Screenwriter Robert Towne, known for 'Chinatown' and 'The Last Detail,' dies at 89

Robert Towne, the Oscar-winning screenwriter known for his work on the films “Chinatown” and “The Last Detail,” has died. He was 89.

Towne “passed away peacefully at home” on Monday, according to an obituary shared by a representative for the filmmaker. A cause of death was not disclosed.

Details on a memorial service for Towne will be announced at a later date, the obituary states.

Towne, born Robert Bertram Schwartz, made his silver-screen debut as a screenwriter with the 1960 horror mystery “Last Woman on Earth,” which he starred in alongside Betsy Jones-Moreland and Antony Carbone.

The Los Angeles native went on to write for several television series and films, which included “The Lloyd Bridges Show,” “Breaking Point,” “Bonnie and Clyde” and “Drive, He Said,” before finding his cinematic breakthrough with 1973’s “The Last Detail.”

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Towne co-wrote the Hal Ashby-directed dramedy with “Vision Quest” writer Darryl Ponicsan about two Navy men tasked with escorting a young criminal to prison. The film, which starred Jack Nicholson, Randy Quaid and Otis Young, earned a trio of Academy Award nominations (including a best adapted screenplay nod for Towne).

He also found success with the 1974 film “Chinatown,” a mystery thriller directed by Roman Polanski and starring Nicholson, Faye Dunaway and John Huston. The film, which grossed $29.2 million at the global box office, won Towne an Oscar for best original screenplay in 1975.

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Towne wrote on several more films throughout the ‘80s and ‘90s, including “Personal Best,” “Greystoke: The Legend of Tarzan, Lord of the Apes,” “The Firm” and the Tom Cruise-starring “Mission: Impossible,” according to the filmmaker’s IMDb page.

Towne also worked as a producer. His credits include 1982’s “Personal Best,” 1987’s “The Bedroom Window” and 14 episodes of the AMC drama “Mad Men” from 2014-2015, per IMDb.

Towne is survived by his wife Luisa Towne, as well as his daughters Chiara and Katharine.