"The Omen", "Superman" and then "Lethal Weapon": With the blockbuster series about the unequal police duo Martin Riggs and Roger Murtaugh, Richard Donner finally made the leap into the ranks of Hollywood's best action directors. Since 1987, he has sent Mel Gibson and Danny Glover four times as cops in Los Angeles on the hunt for criminals, most recently in 1998 in "Lethal Weapon – two professionals clean up". Now the cult director has died at the age of 91.
His wife, producer Lauren Shuler Donner, confirmed his death on Monday without naming the cause of death. "He was a great man. I was a very, very happy woman. But he was very ill, so it was time for him to leave," she told industry journal Deadline.com.
Born in New York, he first appeared on stage in the 1950s and wanted to become a film actor when he was rebuked by Hollywood director Martin Ritt ("The Spy Who Came out of the Cold"). "You don't let anything tell you. It's better if you become a director," Ritt recommended to him at the time, Donner said in June 2017 at an honorary gala of the Oscar Academy.
At the time, the Film Association paid tribute to the director for his long career. "I'm the happiest person in the world," Donner explained, referring to his many friendships over the years in Hollywood. Numerous companions, including Danny Glover and Mel Gibson, congratulated the director at the time. "He's a fucking genius," Gibson said enthusiastically on stage at the Oscar Academy.
Donner finally took the advice of director Martin Ritt to heart. He gave up acting and became Ritt's assistant director. He first learned his craft behind the television camera. In the 1960s and 1970s, he shot episodes of hit series such as "The Twilight Zone", "Cannon", "Kojak" and "The Streets of San Francisco".
Then he came across the script for an occult horror film and brought "The Omen" (1976) to the big screen. For the creepy story about the devil's son, who grows up as a little boy in a family of diplomats, he was able to win Gregory Peck and Lee Remick in the leading roles. The shocker was a box office hit, Thunder became famous almost overnight in Hollywood.
Two years later he landed the next blockbuster with "Superman" (1978). In it, Christopher Reeve transforms from shy reporter Clark Kent into the steel-hard superhero. At the Oscars, "Superman" won the trophy for best special effects.
Donner had success in many genres in his long career: "The Toy" (1982) was a comedy about a spoiled offspring. For the adventure film "The Goonies" about a treasure-seeking youth gang, Steven Spielberg was on board as a producer. And in the fantasy romance "The Day of the Falcon" he brought Michelle Pfeiffer and Rutger Hauer together. Mel Gibson was back when Donner shot the Western comedy "Maverick" with Jodie Foster and James Garner.
Many Hollywood greats mourned donner's death on Monday after it became known. "He was magnanimous with heart and soul," Mel Gibson said loudly as "Deadline.com." "I will miss him deeply, with all his mischievous wit and wisdom." Steven Spielberg said goodbye to his companion with big words: spending time with him was like being with "your favorite coach, the smartest professor, the wildest motivator, the most lovable friend, the most loyal ally". "He was quite a child. All heart. all the time. I can't believe he's gone, but his hoarse, heartfelt laughter will always stay with me."
Even at the end of his long career, Donner delivered fast-paced action cinema. In his last directorial work, the thriller "16 Blocks" (2006), Bruce Willis plays a listless, aged cop who once again appears at his best through a deployment in the streets of New York.
Together with his wife Lauren Shuler and their joint production company, Donner remained in the business. Shuler was already a young producer in "Der Tag des Falken" in 1985 and became his wife at that time. The couple produced most of Donner's films, shuler also made a career with the "X-Men" series or "Deadpool".
Many fans hoped in vain that Donner would make yet another "Lethal Weapon" movie in old age. In January 2020, producer Dan Lin ("Sherlock Holmes", "The Two Popes") promised a fifth part with the original team around Gibson, Glover and Donner, which was not realized in the end.
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