Richard Donner
Source: Web (variety.com)
Arts & Music • Historical Archive • 🇺🇸 United States • 21 views

Richard Donner 🇺🇸

Richard Donner (Known as "Richard Donner")
["film_director","film_producer","television_director"]
Born Apr 24, 1930 🇺🇸 The Bronx, New York, United States
Passed Away Jul 05, 2021 Los Angeles, California, United States
Lifespan 91 years old
21 views
Notice / Correction
"If you can make the audience believe that a man can fly, you've done your job."

Archival Overview

Trailblazing American filmmaker who created the modern superhero genre with Superman (1978) and directed era-defining blockbusters including The Omen, The Goonies, and the Lethal Weapon franchise.

Biographical Record

Richard Donald Schwartzberg was born in the Bronx, New York, and began his career in the early days of television directing episodes of The Twilight Zone (notably the iconic "Nightmare at 20,000 Feet"), The Fugitive, and Perry Mason. He made his cinematic breakthrough in 1976 with the chilling supernatural horror blockbuster The Omen.

In 1978, Donner directed Superman starring Christopher Reeve, establishing the template for the modern comic-book film with his motto of "Verisimilitude." In the 1980s and 1990s, he defined Hollywood adventure and action filmmaking by helming the beloved classic The Goonies (1985), Ladyhawke, and all four films of the wildly successful buddy-cop franchise Lethal Weapon. With his wife Lauren Shuler Donner, he also produced the foundational X-Men films.

Key Life Milestones

December 15, 1978

Release of Superman: The Movie

Directed the groundbreaking blockbuster that established comic book cinema as a premier Hollywood art form.

March 6, 1987

Launch of Lethal Weapon Franchise

Directed the blockbuster buddy-cop action film starring Mel Gibson and Danny Glover, spawning a billion-dollar franchise.

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Final Resting Place

Perpetual Memorial
Westwood Village Memorial Park Cemetery
Los Angeles, California, United States
GPS: 34.0585, -118.4414
View on Memory Atlas
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