'Chinatown' Screenwriter Robert Towne Dead at 89

Robert Towne, a super-famous screenwriter who won an Oscar for his script for "Chinatown," is dead.

Robert died Monday at his L.A. home, according to a statement Tuesday from his publicist, Carrie McClure. The cause of death was not revealed.

In addition to winning an Academy Award for 1974's classic movie "Chinatown," Robert also wrote two other big movies in the 70s ... "The Last Detail" and "Shampoo."

Robert is also known for writing the 1988 movie "Tequila Sunrise" ... which starred Mel Gibson and Michelle Pfeiffer.

A respected figure in Hollywood, Robert was one of the most in-demand screenwriters of all time ... often being brought in to doctor scripts -- fixing them up.

A couple famous examples ... Warren Beatty ran to Robert for help on 1967's "Bonnie and Clyde" and Robert cooked up the Marlon Brando garden scene in 1972's "The Godfather," even getting a shoutout in Francis Ford Coppola's acceptance speech at the Oscars.

The last time we got Robert out was way back in 2009, when he talked to one of our photogs about his "Chinatown" script and dished on working with Roman Polanski and Tom Cruise.

Robert wrote two movies starring Tom in the 1990s ... "Days of Thunder" and "The Firm" ... and he's got credits on the first two 'Mission: Impossible' action flicks.

RT was 89.