Robert Benton

Robert Douglas Benton (born September 29, 1932) is an American screenwriter and film director. He won the Academy Awards for Best Adapted Screenplay and Best Director for Kramer vs. Kramer (1979) and won a third Oscar for Best Original Screenplay for Places in the Heart (1984).

Benton also garnered three additional Oscar nominations: two for Best Original Screenplay for both Bonnie and Clyde (1967) and The Late Show (1977) and one for Best Adapted Screenplay for Nobody's Fool (1994).

He has also directed Twilight (1998) and Feast of Love (2007) and co-wrote the screenplays for Superman (1978) and The Ice Harvest (2005).

Life and career

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 won numerous awards for both writing and directing in film. In 1959, he co-wrote the book The IN and OUT Book with Harvey Schmidt, published by The Viking Press. He was the art director at Esquire in the early 1960s. In 2006 he appeared in the documentary Wanderlust. He married artist Sallie Rendig in 1964.

Film awards

Wins

• 1978 - Edgar Award for Best Motion Picture Screenplay for The Late Show
• 1980 - Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay for Kramer vs. Kramer
• 1980 - Academy Award for Best Director 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 for Places in the Heart
• 1985 - Silver Bear for Best Director at the 35th Berlin International Film Festival for Places in the Heart
• 2007 - Laurel Award for Screenwriting Achievement

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 at Berlin 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 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

Archival Sources

• The Robert Benton Papers 1969-1994 (24 linear feet) are housed at the Wittliff Collections, Texas State University in San Marcos.