Donner, Richard,
1930-2021, American film director, b. Bronx, N.Y., as Richard Donald
Schwartzberg. Donner came from a Russian, Jewish immigrant family. After
briefly acting on television in 1950-51, he changed his name to Donner and
founded a commercial production company. He first directed TV shows in the
early ‘60s, and then films in the later ‘60s. He had his first
hit with 1976’s The Omen, followed by the first
Superman (1978) film. His other hits included
The Goonies (1985) and the four-part Lethal
Weapon series (1987, 1989, 1992, 1998), which solidified the
career of Mel Gibson, and the remake of the TV show,
Maverick (1994). He and his wife also produced the
successful Free Willy and X-Men series of
films.
See the biography by J. Christie (2010).
The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 6th ed. Copyright © 2024, Columbia University Press. All rights reserved.
See more Encyclopedia articles on: Film and Television: Biographies
