
Person
Robert Benton
Writing · 1932–2025 · Waxahachie, Texas, USA
Biography
Robert Douglas Benton (September 29, 1932 - May 11, 2025) was an American screenwriter and film director. Benton was born in Waxahachie, Texas, the son of Dorothy (née Spaulding) and Ellery Douglass Benton, a telephone company employee. He attended the University of Texas and Columbia University. Benton has enjoyed a highly successful career in film, winning numerous prestigious awards for both writing and directing. He was also the art director at Esquire magazine in the early 1960s. In 2006, he appeared in the documentary Wanderlust, as did a number of other well-known people. Benton's family originally hailed from Northumberland in Great Britain, where the Bentons held a seat long before the Norman Conquest. Many family members settled in America, including Abigail and Isabel Benton, who settled in Virginia in 1642; George Benton, who settled in Barbados in 1669; and Robert Benton, who settled in Virginia in 1635. Benton was once a noble family, but they became commoners after the Norman invasion. Robert Benton still has relatives living in England who trace their origins to the seventeenth century. Other prominent Bentons include: Thomas Hart Benton and William Burnett Benton. Description above from the Wikipedia article Robert Benton, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.
Known for

The Merv Griffin Show
Self

Le Grand Échiquier
Self

Superman
Screenplay

Bonnie and Clyde
Writer

Places in the Heart
Director

Kramer vs. Kramer
Director

The Human Stain
Director

Moguls & Movie Stars: A History of Hollywood
Self

Billy Bathgate
Director

Nobody's Fool
Director
Filmography
- 2010Godard Made in USASelf
- 2010Moguls & Movie Stars: A History of HollywoodSelf
- 2008Public Enemies: The Golden Age of the Gangster FilmSelf
- 2008Revolution! The Making of 'Bonnie and Clyde'Self
- 2007Feast of LoveDirector
- 2006You Will Believe: The Cinematic Saga of SupermanSelf
- 2006WanderlustHimself
- 2005The Ice HarvestExecutive Producer
- 2003The Human StainDirector
- 2001Finding the Truth: The Making of 'Kramer vs. Kramer'Self
- 1998TwilightDirector
- 1994Nobody's FoolDirector
- 1992Cinéma! Cinéma! The French New WaveSelf
- 1991Billy BathgateDirector
- 1988The House on Carroll StreetExecutive Producer
- 1987NadineDirector
- 1984Places in the HeartDirector
- 1982Still of the NightDirector
- 1979Kramer vs. KramerDirector
- 1978SupermanScreenplay
- 1977The Late ShowDirector
- 1975It's a Bird, It's a Plane, It's Superman!Writer
- 1972Bad CompanyDirector
- 1972Oh! Calcutta!Writer
- 1972What's Up, Doc?Screenplay
- 1972Le Grand ÉchiquierSelf
- 1970There Was a Crooked Man...Writer
- 1967Bonnie and ClydeWriter
- 1964A Texas Romance, 1909Director
- 1962The Merv Griffin ShowSelf
- 1946Death ValleyDuke
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