Navy, becoming an aerial photographer. He briefly attended New York University but left to pursue a career in acting, relocating to Los Angeles and adopting the stage name "Richard Donner".<ref name="WashP">Template:Cite news</ref>

Television

Initially, Donner wanted to develop a career as an actor. He gained a big part in a television program directed by Martin Ritt, who encouraged Donner to become a director instead. Ritt hired Donner as his assistant. Later, Donner was on the staff of Desilu, where he directed commercials. He made the transition into television dramas in the late 1950s, directing some episodes of the Steve McQueen western serial Wanted Dead or Alive and the Chuck Connors western The Rifleman.

During his early career as a director he worked on over twenty-five television series, including Have Gun – Will Travel, The Fugitive, Combat!, Get Smart, The Man from U.N.C.L.E., The Wild Wild West, Gilligan's Island,<ref name="britannica"/> Kojak and The Twilight Zone (such as the episodes "Nightmare at 20,000 Feet" starring William Shatner, "The Jeopardy Room" starring Martin Landau and "From Agnes—With Love" starring Wally Cox), as well as the serial Danger Island from the children's program The Banana Splits.

In the 1990s, Donner served as executive producer of the HBO anthology horror series Tales from the Crypt, based on the EC Comics series of the same name. He directed three episodes during its run ("Dig That Cat... He's Real Gone", "The Ventriloquist's Dummy", "Showdown"), and also produced three feature film spinoffs; Demon Knight, Bordello of Blood and Ritual.

Films

Donner's first feature film was X-15 (1961), which starred David McLean, Charles Bronson and Mary Tyler Moore.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Seven years passed before he directed his next, Salt and Pepper (1968), with Sammy Davis Jr. and Peter Lawford.<ref name="britannica">Template:Cite encyclopedia</ref> His breakthrough film was The Omen (1976). A supernatural horror made in the wake of the success of The Exorcist, the film stars Gregory Peck, David Warner and Lee Remick. It was the fifth-highest-grossing film of 1976.

Superman (1978)

In 1978, Donner directed Superman: The Movie, starring Christopher Reeve in the title role. Donner approached the film with the concept of creating verisimilitude, an intuitive feeling evoked in the audience that makes the fantasy story feel real within the story's context.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> It was a hit worldwide, projecting Reeve to international fame.<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> The film co-starred Margot Kidder as Lois Lane, Marlon Brando as Jor-El and Gene Hackman as archvillain Lex Luthor. At the box office, it grossed $134 million domestically.<ref name=Barson>Template:Cite book</ref>

Principal photography of Superman included filming of its first sequel, Superman II. Donner filmed most of Superman II with the expectation he would complete the sequel after the release of Superman. Despite the first film's success, Donner was fired from Superman II. Throughout the filming of both Superman films, Donner had a difficult relationship with executive producers Alexander Salkind and Ilya Salkind and producer Pierre Spengler. The Salkinds refused Donner's demand that Spengler be fired; instead, the Salkinds replaced Donner as director of Superman II with Richard Lester, who had worked with the Salkinds on The Three Musketeers and The Four Musketeers and as an uncredited producer on Superman. Following Donner's dismissal, Marlon Brando's scenes were removed from Superman II and much of the film was re-shot under Lester's direction. Gene Hackman refused to return for re-shoots; consequently, all the Lex Luthor scenes that appear in Superman II were filmed by Donner, although Donner refused to be credited.

Rotten Tomatoes' summary states that "Superman II meets, if not exceeds, the standard set by its predecessor."<ref>Template:Citation</ref> Donner continued to promote the view that his contribution was superior to the rest of the series. Superman II: The Richard Donner Cut was released on November 28, 2006, the same date as the DVD release of the summer film Superman Returns.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> This version of the film features the re-insertion of Marlon Brando's scenes as Jor-El and relies on a minimum of footage shot by Richard Lester.

1980s and 1990s

Donner directed mixed commercial flops (Inside Moves, Radio Flyer) and successes (The Goonies, the Lethal Weapon series, Scrooged, and Conspiracy Theory).

Lethal Weapon (1987–1998)

Donner's next blockbuster film was the action comedy Lethal Weapon, written by Shane Black. It starred Mel Gibson as a widowed narcotics detective with a suicidal bent "who breaks every rule for the sheer joy of it". It co-starred Danny Glover as a calm homicide detective with a loving family and consideration for retirement. The film's action sequences were considered "truly spectacular" and made the film one of the year's biggest hits.<ref name=Barson/>

Donner directed six films starring Mel Gibson in total, creating a Lethal Weapon franchise with three sequels; the last of these was Lethal Weapon 4, released in 1998. In an interview in 2000, Gibson described his impressions of Donner:

Uncle Dick. He's a great guy, just terrific. Extremely professional. He's an old veteran and has an understanding of film that is the culmination of years of experience. He's got his technical stuff down, his vision down. No matter what you say about Dick, it underrates him. He really loves what he's doing, loves working with actors, and he allows you freedom to explore all kinds of areas. "All right, kid," he'll say, and slap you on the back and let you try something, because even he doesn't know sometimes. He's just an extremely charming, talented, great fuckin' guy. I love him.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

X-Men

Donner became the executive producer for the 2000 Marvel Comics film X-Men, then also an executive producer for the 2009 X-Men prequel, X-Men Origins: Wolverine. In addition, Donner's wife has produced all of the films in the X-Men film series under their Donners' Company brand.

On October 16, 2008, Donner and Lauren Shuler Donner received stars in a double ceremony on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for their achievements in motion pictures, located at 6712 Hollywood Boulevard.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Unrealized projects

Donner was the first choice to direct the "unofficial" James Bond film Never Say Never Again, but turned it down after he decided he disliked Lorenzo Semple Jr.'s script.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> He would have served as director of Jurassic Park had Columbia/TriStar won the bidding war for the screen rights against other studios.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Donner was also considered as director for The Lost Boys, The Last Boy Scout, Memoirs of an Invisible Man, Dave, Forever Young, and The Sandlot.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> In 2001, Donner claimed he planned to direct a sequel to The Goonies after Timeline, and he planned to direct the fifth and final Lethal Weapon film before his death in 2021.<ref>Template:Citation</ref><ref>Template:Cite newsTemplate:Cbignore</ref>

Books

  • Action Comics (co-writer with Geoff Johns)
  • Last Son and Escape from Bizarro World (2009)
  • You're the Director... You Figure It Out: The Life and Films of Richard Donner (2010)

Comic books

Donner at the 2006 San Diego Comic-Con

One of Donner's assistants in the late 1990s was comic book writer Geoff Johns.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> In October 2006, Donner, Johns, and artist Adam Kubert became the new creative team on Action Comics, the publisher's most time honored publication and one of DC Comics' two main Superman titles. Together, Johns and Donner collaborated on the stories Last Son and Escape from Bizarro World, both of which have been released in collected book form. Donner and Johns also co-wrote a story for Action Comics #1000, released in April 2018.

Biography

In 2010, Donner's authorized biography titled You're the Director... You Figure It Out: The Life and Films of Richard Donner by James Christie was published by BearManor Media. The book features a foreword by Mel Gibson.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Script Magazine described the book as an "engaging portrait of a warm-hearted (if occasionally gruff) man who can justly be considered the modern equivalent of Victor Fleming and Michael Curtiz—a highly talented, professional director of motion pictures who has thrived in the studio system and made some pretty good pictures to boot."<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

The Directors Guild of America called the book "a compelling study of an ebullient, ballsy risk-taker who was a director even before he was aware of it" that "ably captures Donner's joy in doing a job he loves."<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Personal life

Donner married film producer Lauren Shuler on November 27, 1985. The two merged their respective production companies to create Shuler-Donner Productions (now The Donners' Company) the same year. Donner and Shuler remained together until Donner's death.

Donner was a cousin of actor Steve Kahan,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> who played a policeman tracking Otis in Superman: The Movie, and played Captain Ed Murphy in the Lethal Weapon film franchise. Donner also cast Kahan in some of his other films.

Death

Donner died on July 5, 2021 at his home in West Hollywood, California, at the age of 91.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> The cause of death was heart failure with atherosclerosis as an underlying cause.<ref name=COD>Template:Cite web</ref>

Filmography

Film

Year Title Director Producer Notes
1961 X-15 Template:Yes Template:No
1968 Salt and Pepper Template:Yes Template:No
1970 Lola Template:Yes Template:No
1976 The Omen Template:Yes Template:No
1978 Superman Template:Yes Template:No
1980 Superman II Template:Partial Template:No Replaced as director by Richard Lester during principal photography
Lester received sole directorial credit
Inside Moves Template:Yes Template:No
1982 The Toy Template:Yes Template:No
1985 Ladyhawke Template:Yes Template:Yes
The Goonies Template:Yes Template:Yes
1987 Lethal Weapon Template:Yes Template:Yes
1988 Scrooged Template:Yes Template:Yes
1989 Lethal Weapon 2 Template:Yes Template:Yes
1992 Radio Flyer Template:Yes Template:No Replaced David Mickey Evans
Lethal Weapon 3 Template:Yes Template:Yes
1994 Maverick Template:Yes Template:Yes
1995 Assassins Template:Yes Template:Yes
1997 Conspiracy Theory Template:Yes Template:Yes
1998 Lethal Weapon 4 Template:Yes Template:Yes
2003 Timeline Template:Yes Template:Yes
2006 16 Blocks Template:Yes Template:No
Superman II: The Richard Donner Cut Template:Yes Template:No Director's cut of Superman II

Producer only

Executive producer only

Television

Year Title Director Producer Notes
1957 Men of Annapolis Template:No Template:No Writer; 4 episodes (only screenwriting credits in career)
1960 Dick Powell's Zane Grey Theatre Template:Yes Template:No Episode: "So Young the Save Land"
The DuPont Show with June Allyson Template:Yes Template:No Episode: "Emergency"
1960–61 Wanted Dead or Alive Template:Yes Template:No 6 episodes
1961 Letter to Loretta Template:Yes Template:No 5 episodes
Route 66 Template:Yes Template:No Episode: "A Bridge Across Five Days"
The Tall Man Template:Yes Template:No 2 episodes
Wagon Train Template:Yes Template:No Episode: "The Bettina May Story"
1961–62 Have Gun – Will Travel Template:Yes Template:No 5 episodes
1962 The Detectives Template:Yes Template:No Episode: "Never the Twain"
The Rifleman Template:Yes Template:No 7 episodes
1962–63 Sam Benedict Template:Yes Template:No 6 episodes
1963 The Eleventh Hour Template:Yes Template:No 2 episodes
Combat! Template:Yes Template:No Episode: "No Trumpets, No Drums"
The Nurses Template:Yes Template:No Episode: "The Helping Hand"
1963–64 The Lieutenant Template:Yes Template:No 2 episodes
The Twilight Zone Template:Yes Template:No 6 episodes
Mr. Novak Template:Yes Template:No 7 episodes
1964 The Travels of Jaimie McPheeters Template:Yes Template:No Episode: "The Day of the Picnic"
The Man from U.N.C.L.E. Template:Yes Template:No 4 episodes
1964–65 Gilligan's Island Template:Yes Template:No 3 episodes
Perry Mason Template:Yes Template:No
1965 Twelve O'Clock High Template:Yes Template:No 4 episodes
Get Smart Template:Yes Template:No 2 episodes
1966 The F.B.I. Template:Yes Template:No Episode: "The Spy Master"
The Fugitive Template:Yes Template:No 2 episodes
It's About Time Template:Yes Template:No Episode: "And Then I Wrote Happy Birthday to You"
Jericho Template:Yes Template:No Episode: "Upbeat and Underground"
The Wild Wild West Template:Yes Template:No 3 episodes
The Felony Squad Template:Yes Template:No
1968–69 The Banana Splits Adventure Hour Template:Yes Template:No 6 episodes
1971 The Interns Template:Yes Template:No Episode: "Casualty"
Sarge Template:Yes Template:No Episode: "Psst! Wanna Buy a Dirty Picture?"
Bearcats! Template:Yes Template:No 2 episodes
1971–72 Cade's County Template:Yes Template:No 3 episodes
1971–73 Cannon Template:Yes Template:No 4 episodes
1972 The Sixth Sense Template:Yes Template:No Episode: "The House That Cried Murder"
Ghost Story Template:Yes Template:No Episode: "The Concrete Captain"
Banyon Template:Yes Template:No Episode: "The Old College Try"
Ironside Template:Yes Template:No Episode: "Who'll Cry for My Baby"
The Bold Ones: The New Doctors Template:Yes Template:No 3 episodes
1973–74 Kojak Template:Yes Template:No
1974 The Streets of San Francisco Template:Yes Template:No 2 episodes
Sons and Daughters Template:Yes Template:No 3 episodes
Lucas Tanner Template:Yes Template:No Episode: "Lucas Tanner"
Petrocelli Template:Yes Template:No Episode: "Death in High Places"
1975 Sarah T. – Portrait of a Teenage Alcoholic Template:Yes Template:No Television film
Bronk Template:Yes Template:No 2 episodes
1989–96 Tales from the Crypt Template:Yes Template:Yes Director; 3 episodes
Exec. producer; 93 episodes
1992 Two-Fisted Tales Template:Yes Template:No Television film
Segment: "Showdown"
1993–94 Tales from the Cryptkeeper Template:No Template:Yes 39 episodes
1996–97 Secrets of the Cryptkeeper's Haunted House Template:No Template:Yes
1997 Perversions of Science Template:No Template:Yes 10 episodes
1999 Made Men Template:No Template:Yes Television film

Awards and nominations

Year Institution Category Work Result
1979 Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror Films Best Director Superman Template:Nominated
World Science Fiction Society Best Dramatic Presentation Template:Won
1986 Ladyhawke Template:Nominated
1993 National Cable Television Association Best Dramatic Series Tales from the Crypt Template:Nominated
1994 Template:Nominated
1995 Template:Nominated
1997 National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences Outstanding Game Show Secrets of the Cryptkeeper's Haunted House Template:Nominated
2000 Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror Films President's Award Template:N/A Template:Won
Hollywood Film Awards Outstanding Achievement in Directing Template:N/A Template:Won
2002 Director's View Film Festival Joseph L. Mankiewicz Excellence in Filmmaking Award Template:N/A Template:Won
2006 International Press Academy Nikola Tesla Satellite Award Template:N/A Template:Won
2007 Casting Society of America Career Achievement Award Template:N/A Template:Won
2008 Ojai Film Festival Lifetime Achievement Award Template:N/A Template:Won
2009 American Cinema Editors Golden Eddie Filmmaker of the Year Award Template:N/A Template:Won
Accolades received by Donner's directed features
Year Film Academy Awards BAFTA Film Awards Golden Globe Awards
Nominations Wins Nominations Wins Nominations Wins
1976 The Omen 2 1 1 1
1978 Superman 4 1 6 2 1
1980 Inside Moves 1
1985 Ladyhawke 2
1987 Lethal Weapon 1
1988 Scrooged 1
1989 Lethal Weapon 2 1
1994 Maverick 1
Total 13 2 7 2 2

References

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