Robert Towne, the screenwriting legend best known for penning the Oscar-winning neo-noirChinatown, died Monday at 89.
Jason Merritt/Getty
Towne had previously collaborated with Nicholson, a close friend, on 1973’sThe Last Detail.
After his contributions toBonnie and Clyde, Towne struck up a friendship withWarren Beatty.
Robert Towne in 2015.Jason Merritt/Getty
He wrote the scripts for Beatty classicShampoo, as well as Beatty’s 1994 remake ofLove Affair.
Additionally, he worked as a script doctor onHeaven Can Wait.
Towne also maintained a close bond withTom Cruiseafter writing the script for 1990’sDays of Thunder.
Robert Towne in 1975.Nick Machalaba/WWD/Penske Media via Getty
His classmates included Nicholson and Roger Corman.
He worked uncredited on the scripts forDrive, He Said;Cisco Pike; andThe New Centurions.
He was Oscar-nominated for all three films, though he only won forChinatown.
Towne and Nicholson always intended forChinatownto be part of a trilogy, moving through decades of Los Angeles history.
Want more movie news?
Towne also returned to television, most notably serving as a consulting producer onMad Men.
He was married to actress Julia Payne from 1977 to 1982, after dating for nearly 10 years prior.
Payne died in 2019, but the two are survived by their daughter, actress Katharine Towne.
