Richard Benjamin facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Richard Benjamin
Benjamin in 1972
Born	Richard Samuel Benjamin (1938-05-22) May 22, 1938 (age 87) New York City, U.S.
Alma mater	Northwestern University
Occupation	Actor director producer
Years active	1962–present
Spouse(s)	Paula Prentiss ​ (m. 1961)​
Children	2

Richard Samuel Benjamin (born May 22, 1938) is an American actor and film director. He has been in many well-known movies. These include Goodbye, Columbus (1969), Catch-22 (1970), Westworld (1973), and The Last of Sheila (1973). He also starred in Saturday the 14th (1981).

In 1968, Benjamin was nominated for an Emmy Award. This was for his role in the TV show He & She. He starred opposite his wife, Paula Prentiss, in this comedy series. In 1976, he won a Golden Globe Award. This award was for his supporting role in The Sunshine Boys (1975). In this movie, he played Ben Clark, the nephew and agent of a funny old performer.

After directing for television, Benjamin directed his first movie in 1982. It was a comedy called My Favorite Year. The star, Peter O'Toole, was nominated for an Academy Award. Benjamin has directed many other films. Some of these are City Heat (1984), The Money Pit (1986), My Stepmother Is an Alien (1988), and Mermaids (1990). He also directed Made in America (1993) and Mrs. Winterbourne (1996).

Early Life and Education

Richard Benjamin was born in New York City on May 22, 1938. His father, Samuel Roger Benjamin, worked in the clothing industry. Richard's family was Jewish. His uncle, Joe Browning, was a comedian in vaudeville shows.

Richard went to the High School of Performing Arts. He later graduated from Northwestern University. There, he studied theater and was in many plays. This is where he met his future wife, Paula Prentiss.

Richard Benjamin's Career

Early Acting Roles

Benjamin started his career on stage. He appeared in plays like The Taming of the Shrew. He also had guest roles on TV shows. These included The New Breed and Dr. Kildare.

A big step in his career was joining the touring play Barefoot in the Park in 1964. He later toured in The Odd Couple. In 1966, he directed Barefoot in the Park in London. The writer, Neil Simon, liked Benjamin's work. Simon then cast him in his new play, The Star-Spangled Girl (1966–67). This play was very successful. Its success led to Benjamin starring in a TV series with his wife, Paula. The show was called He & She (1967–68) and ran for 26 episodes.

Becoming a Film Star

Ali MacGraw and Richard Benjamin in Goodbye, Columbus in 1969

Richard Benjamin's first main role in a movie was in Goodbye, Columbus (1969). He starred with Ali MacGraw. The movie was very popular and got good reviews. After this, he had an important supporting role in the film Catch-22 (1970). He was the top star in Diary of a Mad Housewife (1970).

Benjamin played the main character in The Marriage of a Young Stockbroker (1971). He also acted in the comedy The Steagle (1971). Another film he starred in was ... Complaint (1972).

In 1973, Benjamin appeared in two more successful movies. He was part of a big cast in The Last of Sheila. He also starred in Westworld (1973) with Yul Brynner. At this time, he decided to choose different types of roles.

Supporting Roles and Directing Debut

Benjamin played a supporting role in The Sunshine Boys (1975). He won a Golden Globe Award for this performance. He and his wife, Paula Prentiss, also performed together on Broadway in The Norman Conquests (1975–76). They later went to Australia to make the TV movie No Room to Run (1978). In Hollywood, Benjamin supported Walter Matthau and Glenda Jackson in House Calls (1978).

In 1978, he starred in the TV series Quark. He also appeared in the TV film Fame. Benjamin played a funny role in the popular movie Love at First Bite (1979). He played a man whose girlfriend falls for Count Dracula.

Benjamin hosted Saturday Night Live twice. He was the main star in the movie Scavenger Hunt (1979).

Benjamin had directed plays before and wanted to direct movies. In 1979, he directed a TV pilot for the first time. He also directed an episode of the TV series Semi-Tough in 1980.

He continued acting in supporting roles. These included The Last Married Couple in America (1980) and Saturday the 14th (1981). He and Paula Prentiss played the main roles in Saturday the 14th.

Directing Feature Films

Benjamin's work on the TV pilot led him to direct the movie My Favorite Year (1982). This film was well-liked and helped him become a successful director.

Benjamin and Prentiss acted together again in the TV movie Packin' It In (1983). However, Benjamin mostly focused on directing for the next ten years. His second movie as a director was Racing with the Moon (1984). He then directed City Heat (1984) with Clint Eastwood and Burt Reynolds.

Benjamin directed a comedy for Steven Spielberg's company, The Money Pit (1986). This movie starred Tom Hanks. He then directed the thriller Little Nikita (1988) and the comedy My Stepmother Is an Alien (1988). Benjamin also directed Downtown (1990) and had a moderate hit with Mermaids (1990).

Made in America (1993) was also successful. He directed Milk Money (1994) and Mrs. Winterbourne (1996).

In the 1990s, Benjamin started acting again. He appeared in TV shows like Mad About You and films like Deconstructing Harry (1997). In 2003, Benjamin directed Marci X, a comedy that explored different cultures. The film was not very popular with critics or audiences. He also acted in Keeping Up with the Steins (2006) and Henry Poole Is Here (2008).

Television Directing and Recent Work

In 1998, Benjamin and Prentiss performed on stage in Power Plays. Benjamin directed several TV movies. These include The Pentagon Wars (1998), Tourist Trap (1999), and Laughter on the 23rd Floor (2001). He also directed the films The Shrink Is In (2001) and Marci X (2003).

He produced and directed a TV version of The Goodbye Girl (2004). In 2006, Benjamin directed the TV drama A Little Thing Called Murder. This movie was based on a true story about a mother and son who were con artists. His recent acting roles on TV include Ray Donovan and Childrens Hospital. He most recently played Dr. Green in the Netflix comedy movie You People (2023).

Personal Life

Richard Benjamin met Paula Prentiss at Northwestern University. They got married on October 26, 1961. They have two children: a son named Ross (born in 1974) and a daughter named Prentiss (born in 1978). Both of their children graduated from Beverly Hills High School.

Filmography

Actor

Film Roles

Television Roles

Director

Film Direction

• My Favorite Year (1982)
• Racing with the Moon (1984)
• City Heat (1984)
• The Money Pit (1986)
• Little Nikita (1988)
• My Stepmother Is an Alien (1988)
• Downtown (1990)
• Mermaids (1990)
• Made in America (1993)
• Milk Money (1994)
• Mrs. Winterbourne (1996)
• The Shrink Is In (2001)
• Marci X (2003)

TV Movie Direction

• The Pentagon Wars (1998)
• Laughter on the 23rd Floor (2001)
• The Sports Pages (2001)
• The Goodbye Girl (2004)
• A Little Thing Called Murder (2006)

TV Series Direction

• The Wonderful World of Disney (1998) (Episode "Tourist Trap")

See also

In Spanish: Richard Benjamin para niños