Richard Donner, the prolific Hollywood director and producer whose helming credits include some of the most iconic movies of the 1970s and ’80s including the Christopher Reeve-starring Superman, The Goonies and the Mel Gibson-Danny Glover buddy cop series Lethal Weapon, has died. He was 91. No cause of death has been revealed.
Donner died Monday, according to his wife, the producer Lauren Schuler Donner, and his business manager.
The Bronx-born Donner started his career directing for television, like his film credits a laundry list of staple shows including Route 66, The Rifleman, The Twilight Zone, The Man From U.N.C.L.E., Gilligan’s Island, Perry Mason and The Wild Wild West. After his debut feature, the 1968 crime comedy Salt & Pepper starring Sammy Davis Jr. and Peter Lawford, Donner segued to films full time with 1976’s spooky The Omen.
That led to 1978’s Superman, the original superhero movie that starred Reeve as the Man of Steel along with Margot Kidder and Gene Hackman. The blockbuster with a budget of about $55 million grossed more than $300 million at the global box office.
More to come.
