Robert Towne is a renowned screenwriter, director, and producer who is best known for his work on the 1974 classic Chinatown. He was born in 1934 in Los Angeles, California and has been active in the film industry since the 1960s. Towne has written some of the most iconic films of all time, including Shampoo, The Last Detail, and Mission: Impossible. He won an Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay for Chinatown and was nominated for two other Oscars. Towne is also known for his work on the television series Magnum, P.I. and The Two Jakes.