Tom Mankiewicz

They also had a potential “pilot” script by Sidney Sheldon called Double Twist which they were unable to sell. Goldberg knew Mankiewicz wanted to direct and told him if he rewrote the two-hour script successfully he could direct it. Mankiewicz agreed and turned it into Hart to Hart. It sold. He co-wrote and directed the pilot, starring Robert Wagner and Stefanie Powers. The hit series ran for five years and later was the subject of eight two-hour network and cable films. Mankiewicz received his “Creative Consultant” credit on each episode, while directing seven of them. He also directed the final cable film, Till Death Do Us Hart, in Munich, Germany, coming full circle on the show.

Following Superman: The Movie, Warner Bros. signed Mankiewicz to an exclusive deal and kept him busy “fixing” films. He wrote scenes for Steven Spielberg’s Gremlins, Spielberg and Richard Donner’s The Goonies and John Badham’s WarGames. He next wrote the first draft of Batman, the opening film for that successful series. Then Richard Donner brought him onto Ladyhawke, the medieval romantic fantasy starring Matthew Broderick, Michelle Pfeiffer, and Rutger Hauer. He received shared screenplay credit and a separate credit as “Creative Consultant.”

Mankiewicz next co-executive produced the film Hot Pursuit with John Cusack and Ben Stiller. He left Warner Bros., moving to Universal Studios where he co-wrote (with Dan Aykroyd and Alan Zweibel) and directed the film Dragnet, starring Aykroyd and Tom Hanks. Read Less