In 2000, Donner received the President's Award from the Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror Films.

He briefly attended New York University but left to pursue a career in acting, relocating to Los Angeles and adopting the stage name "Richard Donner".

He gained a big part in a television program directed by Martin Ritt, who encouraged Donner to become a director instead.

During his early career as a director he worked on over twenty-five television series, including Have Gun – Will Travel, The Fugitive, Combat!, Get Smart, The Man from U.N.C.L.E., The Wild Wild West, Gilligan's Island,[11] Kojak and The Twilight Zone (such as the episodes "Nightmare at 20,000 Feet" starring William Shatner, The Jeopardy Room starring Martin Landau and "From Agnes—With Love" starring Wally Cox), as well as the serial Danger Island from the children's program The Banana Splits.

He's Real Gone", "The Ventriloquist's Dummy", "Showdown"), and also produced three feature film spinoffs; Demon Knight, Bordello of Blood and Ritual.

Donner's first feature film was X-15 (1961), which starred David McLean, Charles Bronson and Mary Tyler Moore.

A supernatural horror made in the wake of the success of The Exorcist, the film stars Gregory Peck, David Warner and Lee Remick.

[14] The film co-starred Margot Kidder as Lois Lane, Marlon Brando as Jor-El and Gene Hackman as archvillain Lex Luthor.

Following Donner's dismissal, Marlon Brando's scenes were removed from Superman II and much of the film was re-shot under Lester's direction.

Rotten Tomatoes' summary states that "Superman II meets, if not exceeds, the standard set by its predecessor.

[16] This version of the film features the re-insertion of Marlon Brando's scenes as Jor-El and relies on a minimum of footage shot by Richard Lester.

Donner directed mixed commercial flops (Inside Moves, Radio Flyer) and successes (The Goonies, the Lethal Weapon series, Scrooged, and Conspiracy Theory).

Donner's next blockbuster film was the action comedy Lethal Weapon, written by Shane Black.

It starred Mel Gibson as a widowed narcotics detective with a suicidal bent "who breaks every rule for the sheer joy of it".

[18][19][20] Donner was the first choice to direct the "unofficial" James Bond film Never Say Never Again, but turned it down after he decided he disliked Lorenzo Semple Jr.'s script.

Together, Johns and Donner collaborated on the stories Last Son and Escape from Bizarro World, both of which have been released in collected book form.

[28] Script Magazine described the book as an "engaging portrait of a warm-hearted (if occasionally gruff) man who can justly be considered the modern equivalent of Victor Fleming and Michael Curtiz—a highly talented, professional director of motion pictures who has thrived in the studio system and made some pretty good pictures to boot.