Richard Donner — BrandWiki

years active	1957–2021

spouse	Lauren Shuler (m. 1985)

notable works	The Omen · Superman · The Goonies · Lethal Weapon · Scrooged · The Donners' Company

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",[1] Donner directed some of the most financially successful films of the 1970s and 1980s.[2] His career spanning more than six decades crossed genres and influenced trends among filmmakers across the world.[2]

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,[3][4] 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 life

Richard Donald Schwartzberg was born in the Bronx, New York City, to Russian Jewish parents,[5] Hattie (née Horowitz) Schwartzberg (1902–1996)[6] and Fred Schwartzberg (1901–1971).[7][8][9][10] His father owned a small furniture-manufacturing business and his mother was a housewife.[8] He had a sister, Joan.[8]

Career

Television work

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, 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.

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

One of Donner's assistants in the late 1990s was comic book writer Geoff Johns.[28][29] In October 2006, Donner, Johns, and artist Adam Kubert became the new creative team on Action Comics

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,[33] 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.[34][35] The cause of death was heart failure with atherosclerosis as an underlying cause.[36]

Filmography

Film

Producer only

Double Tap (1997)
Tales from the Crypt: Ritual (2002)

Executive producer only

Omen III: The Final Conflict (1981)
The Lost Boys (1987)
Delirious (1991)
Free Willy (1993)
Free Willy 2: The Adventure Home (1995)
Tales from the Crypt: Demon Knight (1995)

Awards and nominations

External links

Archive of American Television interview, 2006

References

Michael Barson Encyclopaedia Britannica, retrieved 2023-09-20^
Patrick Hipes. Richard Donner Dies: 'Superman', 'Lethal Weapon' And 'The Goonies' Director Was 91 Deadline Hollywood, 2021-07-05, retrieved 2021-07-13^
Adam DiLeo. Why Superman is the Most Important Comic Book Movie of All Time

Film work

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.[13] 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) and Superman II (1980)

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.[14] It was a hit worldwide, projecting Reeve to international fame.[15] 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.[16]

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."[17] 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.[18] 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.

Later work

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

Lethal Weapon series (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.[16]

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.

Lethal Weapon series (1987–1998)

X-Men series

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.[20][21][22]

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.[23] He would have served as director of Jurassic Park had Columbia/TriStar won the bidding war for the screen rights against other studios.[24] 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.[25] 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.[26]

other names	Richard D. Donner · R. D. Donner
birth name	Richard Donald Schwartzberg
birth date	April 24, 1930
birth place	New York City, U.S.
death date	July 5, 2021
death place	West Hollywood, California, U.S.
alma mater	New York University

Early life

Career

Television work

Books

Comic books

Personal life

Death

Filmography

Film

Producer only

Executive producer only

Awards and nominations

External links

References

Film work

Superman (1978) and Superman II (1980)

Later work

Lethal Weapon series (1987–1998)

Lethal Weapon series (1987–1998)

X-Men series

Unrealized projects

Superman (1978) and Superman II (1980)

Later work

Lethal Weapon series (1987–1998)

X-Men series

Lethal Weapon series (1987–1998)

X-Men series

Unrealized projects

Biography

Producer only

Executive producer only

Television

X-Men series