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 starred in many well-known movies. These include Goodbye, Columbus (1969) and Westworld (1973).

In 1975, Benjamin won a Golden Globe Award for his acting. This was for his role as Ben Clark in The Sunshine Boys. He played the nephew and agent of a funny old performer.

Later, Benjamin became a film director. His first movie as a director was the comedy My Favorite Year (1982). Other films he directed include The Money Pit (1986) and Mermaids (1990).

Early Life and Education

Richard Benjamin was born in New York City. His father worked in the clothing industry. Richard's family was Jewish. His uncle, Joe Browning, was a vaudeville comedian.

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

Acting Career

Early Roles

Benjamin started acting 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 early chance came in 1964. He was cast in the touring play Barefoot in the Park. Later, he toured in The Odd Couple. In 1966, he directed Barefoot in the Park in London.

Playwright Neil Simon liked Benjamin's work. Simon then cast him in his new play, The Star-Spangled Girl (1966–67). Benjamin acted with Anthony Perkins and Connie Stevens. The play was very successful.

This success led to a TV series for Benjamin and his wife Paula. It was called He & She (1967–68) and ran for 26 episodes.

Becoming a Star

Ali MacGraw and Richard Benjamin in Goodbye, Columbus (1969)

Benjamin's first main role in a movie was Goodbye, Columbus (1969). He starred with Ali MacGraw. The movie was a big hit with critics and audiences.

Next, he had an important supporting role in Catch-22 (1970). He then played the lead in Diary of a Mad Housewife (1970).

He also acted in The Marriage of a Young Stockbroker (1971). Another movie he was in was Portnoy's Complaint (1972).

In 1973, Benjamin appeared in two more successful films. He was part of an all-star cast in The Last of Sheila. He also starred in Westworld, directed by Michael Crichton.

Supporting Roles

Benjamin played a supporting role in The Sunshine Boys (1975). He acted alongside Walter Matthau and George Burns. For this role, he won a Golden Globe Award.

He and his wife Paula Prentiss starred together on Broadway. They were in The Norman Conquests (1975–76). The couple also made a TV movie in Australia called No Room to Run (1978).

In 1978, Benjamin was in the TV series Quark. He also appeared in the TV film Fame.

Benjamin played a frustrated fiancé in the hit movie Love at First Bite (1979). He starred with George Hamilton.

He hosted Saturday Night Live twice. Once by himself in 1979, and again in 1980 with his wife, Paula Prentiss.

Benjamin had supporting roles in several movies in the early 1980s. These included The Last Married Couple in America (1980) and Saturday the 14th (1981).

Directing Career

Benjamin had directed plays before. He wanted to direct films too. In 1979, he directed a TV pilot. This helped him get his first movie directing job.

Feature Films

Benjamin directed My Favorite Year (1982). This movie starred Peter O'Toole. The film was very well-liked. It helped Benjamin become a known director.

His second movie as a director was Racing with the Moon (1984). It starred Sean Penn and Nicolas Cage. He then directed City Heat (1984) with Clint Eastwood and Burt Reynolds.

Benjamin directed a comedy for Steven Spielberg's company. It was The Money Pit (1986) with Tom Hanks. He also directed the thriller Little Nikita (1988) and the comedy My Stepmother Is an Alien (1988).

He had a moderate hit with Mermaids (1990). This movie starred Cher and Winona Ryder.

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

TV Directing

In the late 1990s and early 2000s, Benjamin directed several TV movies. These included The Pentagon Wars (1998) and Laughter on the 23rd Floor (2001).

He also directed The Goodbye Girl (2004). In 2006, he directed the award-winning TV drama A Little Thing Called Murder.

Benjamin has continued to act in recent years. He appeared in the Netflix comedy film You People (2023).

Personal Life

Richard Benjamin met Paula Prentiss at Northwestern University. They got married on October 26, 1961. They have two children. Their son, Ross, was born in 1974. Their daughter, Prentiss, was born in 1978.

Filmography

Actor

Film

Television

Director

Film

• 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 Movies

• 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

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

Images for kids

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  Benjamin in 1972

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  Ali MacGraw and Richard Benjamin in Goodbye, Columbus (1969)