London
(ANI):
Tom
Mankiewicz,
the
screenwriter
of
James
Bond
movies,
has
died
aged
68.
Mankiewicz
passed
away
at
his
home
after
battling
cancer.
He
underwent
the
Whipple
operation,
which
is
used
to
treat
pancreatic
cancer,
three
months
ago.
The
cause
of
the
death
was
not
immediately
known.
Mankiewicz
directed
the
1987
movie
'Dragnet",
starring
Dan
Aykroyd
and
Tom
Hanks,
and
several
episodes
of
the
TV
series
'Hart
to
Hart." His
cousin,
Turner
Classic
Movies
host
Ben
Mankiewicz,
said
that
Tom
was
in
good
spirits
when
they
had
lunch
a
week
ago
and
was
planning
to
Chapman
University
in
Orange,
California
this
fall,
where
he
taught
filmmaking
to
graduate
students.
“He
was
hopeful.
He
left
lunch
in
a
very
good
mood.
He
told
stories
about
John
Wayne
and
Michael
Curtiz,
and
how
he
was
going
to
get
me
to
appreciate
John
Ford"s
'The
Searchers" more,"
The
Telegraph
quoted
Mankiewicz
as
saying.