Richard Donner
Donner in 1979
Born	Richard Donald Schwartzberg (1930-04-24)April 24, 1930 New York City, New York, U.S.
Died	July 5, 2021(2021-07-05) (aged 91) West Hollywood, California, U.S.
Alma mater	New York University
Occupations	Film director television director film producer comic book writer
Years active	1957–2021
Notable work	The Omen Superman The Goonies Lethal Weapon Scrooged Superman II: The Richard Donner Cut
Spouse	Lauren Shuler ​ (m. 1985)​

Richard Donner (born Richard Donald Schwartzberg; April 24, 1930 – July 5, 2021) was an American filmmaker and film producer. He directed several financially successful films during the New Hollywood period.^[1] Michael Barson, Senior Publicist for Putnam, author of over ten books, wrote, Donner was "one of Hollywood's most reliable makers of action blockbusters."^[2][3] This 50 year career crossed genres and influenced trends among film makers.

In 1957 he was a television director. Donner directed episodes of The Rifleman, The Man from U.N.C.L.E., The Fugitive, The Twilight Zone, The Banana Splits, and many others. His film debut was a low-budget aviation drama in 1961, X-15. His commercial breakthrough was The Omen in 1976. He directed Superman in 1978.^[4][5] In the 1980s, were The Goonies and Scrooged, and the buddy cop films of the Lethal Weapon series.

Donner and his wife Lauren owned a production company. The Donners' Company (formerly Donner/Shuler Donner Productions) were known for co-executive producing Free Willy and X-Men franchises. Donner also produced Tales from the Crypt. He 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 & Horror Films.

Early years

Richard Donald Schwartzberg was born in the Bronx, New York City, to Russian Jewish parents,^[6] Hattie (Horowitz) and Fred Schwartzberg.^[7][8][9] His father owned a small furniture-manufacturing business and his mother was a stay at home mother.^[7] He had a sister, Joan.^[7] His grandfather owned a movie theatre in Brooklyn, 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".^[10]

Television

Initially, Donner wanted to develop a career as an actor. He gained a bit 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,^[11] 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.^[12] Seven years passed before he directed his next, Salt and Pepper (1968), with Sammy Davis Jr., and Peter Lawford.^[11] 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.

1980s and 1990s

Donner at the 2006 San Diego Comic-Con

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.^[3]

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.^[17]

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.^[18][19][20]

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.^[21] He would have served as director of Jurassic Park had Columbia/TriStar won the bidding war for the screen rights against other studios.^[22] 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.^[23] 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.^[24][25]

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)

Personal life and death

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 the former's death.

Donner was a cousin of actor Steve Kahan,^[31] 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.

Donner died on July 5, 2021, at his West Hollywood, California home, at the age of 91.^[32][33] The cause of death was heart failure with atherosclerosis as an underlying cause.^[34]

Filmography

Awards and nominations

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Richard Donner.

• Richard Donner at IMDb
• Archive of American Television interview, 2006
• Richard Donner discography at Discogs