Richard Donner

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Richard Donner (2006)

Richard Donner (actually Richard Donald Schwartzberg ; born April 24, 1930 in New York City , † July 5, 2021 in Los Angeles ) was an American director , producer and actor . As a director of films like The Omen , Superman , The Goonies and Lethal Weapon - Lethal Weapon , he was from the mid-1970s to the 1990s as one of the leading directors of Hollywood - blockbusters .

life and work

Donner grew up as the son of a secretary and a furniture dealer in New York. After dropping out of New York University , he began his career in show business as an actor, but was not very successful. He got his stage name Donner from the Donner Party . When he played a supporting role in a television production in the early 1950s and contradicted the instructions of the director Martin Ritt , the latter encouraged him to give the director a try himself. Donner was then hired as Ritt's assistant director . During the 1950s he worked as a director of commercials. As an actor, Donner would later only appear in smaller roles in his own films.

Since the late 1950s, Donner has directed episodes for well-known series such as Twilight Zone , West of Santa Fé , Solo for ONKEL , Auf der Flucht , Gilligans Insel , and Kojak - Einsatz in Manhattan . His first film as a director was the cheaply filmed science fiction flick Die X-15 , which he was actually only a second unit director in 1961 , but eventually became a director himself by chance. He turned the film down in just 12 days. In the following 15 years Donner commuted between engagements for television series and mostly smaller films.

Donner achieved his big breakthrough in 1976 with the horror film The Omen , for which he was awarded the British Fantasy Award in 1977 . Another world success followed two years later with Superman . In the 1980s he directed, among other things, the adventure film The Goonies produced by Steven Spielberg , the Christmas comedy The Ghosts I Called ... with Bill Murray and the fantasy film Der Tag des Falken . In terms of genre, his name is mainly associated with the classic action film . This was not least due to the Lethal Weapon series with the main actors Mel Gibson and Danny Glover , the four parts of which he shot between 1989 and 1998. Other collaborations with Gibson as the lead actor were Maverick - The Colt on the Belt, An Ace Up Your Sleeve (1994) and Fletcher's Visions (1997). His work as a director includes 80 productions, the last time he appeared in this role in 2006. In 2020 he announced a fifth part of Lethal Weapon , which he could no longer realize before his death.

In 1985 Donner married Lauren Shuler , with whom he was married until his death. The couple owned the production company The Donners' Company , which earlier also appeared under the names "Donner / Shuler-Donner Productions" and "DOSHUDO Productions". In addition to their own films, they also produced films by other directors. In 2009 he was an executive producer on X-Men Origins: Wolverine .

Donner was a sympathizer of the animal rights organization PETA . At the premiere of 16 Blocks , his last film as a director, he urged visitors not to wear fur; he himself wore a badge against fur and used a poster from PETA that read Fur Is Dead in one scene of the film. Richard Donner died on July 5, 2021 at the age of 91.

Filmography

Director

Production of films by other directors

literature

  • James Christie: You're the Director ... You Figure It Out: The Life and Films of Richard Donner . BearManor Media, 2010, 406 pages.

Web links

Commons : Richard Donner  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Richard Donner obituary. July 6, 2021, accessed July 6, 2021 .
  2. ↑ Anita Gates: Richard Donner, Director of 'Superman' and 'Lethal Weapon' Films, Dies at 91 . In: The New York Times . July 5, 2021, ISSN  0362-4331 ( nytimes.com [accessed July 6, 2021]).
  3. ↑ Richard Donner obituary. July 6, 2021, accessed July 6, 2021 .
  4. ↑ Anita Gates: Richard Donner, Director of 'Superman' and 'Lethal Weapon' Films, Dies at 91 . In: The New York Times . July 5, 2021, ISSN  0362-4331 ( nytimes.com [accessed July 6, 2021]).
  5. ↑ Hollywood: Director Richard Donner has died. In: The time . July 6, 2021, accessed July 6, 2021 .
  6. ^ Director Richard Donner, A Pioneer In The Action-Adventure Genre, Has Died. Accessed July 7, 2021 .
  7. ↑ "Lethal Weapon" and "Superman": Star director Richard Donner is dead. In: rnd.de. July 5, 2021, accessed July 5, 2021 .
  8. ↑ Deutsche Welle: Richard Donner, director of 'Superman,' 'The Goonies,' dies at 91 | DW | 07/06/2021. Retrieved July 6, 2021 (UK English).
personal data
SURNAME Donner, Richard
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Schwartzberg, Richard D. (real name)
SHORT DESCRIPTION American director and actor
DATE OF BIRTH April 24, 1930
PLACE OF BIRTH New York City , United States
DATE OF DEATH July 5, 2021
PLACE OF DEATH Los Angeles , California , United States