Robert Burton Towne (born November 23, 1934) is an American actor, screenwriter and director. He is the author of many notable film scripts, including Chinatown (1974), for which he received an Oscar, its sequel, The Two Jakes (1990), and Shampoo (1975), as well as the first two Mission Impossible films. He is also noted as an uncredited script doctor who has worked in such a capacity for The Godfather and other notable movies.
After working for years on a script of Greystoke: The Legend of Tarzan, Lord of the Apes (1984) he grew dissatisfied with the production and credited his dog, P.H. Vazak, with the script. Vazak became the first dog nominated for an Oscar for screenwriting, but did not win. Towne also directed Without Limits (1998), a biopic based on the life of iconic athlete Steve Prefontaine, and Ask the Dust (2006), a romance film set in period Los Angeles and starring Colin Farrell and Salma Hayek. Both were produced by Tom Cruise and failed at the box office, though the former did receive favorable reviews from film critics.
His father-in-law was once actor John Payne. His daughter (with actress Julie Payne) is Katharine Towne and he was once the father-in-law of Charlie Hunnam.
He is a graduate of Pomona College in Claremont, CA
In an interview with Charlie Rose, Towne stated his two of his favourite screenwriters were Paddy Chayevsky and Robert Bolt.
