Robert Benton, the screenwriter and director, has died at 92.
Life and career
Robert Douglas Benton (September 29, 1932 – May 11, 2025) was an American film director and screenwriter. He, along with his co-writer David Newman, was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay for the 1967 film Bonnie and Clyde. In 1979, he wrote and directed the film Kramer vs. Kramer, winning the Academy Awards for Best Director and Best Adapted Screenplay. He won another Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay for the 1984 film Places in the Heart.
Early life
Benton was born in Dallas, Texas, to Dorothy (née Spaulding) and Ellery Douglass Benton, a telephone company employee. He grew up in Waxahachie, Texas, and attended the University of Texas, graduating in 1953 with a bachelor of fine arts. Benton served two years in the army and then moved to New York City to pursue a master’s degree in art history at Columbia University. However, he dropped out after a semester and joined the staff at Esquire magazine.
Career
In 1959, he co-wrote the book The IN and OUT Book with Harvey Schmidt, published by Viking Press. He was the art director at Esquire in the early 1960s.
Benton won the Academy Awards for Best Adapted Screenplay and Best Director for Kramer vs. Kramer (1979) and Best Original Screenplay for Places in the Heart (1984).
Benton garnered three additional Oscar nominations: two for Best Original Screenplay for Bonnie and Clyde (1967) and The Late Show (1977), and one for Best Adapted Screenplay for Nobody’s Fool (1994).
He also directed Twilight (1998) and Feast of Love (2007), and co-wrote the screenplays for Superman (1978) and The Ice Harvest (2005).
In 2006, he appeared in the documentary film Wanderlust.
Personal life and death
Benton was married to artist Sallie Rendig, with whom he had a son, from 1964 until her death in 2023.
Benton died at his home in Manhattan on May 11, 2025, at the age of 92.
Films
Producer
- A Texas Romance, 1909 (1964) (Short film)
Theatre
Awards and nominations
Academy Awards
BAFTA Awards
Golden Globe Awards
Directors Guild of America
Berlin International Film Festival
Other awards
Accolades for Benton’s directed features
Directed Oscar Performances
Under Benton’s directions, these actors have received Oscar nominations (and wins) for their performances in their respective roles.
References
Archival sources
- The Robert Benton Papers 1969–1994 (24 linear feet) are housed at the Wittliff Collections, Texas State University in San Marcos.
External links
- Profile of Robert Benton in The New York Observer
- “Robert Benton’s Portland Feast” from Willamette Week
- Robert Benton at IMDb
- Robert Benton at the TCM Movie Database (archived)
- Robert Benton discography at Discogs