RIP Dean Stockwell. 85 years old. A good run.

Saying farewell to a funny, funny man.

(And a brave and badass one. His quote on dying of cancer – which he did: “I’m pretty sure, I’m not a doctor, but I’m pretty sure if you die, the cancer dies at the same time. That’s not a loss. That’s a draw.”)

Richard Donner 1930-2021

Total bummer to learn that director/producer Richard Donner has died at age 91. He directed a ton of big Hollywood movies and had a tremendous influence on the event movie era.

Donner got his start directing television, including several episodes of The Twilight Zone  from 1963-1964. One of the episodes he did was the famous “Nightmare at 20,000 Feet” with William Shatner on the airplane. It scared the bejeebers out of me when I saw it as a kid. He did a ton of TV including episodes of Gilligan’s Island, Get Smart, The Fugitive, and The Banana Splits Adventure Hour. His first big hit movie was The Omen (read my piece on it here). 

Donner directing Margot Kidder and Christopher Reeves

It was 1978′s Superman that was hit magnum opus! Donner made a truly excellent super hero origin story. All of the super hero movies that came after this one definitely owe something to Donner for paving the way. (read my piece about it here). Donner shot 75% of Superman II, but after tensions rose with the producers, he was replaced by Richard Lester. Say what you will about the production, but I felt it was one of the best Superman movies. (read my piece about it here).

Other films he directed I was a fan of include The Toy, one of my favorites as a kid The Goonies (read my piece here), the cop buddy action flick Lethal Weapon (2-4 were a mixed bag, but the first one holds up), and one of my favorite takes on Scrooge Scrooged. Donner was also the executive producer and sometimes director of the fun HBO horror anthology series Tales from the Crypt too.

Thie link above is the obit from Hollywood Reporter.