By Zach Seemayerâ Jim Spellman/WireImage Donner died on Monday, according to multiplereports. His death was confirmed to Variety by his production company, although no cause of death was released. Donner was born on April 24, 1930, in the Bronx. He began his career with hopes of becoming an actor, but soon found work directing commercials before moving on to direct TV shows. He helmed episodes of several iconic Western series, before directing six episodes of The Twilight Zone in 1963-64, including arguably the series' most famous episode, "Nightmare at 20,000 Feet." After helming a few small films, Donner's break-through into directing for the big screen came in 1976 when he helmed the iconic horror film