Skip to Navigation
TV Video Library: Interviews and Video Clips – Archive of American Television
  • A program of the Television Academy Foundation

Capturing Television History, One Voice At A Time

Home › People

Richard Donner

Director

About This Interview

Richard Donner was interviewed for nearly three-and-a-half hours in Beverly Hills, CA.  Donner talked about his start as an actor in New York and the career-changing moment when director Martin Ritt told him that he should work behind-the-camera and hired him as his assistant.  Donner described his start as a director, working in commercials and documentaries initially for George Blake, then for his own company.  He talked about his transition to Los Angeles where he directed commercials with the cast of I Love Lucy.  He talked about his work for several studios as a television director in the 1960s on such series as Wanted: Dead or Alive (with Steve McQueen), Wagon Train (in an episode guest-starring Bette Davis), The Loretta Young Show, The Hathaways (a series featuring three chimpanzees), Gilligan’s Island, The Man From U.N.C.L.E., The Fugitive, and, most notably, The Twilight Zone.  Donner described the challenges of directing the memorable Twilight Zone episode “Nightmare at 20,000 Feet,” in which William Shatner sees a gremlin on the wing of an airplane.  Donner described his early forays into feature filmmaking and his return to television each time, feeling that he was not ready to make the transition.  He talked about working on such ‘70s projects as The Banana Splits Hour and the acclaimed television movie Sarah T.— Portrait of a Teenage Alcoholic, before his breakthrough success in movies with The Omen.  Donner then chronicled the development and casting of some of his most notable feature film successes, including Superman, Lethal Weapon, and The Goonies.  He also spoke about his later work in television as a producer-director of the television series Tales From the Crypt.  The interview was conducted by Stephen J. Abramson on June 22, 2006.

Related To This Video

  • Shows
  • People

Shows

  • Twilight Zone, The
  • Twilight Zone, The: "Nightmare at 20,000 Feet"

People

  • Rod Serling
  • William Shatner
You need Flash player 8+ and JavaScript enabled to view this video.
  • Highlights
  • Chapters
  • Shows
  • People

Highlights

  • Director Richard Donner on the short shooting schedule of <i>The Twilight Zone</i>'s "Nightmare at 20,000 Feet" (00m 54s)Director Richard Donner on the short shooting schedule of The Twilight Zone's "Nightmare at 20,000 Feet" (00m 54s)
  • Director Richard Donner on the technical challenges of <i>The Twilight Zone</i>'s "Nightmare at 20,000 Feet" (00m 40s)Director Richard Donner on the technical challenges of The Twilight Zone's "Nightmare at 20,000 Feet" (00m 40s)
  • Director Richard Donner on the potential he saw in the script of <i>The Twilight Zone</i>'s "Nightmare at 20,000 Feet," and his own style of creating a reality for his work (00m 53s)Director Richard Donner on the potential he saw in the script of The Twilight Zone's "Nightmare at 20,000 Feet," and his own style of creating a reality for his work (00m 53s)
  • Director Richard Donner on the prestige of <i>The Twilight Zone</i> (00m 35s)Director Richard Donner on the prestige of The Twilight Zone (00m 35s)

Chapters

  • Chapter 1
  • Full Chapter One
  • Chapter 2
  • Full Chapter Two
  • Chapter 3
  • Full Chapter Three
  • Chapter 4
  • Full Chapter Four
  • Chapter 5
  • Full Chapter Five
  • Chapter 6
  • Full Chapter Six
  • Chapter 7
  • Full Chapter Seven

Shows

  • Twilight Zone, The
    • Director Richard Donner on the short shooting schedule of The Twilight Zone's "Nightmare at 20,000 Feet" (00m 54s)
    • Director Richard Donner on the technical challenges of The Twilight Zone's "Nightmare at 20,000 Feet" (00m 40s)
    • Director Richard Donner on the practical joke played on him on the set of  The Twilight Zone's "Nightmare at 20,000 Feet" by star William Shatner and Edd Byrnes (actor and husband to "Nightmare" co-star Asa Maynor)  (01m 11s)
    • Director Richard Donner on working with actor William Shatner on  The Twilight Zone's "Nightmare at 20,000 Feet" (00m 32s)
    • Director Richard Donner on the potential he saw in the script of  The Twilight Zone's "Nightmare at 20,000 Feet," and his own style of creating a reality for his work (00m 53s)
    • Director Richard Donner on working with actor Wally Cox on The Twilight Zone's "From Agnes — with Love" (00m 23s)
    • Director Richard Donner on the prestige of The Twilight Zone (00m 35s)
  • Twilight Zone, The: "Nightmare at 20,000 Feet"
    • Director Richard Donner on the short shooting schedule of The Twilight Zone's "Nightmare at 20,000 Feet" (00m 54s)
    • Director Richard Donner on the technical challenges of The Twilight Zone's "Nightmare at 20,000 Feet" (00m 40s)
    • Director Richard Donner on the practical joke played on him on the set of  The Twilight Zone's "Nightmare at 20,000 Feet" by star William Shatner and Edd Byrnes (actor and husband to "Nightmare" co-star Asa Maynor)  (01m 11s)
    • Director Richard Donner on working with actor William Shatner on  The Twilight Zone's "Nightmare at 20,000 Feet" (00m 32s)
    • Director Richard Donner on the potential he saw in the script of  The Twilight Zone's "Nightmare at 20,000 Feet," and his own style of creating a reality for his work (00m 53s)
    • Director Richard Donner on the prestige of The Twilight Zone (00m 35s)

People

  • Wally Cox
    • Director Richard Donner on working with actor Wally Cox on The Twilight Zone's "From Agnes — with Love" (00m 23s)
  • Rod Serling
    • Director Richard Donner on Rod Serling (SPOILER!: The Twilight Zone: "Time Enough at Last") (00m 55s)
  • William Shatner
    • Director Richard Donner on working with actor William Shatner on  The Twilight Zone's "Nightmare at 20,000 Feet" (00m 32s)
SHARE THIS PAGE Bookmark and Share
Tweet

Submitted by Jacklgf on Mon, 2011-05-09 00:25.

well that's the only thing i don't agree with. I support pro-life not pro-choice which is child murder.

Submitted by fluteplaya22593 on Thu, 2011-04-21 22:34.

@pedalero of course he can... but lets hope the producers dont fire him... stupid salkinds

Submitted by 7777theguy on Tue, 2011-04-12 19:24.

wheres richard donner live?

Submitted by 7777theguy on Tue, 2011-04-12 13:53.

i hear richard donner lives in seattle now is that true?

Submitted by jimk5447 on Sun, 2011-03-06 18:22.

@thinlizzybone. Richard donners cousin plays the police captain he is also in scrooged at the end of the movie when bobcat golthwait busts into the control room.

Submitted by moh1612 on Thu, 2011-02-17 15:05.

@GOPJ00 Me too

Submitted by moh1612 on Thu, 2011-02-17 14:36.

Richard Donner has Sylvester Stallone eye's. Such a great director

Submitted by RASOOL28 on Mon, 2011-02-14 21:37.

His brother plays the captain.

Post new comment

  • Home
  • Interviews
    • People
    • Shows
    • Topics
    • Professions
    • All Interviewees
    • Featured Playlists
  • About The Archive
  • Resources
  • Blog
  • Search
Academy of American Television
  • Home
  • The Interviews
  • Advanced Search
  • Blog
  • License Our Clips
  • Terms of Service
  • Transcripts
  • Copyright Policy
  • Emmys.com
  • Emmysfoundation.org
  • About The Archive
© 1995-2012 Academy of Television Arts & Sciences Foundation All Rights Reserved Emmy and The Emmy Statuette are the trademark property of ATAS/NATAS
Site developed by FivePaths