‘Superman’ director Richard Donner dies at 91

Director and producer Richard Donner, best known for helming the “Lethal Weapon” film series, “The Goonies” and the original “Superman” film, died at the age of 91.

He made his directorial debut with the little-known 1968 Sammy Davis Jr. crime comedy ‘Salt & Pepper,’ with his first big break coming in the form of 1976’s ‘The Omen’. He then went on to direct the first Superman movie.

The news had come as shock to Hollywood and condolences had begun pouring. The actor Danny Glover, who worked with Donner on 1987’s Lethal Weapon and all of its sequels, said in a statement: “My heart is broken. Working with Dick Donner, Mel Gibson and the Lethal Weapon team was one of the proudest moments of my career. I will forever be grateful to him for that,”

Fellow director Steven Spielberg, who wrote the story on which The Goonies was based, said in a statement that Donner had a “powerful command of his movies.”