The Towering Inferno The Towering Inferno The Towering Inferno is a 1974 American drama disaster film produced by Irwin Allen featuring an all-star cast led by Paul Newman and Steve McQueen. The picture was directed by John Guillermin. A co-production between 20th Century Fox and Warner Bros., it was the first film to be a joint venture by two major Hollywood studios. It was adapted by Stirling Silliphant from a pair of novels, "The Tower" by Richard Martin Stern and "The Glass Inferno" by Thomas N. Scortia and Frank M. Robinson. The film earned a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Picture
Dabney Coleman his career included a US Olympic skiing team coach in the 1969 "Downhill Racer", a high-ranking fire chief in "The Towering Inferno" (1974), and a wealthy Westerner in "Bite the Bullet" (1975). He portrayed an FBI agent in "" (1975). He landed the main antagonist part of Franklin Hart, Jr., a sexist boss on whom three female office employees get their revenge in 1980's "Nine to Five". It was this film that established Coleman in the character type he is most identified with and has frequently played since - a comic relief villain. Coleman followed "Nine to Five" with the