Robert Douglas Benton (born September 29, 1932) is an American

screenwriter A screenplay writer (also called screenwriter, scriptwriter, scribe or scenarist) is a writer who practices the craft of screenwriting, writing screenplays on which mass media, such as films, television programs and video games, are based. ...

and

film director A film director controls a film's artistic and dramatic aspects and visualizes the screenplay (or script) while guiding the film crew and actors in the fulfilment of that vision. The director has a key role in choosing the cast members, p ...

. He is best known as the writer and director of the film ''

Kramer vs. Kramer ''Kramer vs. Kramer'' is a 1979 American legal drama film written and directed by Robert Benton, based on Avery Corman's 1977 novel of the same name. The film stars Dustin Hoffman, Meryl Streep, Jane Alexander, and Justin Henry. It tells the sto ...

'', for which he won the Academy Award for Best Director and Best Adapted Screenplay. He had previously written the screenplay (with David Newman) for the film ''

Bonnie and Clyde Bonnie Elizabeth Parker (October 1, 1910May 23, 1934) and Clyde Chestnut (Champion) Barrow (March 24, 1909May 23, 1934) were an American criminal couple who traveled the Central United States with their gang during the Great Depression. The co ...

''.

Early life

Benton was born in

Waxahachie, Texas Waxahachie ( ) is the seat of government of Ellis County, Texas, United States. Its population was 41,140 in 2020. Etymology Some sources state that the name means "cow" or "buffalo" in an unspecified Native American language. One possible ...

, the son of Dorothy (née Spaulding) and Ellery Douglass Benton, a telephone company employee. He attended the

University of Texas The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin, UT, or Texas) is a public research university in Austin, Texas. It was founded in 1883 and is the oldest institution in the University of Texas System. With 40,916 undergraduate students, 11,075 ...

and

Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...

Career

In 1959, he co-wrote the book ''The IN and OUT Book'' with

Harvey Schmidt Harvey Lester Schmidt (September 12, 1929 – February 28, 2018) was an American composer for musical theatre and illustrator. He was best known for composing the music for the longest running musical in history, '' The Fantasticks'', which ran of ...

, published by The Viking Press. He was the art director at ''

Esquire Esquire (, ; abbreviated Esq.) is usually a courtesy title. In the United Kingdom, ''esquire'' historically was a title of respect accorded to men of higher social rank, particularly members of the landed gentry above the rank of gentlema ...

'' in the early 1960s. Benton won the

Academy Awards The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...

for Best Adapted Screenplay and

Best Director Best Director is the name of an award which is presented by various film, television and theatre organizations, festivals, and people's awards. It may refer to: Film awards * AACTA Award for Best Direction * Academy Award for Best Director * BA ...

for ''

'' (1979) and

Best Original Screenplay The Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay is the Academy Award for the best screenplay not based upon previously published material. It was created in 1940 as a separate writing award from the Academy Award for Best Story. Beginning with the ...

for ''

Places in the Heart ''Places in the Heart'' is a 1984 American film written and directed by Robert Benton. It stars Sally Field, Lindsay Crouse, Ed Harris, Ray Baker, Amy Madigan, John Malkovich, Danny Glover, Jerry Haynes and Terry O'Quinn. The film's narrative ...

'' (1984). Benton garnered three additional Oscar nominations: two for Best Original Screenplay for both ''

'' (1967) and ''

The Late Show The Late Show may refer to: Books * ''The Late Show'' (book), a 2017 book by Michael Connelly Film * ''The Late Show'' (film), a 1977 film * ''Late Show'', a 1999 German film by director Helmut Dietl Music * ''The Late Show'' (Eddie "Loc ...

'' (1977) and one for Best Adapted Screenplay for '' Nobody's Fool'' (1994). He also directed ''

Twilight Twilight is light produced by sunlight scattering in the upper atmosphere, when the Sun is below the horizon, which illuminates the lower atmosphere and the Earth's surface. The word twilight can also refer to the periods of time when this il ...

'' (1998) and ''

Feast of Love ''Feast of Love'' is a 2007 American drama film directed by Robert Benton, and starring an ensemble cast that includes Morgan Freeman, Greg Kinnear, Radha Mitchell, Billy Burke, Selma Blair, Alexa Davalos, Toby Hemingway, and Jane Alexander. Th ...

'' (2007), and co-wrote the screenplays for ''

Superman Superman is a superhero who appears in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character was created by writer Jerry Siegel and artist Joe Shuster, and debuted in the comic book ''Action Comics'' #1 (cover-dated June 1938 and publi ...

'' (1978) and ''

The Ice Harvest ''The Ice Harvest'' is a 2005 American neo-noir black comedy film directed by Harold Ramis, written by Richard Russo and Robert Benton, based on the 2000 novel of the same name by Scott Phillips and starring John Cusack, Billy Bob Thornton, and ...

'' (2005). In 2006, he appeared in the documentary ''

Wanderlust Wanderlust is a strong desire to wander or travel and explore the world. Etymology The first documented use of the term in English occurred in 1902 as a reflection of what was then seen as a characteristically German predilection for wandering ...

''.

Personal life

He married artist Sallie Rendig in 1964.

Films

Theatre

Film awards

Wins

* 1978 -

Edgar Award The Edgar Allan Poe Awards, popularly called the Edgars, are presented every year by the Mystery Writers of America, based in New York City. Named after American writer Edgar Allan Poe (1809–1849), a pioneer in the genre, the awards honor the bes ...

for Best Motion Picture Screenplay for ''The Late Show'' * 1980 -

Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay The Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay is the Academy Award for the best screenplay adapted from previously established material. The most frequently adapted media are novels, but other adapted narrative formats include stage plays, musica ...

for ''Kramer vs. Kramer'' * 1980 -

Academy Award for Best Director The Academy Award for Best Director (officially known as the Academy Award of Merit for Directing) is an award presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS). It is given in honor of a film director who has exhibi ...

for ''Kramer vs. Kramer'' * 1980 - Golden Globe Award for Best Screenplay - Motion Picture for ''Kramer vs. Kramer'' * 1980 - Directors Guild of America Award for Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Motion Pictures for ''Kramer vs. Kramer'' * 1984 - People's Choice Award at the Toronto International Film Festival * 1985 -

Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay The Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay is the Academy Awards, Academy Award for the best screenplay not based upon previously published material. It was created in 1940 as a separate writing award from the Academy Award for Best Story. Be ...

for ''Places in the Heart'' * 1985 -

Silver Bear for Best Director The Silver Bear for Best Director (german: Silberner Bär/Bester Regie) is an award presented annually at the Berlin International Film Festival since 1956. It is given for the best achievement in directing and is chosen by the International Jury ...

at the 35th Berlin International Film Festival for ''Places in the Heart'' * 2007 -

Laurel Award for Screenwriting Achievement The Laurel Award for Screenwriting Achievement (also known as the Screen Laurel Award) is a lifetime achievement award given by the Writers Guild of America. It is given "to that member of the Guild who, in the opinion of the current Board of Dir ...

Nominations

* 1968 - Academy Award for Writing Original Screenplay for ''Bonnie and Clyde'' * 1968 - Golden Globe for Best Screenplay for ''Bonnie and Clyde'' * 1977 -

Golden Bear The Golden Bear (german: Goldener Bär) is the highest prize awarded for the best film at the Berlin International Film Festival. The bear is the heraldic animal of Berlin, featured on both the coat of arms and flag of Berlin. History The winn ...

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...

for ''The Late Show'' * 1978 - Academy Award for Writing Original Screenplay for ''The Late Show'' * 1980 - Golden Globe for Best Director - Motion Picture for ''Kramer vs. Kramer'' * 1981 -

César Award for Best Foreign Film This is the list of winners and nominees of the César Award for Best Foreign Film (french: César du meilleur film étranger). Winners and nominees 1970s 1980s 1990s 2000s 2010s 2020s Awards by nation Notes See also *Lumières A ...

for ''Kramer vs. Kramer'' * 1985 - Academy Award for Directing for ''Places in the Heart'' * 1985 - Directors Guild of America Award for Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Motion Pictures for ''Places in the Heart'' * 1985 - Golden Globe for Best Screenplay - Motion Picture for ''Places in the Heart'' * 1995 - Academy Award for Writing Adapted Screenplay for ''Nobody's Fool''

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''
* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Benton, Robert 1932 births American male screenwriters Best Adapted Screenplay Academy Award winners Best Directing Academy Award winners Best Original Screenplay Academy Award winners Columbia University alumni Edgar Award winners Hugo Award-winning writers Living people People from Waxahachie, Texas Silver Bear for Best Director recipients University of Texas at Austin alumni Writers Guild of America Award winners Film directors from Texas Best Screenplay Golden Globe winners Directors Guild of America Award winners Screenwriters from Texas