Cast & creator
Richard Donner
Best known for Perry Mason, Wagon Train, The Fugitive
Richard Donner (born Richard Donald Schwartzberg; April 24, 1930 – July 5, 2021) was an American filmmaker. 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 career spanning more than six decades 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.
Also known as: Richard D. Schwartzberg, Richard D. Donner, R.D. Donner, Dick Donner, Richard Donald Schwartzberg
101
film credits
57
television credits
52
1953–2024 · acting roles
6.7
average across scored titles
Signature credits
Known for
Across film & television
Filmography (158)
Showing 158 of 158 credits
Perry Mason
Director
1957
Wagon Train
Director
1957
The Fugitive
Director
1963
Ironside
Director
1967
Get Smart
Director
1965
Have Gun, Will Travel
Director
1957
The Rifleman
Director
1958
Cannon
Director
1971
Lassie
Clay Braddock
1954
The Twilight Zone
Director
1959
The F.B.I.
Director
1965
The Wild Wild West
Director
1965
Combat!
Director
1962
Wanted: Dead or Alive
Director
1958
Route 66
Director
1960
Tales from the Crypt
Man at Bar (uncredited)
1989Tales from the Crypt
Director
1989Tales from the Crypt
Executive Producer
1989
Dick Powell's Zane Grey Theatre
Director
1956
The Streets of San Francisco
Director
1972
Kojak
Director
1973
The Detectives
Director
1959
The Man from U.N.C.L.E.
Inebriate
1964The Man from U.N.C.L.E.
Director
1964
Gilligan's Island
Director
1964
Felony Squad
Director
1966
12 O'Clock High
Director
1964
Mr. Novak
Director
1963
The Tall Man
Director
1960
Lethal Weapon
Director
1987Lethal Weapon
Producer
1987
The Goonies
Policeman (uncredited)
1985The Goonies
Director
1985The Goonies
Producer
1985
Ghost Story
Director
1972
Petrocelli
Director
1974
Lethal Weapon 2
Director
1989Lethal Weapon 2
Producer
1989
Sam Benedict
Grover Stann
1962Sam Benedict
Director
1962
Eli Roth's History of Horror
Self
2018
The Lost Boys
Executive Producer
1987
HBO First Look
1992HBO First Look
Self
1992
The Bold Ones: The New Doctors
Director
1969
Lethal Weapon 4
Director
1998Lethal Weapon 4
Producer
1998
Superman
Man in Street (extended version) (uncredited)
1978Superman
Director
1978
Lethal Weapon 3
Director
1992Lethal Weapon 3
Producer
1992
Bronk
Director
1975
The Lieutenant
Director
1963
Superpowered: The DC Story
Self (archive footage)
2023
Superman II
Man Walking by Diner (uncredited)
1980
The Eleventh Hour
Director
1962
The Omen
Director
1976
Letter to Loretta
Director
1953
Perversions of Science
Executive Producer
1997
Reunited Apart
Self
2020
Jericho
Director
1966
Conspiracy Theory
Cab Passenger (uncredited)
1997Conspiracy Theory
Director
1997Conspiracy Theory
Producer
1997
Assassins
Director
1995Assassins
Producer
1995
The Travels of Jaimie McPheeters
Director
1963
Bordello of Blood
Executive Producer
1996
Banyon
Director
1972
Cursed Films
Self - Director, The Omen
2020
Any Given Sunday
Executive Producer
1999
The Trials of O'Brien
Director
1965
Timeline
Man in Car (uncredited)
2003Timeline
Director
2003Timeline
Producer
2003
Scrooged
Producer
1988Scrooged
Director
1988
The Interns
Director
1970
Maverick
Dealer (uncredited)
1994Maverick
Director
1994Maverick
Producer
1994
16 Blocks
Man Holding a Birthday Cake (uncredited)
200616 Blocks
Director
2006
Free Willy
Executive Producer
1993
Tales from the Crypt: Demon Knight
Executive Producer
1995
It's About Time
Director
1966
Sarge
Director
1971
The Final Conflict
Executive Producer
1981
Ladyhawke
Director
1985Ladyhawke
Producer
1985
Bearcats!
Director
1971
Free Willy 2: The Adventure Home
Executive Producer
1995
Superman II: The Richard Donner Cut
Man Walking by Diner (uncredited)
2006Superman II: The Richard Donner Cut
Director
2006
E! True Hollywood Story
1996
Free Willy 3: The Rescue
Executive Producer
1997
Free Willy
Executive Producer
1994
Super/Man: The Christopher Reeve Story
Self (archive footage)
2024
Sons and Daughters
Director
1974
Radio Flyer
Director
1992
Out Cold
Snooty Bartender (uncredited)
2001
Secret Origin: The Story of DC Comics
Self (archive footage)
2010
Double Tap
Producer
1997
The Toy
Director
1982
Look, Up in the Sky! The Amazing Story of Superman
Self
2006
First Works
Self
1989
Delirious
Executive Producer
1991
Starz Inside: Comic Books Unbound
Self - Director, Superman: The Movie
2008
The Omen
Executive Producer
1995
Making Apes: The Artists Who Changed Film
Self
2019
Necessary Evil: Super-Villains of DC Comics
2013
Casting By
Self
2012
No Subtitles Necessary: Laszlo & Vilmos
Self
2009
Sarah T. - Portrait of a Teenage Alcoholic
Director
1975
Marlon Brando: An Actor Named Desire
Self - Filmmaker
2014
Salt & Pepper
Director
1968
The Making of 'Superman: The Movie'
Self
1982
W.E.I.R.D. World
Executive Producer
1995
Made Men
Producer
1999
Life After Flash
Self
2017
Ritual
Producer
2002
You Will Believe: The Cinematic Saga of Superman
Self
2006
X-Men Origins: Wolverine
Executive Producer
2009
Inside Moves
Man who closes the ambulance doors (uncredited)
1980Inside Moves
Director
1980
Two-Fisted Tales
Director
1992Two-Fisted Tales
Executive Producer
1992
Davi's Way
Self
2018
Laddie: The Man Behind the Movies
Self
2017
The Omen Legacy
Self
2001
The Making Of The Goonies
Self
1985
Maximum Impact: The Legacy of 'Lethal Weapon'
Self
2012
Philbert (Three's a Crowd)
Director
1963Lethal Weapon 5
Screenplay
A Shadow in the Streets
Director
1975The Ultimate Stuntman: A Tribute to Dar Robinson
Himself
1987
Tales from the Warner Bros. Lot
Self
2013
Taking Flight: The Development of 'Superman'
Self
2001
Tales from the Crypt: The Robert Zemeckis Collection
Producer
1999
Making 'Superman': Filming the Legend
Self
2001
Film Music Masters: Jerry Goldsmith
1995
Close Encounters with Vilmos Zsigmond
Self
2016
The Marshal of Madrid
Director
1972
X-15
Director
1961
Twinky
Director
1970
The Curse of 'The Omen'
Self
2005
666: The Omen Revealed
2000
Nightside
Director
1973
The Omen
Executive Producer
1995
Mel Gibson's Unauthorized Video Diary
Self
1989
Valerie
Self
2019
Scream Greats, Vol.2: Satanism and Witchcraft
Himself
1986
Senior Year
Director
1974Superman II: Restoring the Vision
Self
2006
X-Men
Executive Producer
2000
Sam Cade
Director
1972
Lucas Tanner
Director
1974
Making of a Cult Classic: The Unauthorized Story of 'The Goonies'
Self
2010