Robert Towne, Oscar-winning “Chinatown” screenwriter, dies at age 89

Robert Towne, the screenwriter and director whose Oscar-winning work in the 1974 film Chinatown who made him part of Hollywood history, has died at the age of 89.

Towne died in his home on Monday, his publicist Carri McClure confirmed to The Hollywood Reporter.

During his celebrated career, Towne wrote the Hal Ashby films The final detail in the years 1973 and 1975 shampooand received Oscar nominations for both films. He also wrote and directed the 1988 crime drama tequila Sunrise — starring Mel Gibson, Kurt Russell and Michelle Pfeiffer — which was nominated for an Oscar for Best Cinematography.

At the beginning of his career, Towne became known in Hollywood as a “script doctor” and worked on screenplays for cult films such as Bonnie and Clyde in the years 1967 and 1972 The Godfather.

When The Godfather Accepting an Oscar for the screenplay of the legendary film, director Francis Ford Coppola gave “credit where credit is due” and thanked Towne for writing “the very beautiful scene between Marlon (Brando) and Al Pacino in the garden.” The scene is known for the exchange of power and love between the mafia boss and his son Michael.

To mark ChinatownOn the occasion of the 50th anniversary, Towne spoke with Collider in June and shared his insights with aspiring screenwriters. “When you first sit down to write, you’ll never know if a script is going to be good or mediocre, or even if it’s going to exist at all. You can’t really set out to write a ‘good’ script. You muddle through. You tell the story to friends, you listen to see what shape it takes, how they react and what they don’t. You take that shape and turn it into an outline, which then becomes note cards as you jot down the details of each scene — and if you can write a scene without saying a word, then by all means do that.”

He continued: “When that’s done, ignore those notecards and let your characters wander, suggest, demand, destroy. The more they take shape, the more you’ll find your story fundamentally changing. Sometimes you lead and sometimes you follow. You work and think and revise and rethink, throw things away and put them back in, and over the months and possibly years, something will take shape that someone else at a later date may find good.”