
Richard Donner
Biography
Richard Donner (born Richard Donald Schwartzberg; April 24, 1930–July 5, 2021) was an American film director and producer. Described as "one of Hollywood's most reliable makers of action blockbusters," Donner directed some of the most financially successful films of the 1970s and 1980s. His 50-year career crossed genres and influenced trends among filmmakers across the world. Donner began his career in 1957 as a television director. In the 1960s, he directed episodes of the series The Rifleman, The Man from U.N.C.L.E., The Fugitive, The Twilight Zone, The Banana Splits, and many others. Donner made his film debut with the low-budget aviation drama X-15 in 1961 but had his critical and commercial breakthrough with the horror film The Omen in 1976. He directed the landmark superhero film Superman in 1978, which provided an inspiration for the fantasy film genre to eventually gain artistic respectability and commercial dominance. Donner later went on to direct films in the 1980s such as The Goonies and Scrooged, while reinvigorating the buddy cop film genre with the Lethal Weapon series. Donner and his wife, Lauren, owned a production company, The Donners' Company, which is most successful for producing the Free Willy and X-Men film franchises. Donner also produced Tales from the Crypt and co-wrote several comic books for Superman publisher DC Comics. In 2000, Donner received the President's Award from the Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Horror Films. Description above from the Wikipedia article Richard Donner, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.
Filmography

Super/Man: The Christopher Reeve Story

Valerie

Making Apes: The Artists Who Changed Film

Davi's Way

Laddie: The Man Behind the Movies

Life After Flash

Close Encounters with Vilmos Zsigmond

Marlon Brando: An Actor Named Desire

Necessary Evil: Super-Villains of DC Comics

Tales from the Warner Bros. Lot

Casting By

Maximum Impact: The Legacy of 'Lethal Weapon'

Secret Origin: The Story of DC Comics

Making of a Cult Classic: The Unauthorized Story of 'The Goonies'

No Subtitles Necessary: Laszlo & Vilmos

Starz Inside: Comic Books Unbound

You Will Believe: The Cinematic Saga of Superman

Superman II: Restoring the Vision

Superman II: The Richard Donner Cut

Look, Up in the Sky! The Amazing Story of Superman

16 Blocks

The Curse of 'The Omen'

Timeline

Out Cold

Taking Flight: The Development of 'Superman'

Making 'Superman': Filming the Legend

666: The Omen Revealed

Conspiracy Theory

Film Music Masters: Jerry Goldsmith

Maverick

First Works

Scream Greats, Vol.2: Satanism and Witchcraft

The Goonies

Inside Moves

Superman II

The Making of 'Superman: The Movie'
