Richard Donner, the 91-year-old Hollywood director who directed Superman and The Goonies, died.

His wife, film producer Lauren Shuler Donner, told the news website Deadline that he died on Monday.

With 1976’s The Omen, he got his big break, and he went on to create Free Willy and The Lost Boys.

Steven Spielberg, who wrote the narrative for The Goonies, said Richard Donner was “gifted across so many genres”.

“Being in his circle was akin to hanging out with your favorite coach, smartest professor, fiercest motivator, most endearing friend, staunchest ally, and – of course – the greatest Goonie of all,” Mr. Spielberg said.

“He was all kid. All heart. All the time. I can’t believe he’s gone, but his husky, hearty laugh will stay with me always.”

Donner, who was born in the Bronx, New York, began his career in television in the early 1960s, with roles in shows such as The Twilight Zone and the spy thriller The Man From Uncle.

But it wasn’t until the mid-1970s that he began to make a name for himself in Hollywood. Superman, starring Christopher Reeve and released in 1978, is widely recognized as the first modern superhero film.

In 1985, Donner directed and produced The Goonies. The comedy follows a gang of kids as they search for a lost treasure and has become a cult favorite.

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