Richard Donner (1930-2021)
Richard Donner, who directed films such as "The Omen," "Superman: The Movie," "The Goonies," "Scrooged," and the "Lethal Weapon" series, passed away on July 5th, 2021. He was 91 years old.
Donner initially wanted to become an actor to develop his career and gained a minor role in a television program. However, its director, Martin Ritt, encouraged Donner to pursue directing instead. And so Dick was hired by Ritt to be his assistant. Later, Donner began directing commercials while among the Desilu staff. He transitioned to television series in the late 1950s, starting with "Get Smart," "The Twilight Zone" (most notably, "Nightmare at 20,000 Feet" with William Shatner), "The Wild Wild West," "Perry Mason," "Kojak," and "Gilligan's Island." Donner also worked with the animation studio Hanna-Barbera, directing several episodes of the serial "Danger Island" as part of the kids' show "The Banana Splits."
Richard's first movie as a director, in 1961, was the low-budget "X-15," starring Charles Bronson. He then directed a few British films, including "Salt and Pepper," "Twinky" (also known as "Lola"), and "Child Bride." Donner also broke into directing made-for-television movies, including "A Shadow in the Streets" and "Sarah T: Portrait of a Teenage Alcoholic."
Building on the experience he learned from "The Twilight Zone," Donner successfully navigated the challenges of helming feature-length movies with the scary "The Omen." This runaway success resulted in his assignment to bring "Superman" to the big screen in 1978, which brought him worldwide recognition. The movie starred Christopher Reeve as the Man of Steel, alongside Margot Kidder, Marlon Brando, Gene Hackman, and Ned Beatty, and set the template for future superhero movies. However, halfway through the film's sequel, "Superman II," in its near completion, a dispute with the producers led to Donner being booted and replaced by Richard Lester. Much of Donner's work remained intact, albeit uncredited. In 2006, Donner released his director's cut of "Superman II" on DVD, which was released on the same day as Bryan Singer's franchise revival, "Superman Returns," debuted on home video.
After his dismissal from "Superman II," Donner directed "Inside Moves," one of his smaller and personal films, and it didn't perform well at the box office despite fair notices and "The Toy", starring Richard Pryor.
In 1985, Donner directed the period romantic fantasy "Ladyhawke" with Michelle Pfeiffer. The same year, Donner directed a seminal children's adventure movie for writer Chris Columbus and fellow filmmaker Steven Spielberg, "The Goonies," a coming-of-age film about a group of kids looking for hidden treasure.
Following the mid-80s movies came the success of "Lethal Weapon," in which Donner reinvented the buddy-cop subgenre with "Mad Max" star Mel Gibson and Danny Glover in the lead roles. It led to three more entries, all directed by Donner. Donner would later work with Gibson on films, such as "Maverick" and "Conspiracy Theory." Donner's other films include "Scrooged" with Bill Murray, "Radio Flyer," "Assassins," "Timeline," and "16 Blocks." The latter of which proved to be his last.
In addition to directing features, Donner served as executive producer on films such as "Omen III: The Final Conflict," "The Lost Boys," "Delirious," three "Free Willy" movies, and "Any Given Sunday." He was even involved in the "X-Men" movie franchise with his wife, Lauren Shuler, through their company, The Donners' Company, especially Bryan Singer's first entry (click here) and its prequel, "X-Men Origins: Wolverine."
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