What is Robert Towne?
{{Infobox person | name = Robert Towne | image =RobertTowneMar09.jpg | caption = Towne in 2009 |birth_name=Robert Bertram Schwartz | birth_date = {{birth date|1934|11|23}} | birth_place = [[Los Angeles]], [[California]], U.S. | death_date = {{Death date and age|2024|7|1|1934|11|23}} | death_place = Los Angeles, California, U.S. | occupation = Writer, director, producer, actor | years_active = 1960–2024 | spouse = [[Julie Payne (actress, born 1940)|Julie Payne]] <br>(m. 1977; div. 1982?) <br>{{marriage|Luisa Gaule<br>|1984}} | children = 2 }} '''Robert Towne''' (born '''Robert Bertram Schwartz''';<ref name=ERRB>''[[Easy Riders, Raging Bulls]]'' by [[Peter Biskind]] page 30, 1999 Bloomsbury edition {{ISBN|978-0-7475-4421-0}}</ref><ref>According to the State of California. ''California Birth Index, 1905-1995''. Center for Health Statistics, California Department of Health Services, Sacramento, California. Searchable at http://www.familytreelegends.com/records/39461 {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110427102456/http://www.familytreelegends.com/records/39461 |date=2011-04-27 }}</ref> November 23, 1934 &ndash; July 1, 2024) was an American [[screenwriter]], [[Movie producer|producer]], [[Movie director|director]] and [[actor]]. Towne was part of the [[New Hollywood]] wave of filmmaking. He is best known for his [[Academy Awards|Academy Award]]-winning original screenplay for [[Roman Polanski]]'s ''[[Chinatown (1974 movie)|Chinatown]]'' (1974). Towne also wrote the sequel, ''[[The Two Jakes]]'' (1990). Towne was also known for his screenplays for ''[[The Last Detail]]'' (1973) and ''[[Shampoo (movie)|Shampoo]]'' (1975); and the first two ''[[Mission: Impossible (movie series)|Mission: Impossible]]'' movies. Towne directed the sports dramas ''[[Personal Best (movie)|Personal Best]]'' (1982) and ''[[Without Limits]]'' (1998), the crime thriller ''[[Tequila Sunrise (movie)|Tequila Sunrise]]'' (1988), and the romantic crime drama ''[[Ask the Dust (movie)|Ask the Dust]]'' (2006). Towne died