Sean Connery as James Bond.
Screenwriter Tom Mankiewicz, best known for his work on the James Bond flicks Diamonds Are Forever, Live and Let Die, and The Man with the Golden Gun, and for the 1978 Superman, died Saturday, July 31, at his Los Angeles home. Mankiewicz, who had been suffering from cancer, was 68.
In addition to his work as a screenwriter (other credits include The Sweet Ride, The Cassandra Crossing, and Ladyhawke), the Los Angeles-born (June 1, 1942) Mankiewicz directed a handful of features and television productions.
Among those were Dragnet (1987), starring Tom Hanks and Dan Aykroyd in a poorly received rehash of the old television series; John Candy’s 1991 comedy flop Delirious; and several episodes of the TV series Hart to Hart, which starred Robert Wagner and Stefanie Powers.
Tom Mankiewicz’s father was Joseph L. Mankiewicz, who won back-to-back Oscars for both writing and directing A Letter to Three Wives (1949) and All About Eve (1950).
He was also the nephew of Herman J. Mankiewicz, who co-wrote Citizen Kane with Orson Welles; and was a cousin of Turner Classic Movies’ host Ben Mankiewicz.