Robert Benton, Oscar-winning 'Kramer vs. Kramer' filmmaker and screenwriter, dies at 92

Robert Benton, the Texas-born filmmaker who surpassed the difficulties of terrible dyslexia successful his puerility to go the Oscar-winning manager and screenwriter down films including “Kramer vs. Kramer” and “Bonnie and Clyde,” has died.

John Benton, the filmmaker’s son, said the manager died Sunday astatine his location successful Manhattan of “natural causes.” He was 92.

Robert Benton, during a vocation that spanned from the mid-1960s to the aboriginal aughts, was champion known for projects that explored communal lives and the connections betwixt household and community, from the fallout of a divorcement successful “Kramer vs. Kramer” to the toll of nonaccomplishment connected a azygous parent successful “Places successful the Heart.” He was nominated for 7 Oscars (including a co-nomination with precocious scribe David Newman for “Bonnie and Clyde”) and won three, among them a directing grant for “Kramer vs. Kramer.” He besides received penning Oscars for “Kramer vs. Kramer” and “Places successful the Heart.”

Veteran actors including Paul Newman, Dustin Hoffman, Meryl Streep and Sally Field besides enjoyed Oscars glory for their enactment successful Benton’s films. Newman received a pb histrion information for “Nobody’s Fool” and Hoffman and Streep each won their archetypal Oscars for “Kramer vs. Kramer.” Field won the pb histrion prize for her enactment arsenic azygous parent Edna Spalding successful the Great Depression-set “Places successful the Heart.”

“I loved Robert Benton with my full heart. He was a uncommon creator and arsenic uncommon human,” Field said to The Times connected Wednesday. “I was fortunate to cognize him. There volition ne'er beryllium another. Rest, if you can, Benton.”

His Oscar-nominated projects besides see “Bonnie and Clyde,” “The Late Show” and “Nobody’s Fool.”

Benton, deemed “one of our past remaining masters of humanist drama” successful 2007 by erstwhile Times movie professional Patrick Goldstein, was calved successful Waxahachie, Texas, connected Sept. 29, 1932. He struggled with speechmaking successful his puerility and recovered comfortableness successful drawing, which helium said “allowed maine to widen my attraction span and rejoin the world.”

His passionateness for movie and knack for storytelling tin beryllium traced backmost to trips to the cinema with his father. “I became a storyteller conscionable watching the stories connected screen,” helium recalled successful 2007.

He attended University of Texas and Columbia University and served successful the U.S. Army from 1954 to 1956. Before breaking into the amusement manufacture successful 1964 with the abbreviated movie “A Texas Romance, 1909,” Benton moved to New York and was an creation manager for Esquire magazine. During his tenure, helium helped the outlet motorboat its Dubious Achievement Awards with erstwhile workfellow and “Bonnie and Clyde” co-writer David Newman.

He told The Times that his vocation successful the editorial satellite encouraged him to determination past definite originative inhibitions, which would aboriginal service him successful filmmaking, specifically for “Bonnie and Clyde.” The classical film, which premiered successful 1967, was directed by Arthur Penn and starred Faye Dunaway and Warren Beatty arsenic the titular transgression duo.

“It taught you to beryllium a batch little constipated astir having a atrocious thought oregon being made amusive of,” helium said of his clip astatine Esquire. “You’d conscionable chopped loose.”

After the occurrence — and captious scrutiny of brutal unit — of “Bonnie and Clyde,” Benton made his diagnostic directorial debut successful 1972 with “Bad Company,” according to IMDb. He reunited with David Newman to co-write the western, which starred Jeff Bridges. For Benton, penning and directing films would beryllium lucrative and helium would clasp directing and penning credits for films including aboriginal projects “Still of the Night” (which reunited him with Streep), “Nadine,” “Nobody’s Fool” and “Twilight.”

“Kramer vs. Kramer,” which premiered successful 1979, was an adaptation of Avery Corman’s caller of the aforesaid name. The movie starred Hoffman arsenic an advertizing enforcement and Streep arsenic his ex-wife who navigate the throes of divorcement and its effects connected their young son.

Despite often pulling treble duty, Benton told The Times helium saw himself “like Dracula — I don’t permission a hint successful the mirror,” and said helium is “shaped by who I collaborate with.” Notable collaborators included Anthony Hopkins, Nicole Kidman, Morgan Freeman and Radha Mitchell, among others.

Later successful life, Benton struggled to gain the aforesaid captious acclaim that defined his movie career. “Nobody’s Fool,” which starred Paul Newman arsenic an aging trouble-maker, earned Newman his second-to-last Oscar information and besides starred Bruce Willis and Jessica Tandy. Benton was nominated for adapted screenplay.

The 2005 Christmas action-comedy “The Ice Harvest” was Benton’s last penning recognition and 2007’s “Feast of Love,” starring Freeman and Mitchell, marked his last directing project. Ahead of the film’s release, Benton told The Times astir his much laissez-faire attack to filmmaking.

“The acquisition of getting older is the acquisition of making things simpler,” Benton said. “I utilized to agonize implicit things. I interest a batch little today. You recognize that what shows up successful the process, that mightiness instrumentality you by surprise, is often amended than what you’d planned for.”

Benton, who concisely dated writer-activist Gloria Steinem, joined creator Sallie Rendigs successful 1964. She died successful 2023 astatine property 88, according to the Hollywood Reporter. They had 1 son.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.