Richard Benner (1943 – December 2, 1990) was an American film director and screenwriter who worked predominantly in Canada."Richard Benner; Screenwriter and Director, 44"
''

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the Un ...

'', December 15, 1990. His 1977 film ''

Outrageous! ''Outrageous!'' is a 1977 Canadian comedy drama film written and directed by Richard Benner. The film stars Craig Russell as female impersonator Robin Turner, and Hollis McLaren as Turner's schizophrenic roommate Liza Conners. The plot begins i ...

'' was entered into the

28th Berlin International Film Festival The 28th annual Berlin International Film Festival was held from 22 February to 5 March 1978. Director Wolf Donner successfully managed to shift the festival's date from June to February, a change which has remained ever since. This was the firs ...

, where Craig Russell won the

Silver Bear for Best Actor The Silver Bear for Best Actor (german: Silberner Bär/Bester Darsteller) was an award presented at the Berlin International Film Festival from 1956 to 2020. It was given to an actor who has delivered an outstanding performance and was chosen by ...

. Benner grew up in Kentucky, studied drama in California and England, and moved to Toronto in the early 1970s. Writing for the

Canadian Broadcasting Corporation The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (french: Société Radio-Canada), branded as CBC/Radio-Canada, is a Canadian public broadcaster for both radio and television. It is a federal Crown corporation that receives funding from the government. ...

, he pitched an idea for a film about a gay hairdresser with dreams of New York City success to the Canadian Film Development Corporation (now

Telefilm Canada Telefilm Canada is a Crown corporation reporting to Canada's federal government through the Minister of Canadian Heritage. Headquartered in Montreal, Telefilm provides services to the Canadian audiovisual industry with four regional offices in V ...

). Approved, he was able to secure financing with the help of Toronto producers, and ''Outrageous!'', the first film to feature Craig Russell, an openly gay cabaret performer, went on to critical success at the

1977 Cannes Film Festival The 30th Cannes Film Festival was held from 13 to 27 May 1977 in film, 1977. The Palme d'Or went to the ''Padre Padrone'' by Paolo and Vittorio Taviani. A new non-competitive section, "Le Passé composé", is held at this festival only and focuses ...

. Funny and sympathetic, ''Outrageous!'' is considered a landmark film in Canadian

queer cinema "New Queer Cinema" is a term first coined by the academic B. Ruby Rich in ''Sight & Sound'' magazine in 1992 to define and describe a movement in queer-themed independent filmmaking in the early 1990s. It is also referred to as the "Queer New W ...

. Ten years later, Benner talked Russell into doing a sequel (1987), which fared not nearly as well. Benner died from complications due to AIDS in 1990. In addition to his films, he directed several episodes of the Canadian television series '' 9B'', ''

Monsters A monster is a type of fictional creature found in horror, fantasy, science fiction, folklore, mythology and religion. Monsters are very often depicted as dangerous and aggressive with a strange, grotesque appearance that causes terror and fe ...

'', '' Street Legal'' and ''

Road to Avonlea ''Road to Avonlea'' is a Canadian television series first broadcast in Canada between January 7, 1990, and March 31, 1996, as part of the ''CBC Family Hour'' anthology series, and in the United States starting on March 5, 1990. It was created b ...

''.

Selected filmography

* ''

'' (1977) * ''

Happy Birthday, Gemini ''Happy Birthday, Gemini'' is a 1980 comedy-drama film written and directed by Richard Benner and starring Madeline Kahn, Rita Moreno, Robert Viharo, Alan Rosenberg, Sarah Holcomb, David Marshall Grant and Timothy Jenkins. It is based on Albert I ...

'' (1980) * ''

Too Outrageous! ''Too Outrageous!'' is a 1987 Canadian comedy film directed and written by Richard Benner and starring Craig Russell as Robin Turner, a drag queen. It is based on a story by Margaret Gibson. Synopsis A sequel to the 1977 film ''Outrageous!'', ' ...

'' (1987)

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Benner, Richard 1943 births 1990 deaths American male screenwriters People from Sterling, Illinois Film directors from Illinois AIDS-related deaths in Canada American LGBT screenwriters Canadian LGBT screenwriters LGBT film directors Canadian gay writers Film directors from Toronto Writers from Toronto American television directors Canadian television directors American emigrants to Canada Screenwriters from Illinois 20th-century American male writers 20th-century Canadian screenwriters 20th-century American screenwriters LGBT television directors 20th-century LGBT people American gay writers Gay screenwriters