Richard Donner

Richard Donner was a filmmaker who produced some famous works during the New Hollywood era. Born on April 24, 1930, in New York City, U.S, his astonishing career spanned over 50 years. Talking about his early life, Richard Donald Schwartzberg was born in the Bronx to Russian Jewish parents. After completing his graduation from high school, he served in the U.S. Navy, becoming an aerial photographer. His stay at New York University was cut short as he left to pursue a career in acting, relocating to Los Angeles and adopting the stage name “Richard Donner”. Donner wanted to start his career as an actor but was convinced by Martin Ritt to become a director instead and hired him as an assistant. Later, he shifted to Desilu, where he was a staff member and directed some commercials.

The 1950s was the time when he went to television dramas, directing some episodes of the Steve McQueen Terence Steven McQueen was born in Indiana and had >> Read More... western series Wanted Dead or Alive and the Chuck Connors western The Rifleman. In his early years, he worked on over twenty-five television series; some are; 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. In the 1990s, Donner served as executive director for the HBO horror series Tales from the Crypt. His first feature film was X-15 (1961), Directing his next, Salt and Pepper (1968). Donner made his breakthrough with the film The Omen (1976); it was the fifth-highest-grossing film of 1976. He accepted the high-profile assignment of directing Superman (1978); the action movie was a worldwide box-office hit.

He was signed to direct the movie’s sequel and was near completion, but was fired because of differences with the producers. But in 2006, Donner was permitted to release his version, Superman II: The Richard Donner Cut. In the 1980s, he produced films such as The Goonies and Scrooged while reinvigorating the buddy film genre with the Lethal Weapon series. He and his wife Lauren owned their production company, The Donners’ Company, best known for co-executive producing the Free Willy and X-Men franchises. Richard Donner received the President’s Award from the Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror Films in 2000. Unfortunately, at the age of 91, Donner passed away on July 5, 2021, at his West Hollywood, California home, leaving his illustrious cinema career behind.