Robert Benton, the beloved Oscar winner behind Kramer vs. Kramer and Bonnie and Clyde, died Sunday. The screenwriter and director’s longtime manager Marisa Forzano revealed the news to The New York Times on Tuesday. He was 92.
Benton was a three-time Academy Award winner and seven-time nominee. His 1979 film, Kramer vs. Kramer, earned him a pair of Oscars for Best Director and Best Adapted Screenplay, while its stars Dustin Hoffman and Meryl Streep took home acting honors.
In 1985, Benton received a third Oscar trophy for Best Original Screenplay with Places in the Heart, an autobiographical film based on his grandmother’s experience during the Great Depression. “I think that when I saw it all strung together, I was surprised at what a romantic view I had of the past,” Benton told the Associated Press the year prior when discussing the film.
Throughout his career, Benton had a long-lasting partnership with the late David Newman, who worked with Benton on 1977’s The Late Show and Nobody’s Fool in 1994. The pair also co-wrote Bonnie and Clyde, which was directed by Arthur Penn and became an instant classic upon its release in 1967. Benton earned an Oscar nomination for Best Screenplay for the picture about real-life bank robbers Bonnie Parker and Clyde Barrow, played by Faye Dunaway and Warren Beatty.
Benton was born near Dallas in Waxahachie, Texas. His early memories around film revolved around his father who would take the family to the movies after school. Benton told Texas Monthly in 1998 that he was dyslexic and made it through high school thanks to his mother, who played bridge with his teachers. He would go on to study at the University of Texas and after graduating with a bachelor of fine arts degree, headed to Columbia University to pursue a master’s degree in art history before being drafted into the U.S. Army. He also worked at Esquire before embarking on his filmmaking career.
Benton’s last three directed films came in 2003 with The Human Stain with Nicole Kidman and Anthony Hopkins, and Feast of Love in 2007, which included Morgan Freeman, Radha Mitchell, and Jane Alexander.
“Because I’m dyslexic, I have a short attention span and I make short movies. I think that I’ve never done a picture yet that I haven’t had to sacrifice something that I really loved,” Benton said during a 2007 interview with The Seattle Times. When reflecting on his body of work, he said: “A lot of what I’ve learned about life is what I’ve learned, for better or worse, from movies.”
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