Born November 23, 1934 in Los Angeles, California, Robert Bertram Schwartz, known professionally as Robert Towne, was the older of two sons of a clothing store owner and property developer.
Raised in the L.A. suburb of San Pedro, he graduated from Pomona College in Claremont. Seeking employment as an actor, he took acting classes from Roger Corman with his roommate, Jack Nicolson. He wrote is first screenplay for Corman’s 1960 film, Last Woman on Earth in which he also played one of the leads. The following year he also starred in Corman’s Creature from the Haunted Sea.
Writing for TV in the early 1960s, he returned to screen writing for Corman with 1965’s The Tomb of Ligeia. He then wrote the script for TV’s A Time for Killing which Warren Beatty liked thus hiring him to work on the script for 1967’s Bonnie and Clyde which earned him his reputation as a script doctor. That same year he married actress Julie Payne, daughter of actors John Payne and Anne Shirley.
Towne received co-writing credit with Sam Peckinpah on Robert Evans’ Paramount produced 1968 film, Villa Rides, and did uncredited work on 1971’s Drive He Said, directed by Jack Nicolson, and 1972’s The Godfather for Francis Ford Coppola. That same year he had a contentious divorce from Payne involving custody of their daughter caused by his cocaine addiction.
Three of Towne’s next credited screenplays for 1973’s The Last Detail, 1974’s Chinatown, and 1975’s Shampoo all earned him Oscar nominations with Chinatown ressulting in a win. He then worked uncredited on a series of acclaimed films including 1976’s Marathon Man, 1978’s Heaven Can Wait, and 1981’s Reds. In 1982, he wrote, produced, and directed Personal Best. His next credited screenplay, for 1984’s Greystoke: The Legend of Tarzan, Lord of the Apes, earned him his fourth and final Oscar nomination. That same year he married second wife, Luisa Gaule, to whom he has been happily married for forty years. Their daughter is actress Katharine Towne, ex-wife of actor Charlie Hunnam.
Towne wrote and directed 1988’s Tequila Sunrise. He then wrote the screenplay for 1990’s The Two Jakes, a sequel to Chinatown which Jack Nicolson directed. Towne hated the film as did critics and audiences. As a result, he and Nicholson did not speak for ten years.
Towne began a working relationship with Tom Cruise in 1990 that resulted in his writing the screenplays for 1990’s Days of Thunder and 1993’s The Firm. He also wrote the screenplay for Warren Beatty’s poorly received 1994 remake of Leo McCarey’s Love Affair. He followed with the screenplays for 1996’s Mission: Impossible, 1998’s Without Limits which he also directed, and 2000’s Mission: Impossible 2. His last theatrical film was 2006’s Ask the Dust, which he adapted from a 1939 novel as well as directed.
Robert Towne’s last writing credit was for the TV series Welcome to the Basement in 2017. He remains a potent contributor to the arts as he approaches his 90th birthday later this year.
ESSENTIAL FILMS
THE LAST DETAIL (1974), directed by Hal Ashby
Towne’s first Oscar nomination was for his adaptation of Darryl Poniscan’s novel about two Navy Petty Officers (Jack Nicolson, Otis Young) given a short-term assignment to escort a small-time pilferer (Randy Quaid) to the brig in Portsmouth Naval Prison in New Hampshire. Numerous detours along the way comprise most of the film. Written in 1970, the script was rejected as too profane, but Towne refused to change a word. Two years later standards changed and it was given the go-ahead. Nicholson and Quaid were also nominated for Oscars. This was the first of three successive Oscar nominations for both Towne and Nicholson.
CHINATOWN (1974), directed by Roman Polanski
Long considered the highlight of both Nicholson’s and Towne’s careers, Towne’s flawless screenplay earned him the only Oscar of his career while Nicholson had to wait for the following year’s One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest to receive the first of his three career Oscars. The equally unforgettable Faye Dunaway was also nominated for her performance, but she, too, had to wait for her only Oscar, receiving it the year after Nicholson’s first for her performance in 1976’s Network. Nominated for 11 Oscars including Best Picture and Director, Towne’s Oscar win was the film’s only one.
SHAMPOO (1975), directed by Hal Ashby
Taking place on Election Eve of 1968, his popular film about a irresponsible hairdresser and ladies’ man underperformed at the Oscars, receiving just three Oscar nominations in addition to Towne’s for Best Supporting Actor (Jack Warden), Best Supporting Actress (Lee Grant), and Best Art Direction and Set Design, with Grant the film’s only winner. Stars Warren Beatty, Julie Christie, and Goldie Hawn were ignored, as was Carrie Fisher the year before her breakout performance in Star Wars. The film’s music was composed by Paul Simon who was later married to Fisher.
GREYSTOKE: THE LEGEND OF TARZAN, LORD OF THE APES (1984), directed by Hugh Hudson
Towne had his name removed from the film because he was unhappy with the rewrite that director Hudson gave his screenplay. He is credited under the name of his sheepdog, P.H. Vazek. In addition to Towne, the film was nominated for Oscars for its makeup and for Ralph Richardson’s supporting performance in the film released six months after his death. Christoper Lambert made his American screen debut in the title role as did former model Andie MacDowell whose vice is dubbed by Glenn Close. The supporting cast also includes Ian Holm, James Fox, Cheryl Campbell, Ian Charleson, and Nigel Davenport.
WITHOUT LIMITS (1998), directed by Robert Towne
Towne’s film was the second one in two years about the life and death of Olympic hopeful Steve Prefontaine. The earlier Prefontaine starred Jared Leto in the title role with R. Lee Ermey as his legendary coach, Bill Bowerman. Towne’s film, which was produced by Tom Cruise, starred Billy Crudup as Prefontaine and Donald Sutherland as Bowerman. Sutherland was nominated for Best Supporting Actor for his acclaimed performance by the National Society of Film Critics, the Golden Globes, and the Satellites, winning the latter but was incongruously snubbed by the Academy. He would win an honorary Oscar ten years later.
ROBERT TOWNE AND OSCAR
The Last Detail (1973) – nominated – Best Adapted Screenplay
Chinatown (1974) – Oscar – Best Original Screenplay
Shampoo (1975) – Nominated – Best Original Screenplay
Greystoke: The Legend of Tarzan, Lord of the Apes (1984) – Nominated – Best Adapted Screenplay
