'King Kong' director John Guillermin dies at 89

British director John Guillermin, known for directing the 1976 version of "King Kong" and "The Towering Inferno" is dead. He was 89.

The director died earlier this week at his home here. Nick Redman, a friend of Guillermin's, confirmed the news to ew.com.

As a filmmaker, Guillermin was best known for action and adventure tales such as "Shaft in Africa", "Death on the Nile", "El Condor", "Skyjacked", "Sheena", two "Tarzan" movies, and the sequel "King Kong Lives".

Over the course of his career, he worked with actors including Orson Welles, Paul Newman, Jessica Lange, Fred Astaire, Peter O'Toole, and Faye Dunaway.

Born in London, Guillermin studied at the University of Cambridge and served in the Royal Air Force before beginning his directing career in France, as a documentary filmmaker.

He helmed his first feature, "Torment" (also known as "Paper Gallows"), in 1950.

"He was a tough man but a very charming man. He was every inch the Hollywood director, the Hollywood figure, but he had very much a European sensibility. He was a very urbane person, and he made some great movies," Redman said.