Richard Donner

Richard Donner
File:Richard Donner (4505771045) (cropped).jpg Donner in 1979
Born	Richard Donald Schwartzberg (1930-04-24)April 24, 1930 New York City, U.S.
Died	Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Occupation	Film director television director film producer comic book writer
Years active	1957–2012
Notable work	The Omen Superman The Goonies Lethal Weapon Scrooged
Spouse(s)	Lauren Shuler Donner (m. 1985)
Awards	Hugo Award for Best Dramatic Presentation Satellite Award Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror Films President's Award

Richard Donner (born Richard Donald Schwartzberg; April 24, 1930 – July 5, 2021) was an American director and producer of film and television, and occasional comic-book writer. After directing the horror film The Omen (1976), he directed the superhero film Superman (1978), starring Christopher Reeve.

Donner later went on to direct movies such as The Goonies (1985) and Scrooged (1988), while reinvigorating the buddy film genre with the Lethal Weapon film series. He and his wife, producer Lauren, owned the production company The Donners' Company (formerly Donner/Shuler Donner Productions), best known for producing the Free Willy and X-Men franchises. In 2000, he received the President's Award from the Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror Films. Film historian Michael Barson writes that Donner was "one of Hollywood's most reliable makers of action blockbusters".

Early years

Richard Donald Schwartzberg was born in Bronx, New York to Russian Jewish parents, Hattie (Horowitz) and Fred Schwartzberg. His father owned a small furniture-manufacturing business and his mother was a stay at home mom. He had a sister, Joan. 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.

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 transitioned 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, Tales from the Crypt, and The Twilight Zone (such as the episodes "Nightmare at 20,000 Feet" starring William Shatner and "From Agnes—With Love" starring Wally Cox), as well as the serial Danger Island from the children's program The Banana Splits.

Films

Donner's first feature film was X-15 (1961), which starred David McLean, Charles Bronson, and Mary Tyler Moore. Seven years passed before he directed his next, Salt and Pepper (1968), with Sammy Davis Jr., and Peter Lawford. 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 movie of 1976.

Superman (1978)

In 1978, Donner directed Superman: The Movie, starring Christopher Reeve in the title role. It was a hit worldwide, projecting Reeve to international fame. 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.

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 Superman and Superman II, 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." 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. 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.

Post-Superman career

Donner directed mixed commercial flops (Inside Moves, Radio Flyer) and successes (The Goonies, the Lethal Weapon series, Scrooged, and Conspiracy Theory). In the case of Superman, it was Donner who insisted the subject of the comic book superhero should be treated "straight", that is, portrayed with respect to the fantasy genre's particular conventions and tone, rather than "camp"; this approach strongly influenced later genre directors such as Tim Burton (Batman, Batman Returns), Bryan Singer (X-Men, X2, X-Men: Days of Future Past), Christopher Nolan (Batman Begins, The Dark Knight, The Dark Knight Rises), and Zack Snyder (Man of Steel, Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, Zack Snyder's Justice League), who have made successful superhero films of their own.

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.

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.

Donner's cousin is actor Steve Kahan, who played a policeman tracking Otis in Superman: The Movie, and played Captain Ed Murphy in the Lethal Weapon movie franchise. Donner also cast Kahan in some of his other films.

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.

Comic books

One of Donner's assistants in the late 1990s was comic book writer Geoff Johns. 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.

Book release

On November 10, 2010, Donner's authorized biography 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.

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."

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."

Death

Donner died on July 5, 2021, at the age of 91. The cause of death has not yet been revealed.

Awards

Year	Association	Category	Work	Result
1979	Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror Films	Best Director	Superman	Nominated
	World Science Fiction Society	Best Dramatic Presentation		Won
1986			Ladyhawke	Nominated
1993	National Cable Television Association	Best Dramatic Series	Tales from the Crypt	Nominated
1994				Nominated
1995				Nominated
1997	National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences	Outstanding Game Show	Secrets of the Cryptkeeper's Haunted House	Nominated
2000	Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror Films	President's Award	N/A	Won
	Hollywood Film Awards	Outstanding Achievement in Directing	N/A	Won
2002	Director's View Film Festival	Joseph L. Mankiewicz Excellence in Filmmaking Award	N/A	Won
2006	International Press Academy	Nikola Tesla Satellite Award	N/A	Won
2007	Casting Society of America	Career Achievement Award	N/A	Won
2008	Ojai Film Festival	Lifetime Achievement Award	N/A	Won
2009	American Cinema Editors	Golden Eddie Filmmaker of the Year Award	N/A	Won

Filmography

Film

Year	Title	Director	Producer	Notes
1961	X-15	Yes
1968	Salt and Pepper	Yes
1969	Lola	Yes
1976	The Omen	Yes
1978	Superman	Yes		Hugo Award for Best Dramatic Presentation Nominated – Saturn Award for Best Director
1980	Superman II (2006 director's cut)	Yes		Uncredited for theatrical release
	Inside Moves	Yes
1982	The Toy	Yes
1985	The Goonies	Yes	Yes
	Ladyhawke	Yes	Yes	Nominated – Hugo Award for Best Dramatic Presentation
1987	Lethal Weapon	Yes	Yes
1988	Scrooged	Yes	Yes
1989	Lethal Weapon 2	Yes	Yes
1992	Radio Flyer	Yes
	Lethal Weapon 3	Yes	Yes
1994	Maverick	Yes	Yes
1995	Assassins	Yes	Yes
1997	Conspiracy Theory	Yes	Yes
1998	Lethal Weapon 4	Yes	Yes
2002	Tales from the Crypt: Ritual		Yes
2003	Timeline	Yes	Yes
2006	16 Blocks	Yes		Final film

Executive producer

• 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)
• Tales from the Crypt: Bordello of Blood (1996)
• Free Willy 3: The Rescue (1997)
• Any Given Sunday (1999)
• X-Men (2000)
• X-Men Origins: Wolverine (2009)

Television

Year		Notes
1957	Men of Annapolis	Wrote 4 episodes (only screenwriting credit in career)
1960	Dick Powell's Zane Grey Theatre	1 episode
	The DuPont Show with June Allyson
1960–61	Wanted Dead or Alive	6 episodes
1961	Letter to Loretta	5 episodes
	Route 66	1 episode
	The Tall Man	2 episodes
	Wagon Train	1 episode
1961–62	Have Gun – Will Travel	5 episodes
1962	The Detectives	1 episode
	The Rifleman	7 episodes
1962–63	Sam Benedict	6 episodes
1963	The Eleventh Hour	2 episodes
	Combat!	1 episode
	The Nurses
1963–1964	The Lieutenant	2 episodes
	The Twilight Zone	6 episodes
	Mr. Novak	7 episodes
1964	The Travels of Jaimie McPheeters	1 episode
	The Man from U.N.C.L.E.	4 episodes
1964–1965	Gilligan's Island	3 episodes
	Perry Mason
1965	Twelve O'Clock High	4 episodes
	Get Smart	2 episodes
1966	The F.B.I.	1 episode
	The Fugitive	2 episodes
	It's About Time	1 episode
	Jericho
	The Wild Wild West	3 episodes
	The Felony Squad
1968–1969	The Banana Splits Adventure Hour	6 episodes
1971	The Interns	1 episode
	Sarge
	Bearcats!	2 episodes
1971–1972	Cade's County	3 episodes
1971–1973	Cannon	4 episodes
1972	The Sixth Sense	1 episode
	Ghost Story
	Banyon
	Ironside
	The Bold Ones: The New Doctors	3 episodes
1973–1974	Kojak
1974	The Streets of San Francisco	2 episodes
	Sons and Daughters	3 episodes
	Lucas Tanner	1 episode
	Petrocelli
1975	Sarah T. – Portrait of a Teenage Alcoholic	Television film
	Bronk	2 episodes
1989–1992	Tales from the Crypt	3 episodes Also executive producer Nominated – CableACE Award for Best Dramatic Series
1992	Two-Fisted Tales	Television film Segment: "Showdown"
1993–1994	Tales from the Cryptkeeper	Executive producer
1996–1997	Secrets of the Cryptkeeper's Haunted House
1997	Perversions of Science
1999	Made Men	Producer Television film

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)

External links

• Richard Donner at the Internet Movie Database
• Archive of American Television interview, 2006
• Richard Donner discography at Discogs