Robert Benton obit

Robert Benton, Oscar-Winning Filmmaker Behind ‘Bonnie and Clyde’ and ‘Kramer vs. Kramer,’ Dies at 92

The Texan also directed and wrote 'Places in the Heart,' 'The Late Show' and 'Nobody’s Fool.' 

He was not on the list.

Robert Benton, the much-admired screenwriter turned director who co-wrote Bonnie and Clyde and received a pair of Academy Awards for his work on the best picture winner Kramer vs. Kramer, has died. He was 92.

Benton died Sunday at his home in Manhattan, his longtime assistant and manager, Marisa Forzano, told The New York Times.

Benton captured a third Oscar for his screenplay for Places in the Heart (1984), an autobiographical saga based on his grandmother’s hard experiences during the Depression in Texas. He received yet another Oscar nomination for his direction of that drama, and he was nominated for his screenplays for Bonnie and Clyde (1967) — one of the fruits of his partnership with David Newman — The Late Show (1977) and Nobody’s Fool (1994). He helmed the last two as well.

Benton and Newman also wrote films including There Was a Crooked Man … (1970), directed by Joseph L. Mankiewicz, and the Peter Bogdanovich screwball comedy What’s Up, Doc? (1972), and the duo shared screenwriting credit on Superman (1978) with Mario Puzo and Leslie Newman.

More recently, Benton directed the highly regarded The Human Stain (2003), starring Anthony Hopkins and Nicole Kidman in the Philip Roth adaptation, and Feast of Love (2007), with Morgan Freeman and Radha Mitchell.

A landmark drama about the emotional tug of divorce, Kramer vs. Kramer (1979) also won Oscars for lead actors Dustin Hoffman (who was going through a divorce in real life during production) and, in a star-making turn, Meryl Streep. Their son in the movie, Justin Henry, then 7, also earned an Oscar nom.

Benton “spends a great deal of attention on the nuances of dialogue,” Roger Ebert wrote in his review. “His characters aren’t just talking to each other, they’re revealing things about themselves and can sometimes be seen in the act of learning about their own motives. That’s what makes Kramer vs. Kramer such a touching film: We get the feeling at times that personalities are changing and decisions are being made even as we watch them.”

Benton also called the shots for Hoffman in Billy Bathgate (1991), an adaptation of the E.L. Doctorow novel.

Benton directed Paul Newman to an Oscar nomination in Nobody’s Fool and guided the actor again in Twilight (1998). He co-wrote both films with Richard Russo; they worked together on four films in all.

Benton was considered an “actor’s director,” one who consistently attracted top talent to his productions. “Before I directed for the first time, I remember walking down the street and thinking, ‘How can I direct people to just speak normally?'” he said in a 2013 interview with THR‘s Scott Feinberg. “And later I learned, you just hire good actors.”

His actors earned eight Oscar noms, and three won, including Sally Field, who was honored for her performance in Places of the Heart. The pensive, modest filmmaker said that there was one common thread that flowed through all his work — family.

Robert Benton was born on Sept. 29, 1932, in Dallas and raised in the nearby town of Waxahachie. His father had two brothers, both of whom were murdered. As a child, he was dyslexic and struggled in school.

“Nobody knew about dyslexia in those days,” he told Feinberg. “If I read for about 10 minutes, I would get wired and couldn’t read any more. But I could draw, and that uses the other side of the brain. So I drew and I drew and I drew. I took my identity off of that.

“The other thing that happened was my father would come home from work and instead of saying, ‘Have you done your homework?’ … he would say, ‘Do you want to go to the movies?’ I learned narrative from movies, not books.”

Benton attended the University of Texas at Austin, where his classmates included Rip Torn — whom he would direct in the 1950s Austin-set Nadine (1987) — and Jayne Mansfield. He received a bachelor of fine arts degree in 1953 despite flunking out of the only creative writing class he took.

After serving in the U.S. Army from 1954-56, Benton spent a semester at Columbia University before joining Esquire as an assistant to the art director. It was at the magazine that he met David Newman, then an editor. He spent about five years there before he was fired.

In 1959, he and Newman published Extremism: A Non-Book, a satirical look at right- and left-wing extremism in U.S. politics, and then wrote the book for the 1966 Broadway musical It’s a Bird … It’s a Plane … It’s Superman.

The twosome had spent a decade writing spec scripts before they hit pay dirt with Bonnie and Clyde.

“By chance we were reading a [1963] book by John Toland on John Dillinger, in which there’s a footnote about them saying. ‘They were not only outlaws, they were outcasts.’ That appealed to us,” Benton said. “I remembered all these stories about Bonnie and Clyde from growing up.” Indeed, his dad had attended the gangsters’ funerals on the same weekend in Dallas in 1934.

“So we decided to write a sort of French New Wave movie set in America about Bonnie Parker and Clyde Barrow. We did a lot of research and found stories in detective magazines, and a lot of stuff we made up.”

François Truffaut helped them rework their treatment and, too busy to direct, gave it to Jean-Luc Godard, who decided not to make it. Things languished for almost five years before Warren Beatty bought the script for $10,000, coming aboard to produce and star as Clyde opposite Faye Dunaway as Bonnie. He also picked Arthur Penn to direct.

With encouragement from Paramount Pictures president Stanley Jaffe, Benton made his directorial debut with Bad Company (1972), an offbeat Civil War-set adaptation of Oliver Twist that starred Jeff Bridges and Barry Brown.

He then wrote and helmed the film noir classic The Late Show, starring Art Carney as an elderly gumshoe and Lily Tomlin as the pot-smoking woman who hires him.

Benton also directed and co-wrote with Newman the literate thriller Still of the Night (1982), starring Roy Scheider, Streep and Jessica Tandy.

Survivors include his son, John. His wife of 60 years, Sallie, a fashion illustrator turned painter, died in 2023 at age 88.

Director

Morgan Freeman, Greg Kinnear, Billy Burke, Erika Marozsán, Radha Mitchell, Alexa Davalos, and Toby Hemingway in Feast of Love (2007)

Feast of Love

6.5

Director

2007

 

Anthony Hopkins and Nicole Kidman in The Human Stain (2003)

The Human Stain

6.2

Director

2003

 

Paul Newman, Susan Sarandon, and Gene Hackman in Twilight (1998)

Twilight

6.2

Director

1998

 

Paul Newman in Nobody's Fool (1994)

Nobody's Fool

7.3

Director

1994

 

Dustin Hoffman, Nicole Kidman, Bruce Willis, and Loren Dean in Billy Bathgate (1991)

Billy Bathgate

5.9

Director

1991

 

Kim Basinger and Jeff Bridges in Nadine (1987)

Nadine

5.5

Director

1987

 

Sally Field, Yankton Hatten, and Gennie James in Places in the Heart (1984)

Places in the Heart

7.4

Director (directed by)

1984

 

Meryl Streep and Roy Scheider in Still of the Night (1982)

Still of the Night

6.0

Director

1982

 

Dustin Hoffman, Meryl Streep, and Justin Henry in Kramer vs. Kramer (1979)

Kramer vs. Kramer

7.8

Director

1979

 

Lily Tomlin and Art Carney in The Late Show (1977)

The Late Show

6.8

Director (directed by)

1977

 

Bad Company (1972)

Bad Company

6.9

Director

1972

 

A Texas Romance, 1909 (1964)

A Texas Romance, 1909

Short

Director

1964

 

Writer

North of Cheyenne

screenplay

In Development

 

The Ice Harvest (2005)

The Ice Harvest

6.2

screenplay

2005

 

Paul Newman, Susan Sarandon, and Gene Hackman in Twilight (1998)

Twilight

6.2

written by

1998

 

Paul Newman in Nobody's Fool (1994)

Nobody's Fool

7.3

screenplay

1994

 

Kim Basinger and Jeff Bridges in Nadine (1987)

Nadine

5.5

written by

1987

 

Sally Field, Yankton Hatten, and Gennie James in Places in the Heart (1984)

Places in the Heart

7.4

written by

1984

 

Meryl Streep and Roy Scheider in Still of the Night (1982)

Still of the Night

6.0

screenplaystory

1982

 

Dustin Hoffman, Meryl Streep, and Justin Henry in Kramer vs. Kramer (1979)

Kramer vs. Kramer

7.8

written for the screen by

1979

 

Gene Hackman, Terence Stamp, Ned Beatty, Christopher Reeve, Jackie Cooper, Sarah Douglas, Jeff East, Margot Kidder, Jack O'Halloran, Valerie Perrine, and Susannah York in Superman (1978)

Superman

7.4

screenplay

1978

 

Lily Tomlin and Art Carney in The Late Show (1977)

The Late Show

6.8

written by

1977

 

It's a Bird... It's a Plane... It's Superman! (1975)

It's a Bird... It's a Plane... It's Superman!

3.9

TV Movie

based on libretto by

1975

 

Bad Company (1972)

Bad Company

6.9

written by

1972

 

Oh! Calcutta! (1972)

Oh! Calcutta!

5.0

contributions

1972

 

Barbra Streisand and Ryan O'Neal in What's Up, Doc? (1972)

What's Up, Doc?

7.7

screenplay

1972

 

There Was a Crooked Man... (1970)

There Was a Crooked Man...

6.8

written by

1970

 

Warren Beatty and Faye Dunaway in Bonnie and Clyde (1967)

Bonnie and Clyde

7.7

written by

1967

 

The Daily Planet Presents: The Story of Superman (1966)

The Daily Planet Presents: The Story of Superman

Short

Writer

1966

 

Actor

Congo the Movie: Descent Into Zinj (1995)

Congo the Movie: Descent Into Zinj

Video Game

Jack (voice)

1995

 

Producer

The Ice Harvest (2005)

The Ice Harvest

6.2

executive producer

2005

 

Kelly McGillis and Jeff Daniels in The House on Carroll Street (1988)

The House on Carroll Street

6.1

executive producer

1988

 

A Texas Romance, 1909 (1964)

A Texas Romance, 1909

Short

producer

1964

 

Art Department

A Texas Romance, 1909 (1964)

A Texas Romance, 1909

Short

painter: paintings

1964

 

Additional Crew

Making the Boys (2011)

Making the Boys

7.3

archival source: The Fantasticks Original Cast Photographs

2011

 

Thanks

Mary Elizabeth Winstead in Alex of Venice (2014)

Alex of Venice

5.8

special thanks

2014

 

The Windmill Movie (2008)

The Windmill Movie

6.1

special thanks

2008

 

Robert Benton and Scott Phillips in Cracking the Story: Beneath 'The Ice Harvest' (2006)

Cracking the Story: Beneath 'The Ice Harvest'

Video

thanks

2006

 

François Truffaut: Portraits volés (1993)

François Truffaut: Portraits volés

7.6

thanks

1993

 

Self

Cries of the Heart

Self

Completed

 

Moguls & Movie Stars: A History of Hollywood (2010)

Moguls & Movie Stars: A History of Hollywood

8.5

TV Mini Series

Self

2010

1 episode

 

Godard Made in USA (2010)

Godard Made in USA

6.7

TV Movie

Self

2010

 

Hollywood's Best Film Directors (2009)

Hollywood's Best Film Directors

6.8

TV Series

Self - IntervieweeFilm Director

2010

1 episode

 

Public Enemies: The Golden Age of the Gangster Film (2008)

Public Enemies: The Golden Age of the Gangster Film

7.1

TV Movie

Self

2008

 

Kevin Frazier and Nischelle Turner in Entertainment Tonight (1981)

Entertainment Tonight

3.6

TV Series

Self

2008

1 episode

 

Revolution! The Making of 'Bonnie and Clyde' (2008)

Revolution! The Making of 'Bonnie and Clyde'

6.9

Video

Self

2008

 

Robert Benton and Scott Phillips in Cracking the Story: Beneath 'The Ice Harvest' (2006)

Cracking the Story: Beneath 'The Ice Harvest'

Video

Self

2006

 

You Will Believe: The Cinematic Saga of Superman (2006)

You Will Believe: The Cinematic Saga of Superman

7.7

Video

Self

2006

 

Wanderlust (2006)

Wanderlust

6.6

TV Movie

Self

2006

 

Nicole Kidman: An American Cinematheque Tribute

7.6

TV Special

Self

2003

 

Finding the Truth: The Making of 'Kramer vs. Kramer' (2001)

Finding the Truth: The Making of 'Kramer vs. Kramer'

7.1

Video

Self

2001

 

Bravo Profiles (1998)

Bravo Profiles

7.1

TV Series

Self

2000

1 episode

 

Magic Time for Piotr

TV Movie

Self

1998

 

The 47th Annual Writers Guild Awards

TV Special

Self

1995

 

A Great Day in Harlem (1994)

A Great Day in Harlem

7.4

Self (uncredited)

1994

 

James Lipton in Inside the Actors Studio (1994)

Inside the Actors Studio

8.6

TV Series

Self

1994

1 episode

 

Homeward Bound

6.1

TV Movie

Self

1994

 

Cinéma! Cinéma! The French New Wave

6.2

TV Movie

Self

1992

 

De película (1982)

De película

8.2

TV Series

Self - Interviewee

1985–1987

2 episodes

 

Cinema 3 (1984)

Cinema 3

6.1

TV Series

Self - Interviewee

1987

1 episode

 

Elia Kazan in Moving Image Salutes Elia Kazan (1987)

Moving Image Salutes Elia Kazan

TV Special

Self

1987

 

Moving Image Salutes Sidney Lumet

TV Special

Self

1985

 

The 57th Annual Academy Awards (1985)

The 57th Annual Academy Awards

5.7

TV Special

Self - Winner

1985

 

Valkokangas

TV Series

Self - ohjaaja

1985

1 episode

 

Jacques Chancel in Le grand échiquier (1972)

Le grand échiquier

7.5

TV Series

Self

1983

1 episode

 

The 52nd Annual Academy Awards (1980)

The 52nd Annual Academy Awards

5.8

TV Special

Self - Winner

1980

 

The 37th Annual Golden Globe Awards (1980)

The 37th Annual Golden Globe Awards

6.9

TV Special

Self - Winner

1980

 

The 50th Annual Academy Awards (1978)

The 50th Annual Academy Awards

7.2

TV Special

Self - Nominee

1978

 

On location with There Was a Crooked Man.

Short

Self

1970

 

Archive Footage

Faye (2024)

Faye

7.1

Self - Writer (archive footage)

2024

 

Mehmet Açar in Film Önü / Arkasi (2019)

Film Önü / Arkasi

7.0

TV Series

Self (archive footage)

2019

1 episode

 

Jaume Figueras in Cinema mil (2005)

Cinema mil

7.1

TV Series

Self (archive footage)

2005

1 episode