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 |
| Occupations |
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| Years active | 1962–present |
| Spouse | |
| Children | 2 |
Richard Samuel Benjamin (born May 22, 1938) is an American actor and director. He has starred in a number of well-known films, includingGoodbye, Columbus (1969),Catch-22 (1970),Portnoy's Complaint (1972),Westworld,The Last of Sheila (both 1973) andSaturday the 14th (1981). In 1968, Benjamin was nominated for anEmmy Award forBest Actor in a Comedy Series for his performance on theCBS sitcomHe & She (starring opposite his wifePaula Prentiss), which aired from 1967-1968. In 1976, Benjamin received aGolden Globe Award forBest Actor in a Supporting Role - Motion Picture for his performance as agedvaudevillian Willy Clark's (Walter Matthau) comedically long-suffering nephew, confidante and talent agent, Ben Clark, inHerbert Ross'The Sunshine Boys (1975), based onNeil Simon's 1972 hitstage play of the same name.
After directing for television, his first film as a director was the 1982 comedyMy Favorite Year, starringPeter O'Toole, who was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actor. His other films as a director includeCity Heat (1984),The Money Pit (1986),My Stepmother Is an Alien (1988),Mermaids (1990),Made in America (1993),Milk Money (1994),Mrs. Winterbourne (1996), andMarci X (2003).
Benjamin was born in New York City, the son of Samuel Roger Benjamin (1910–1997), agarment industry worker.[1] Benjamin's uncle was vaudeville comedianJoe Browning. His family wasJewish.[2] He attended theHigh School of Performing Arts and graduated fromNorthwestern University, where he was involved in many plays and studied in the Northwestern theater school. While there, he met future wifePaula Prentiss.[3]
Benjamin appeared on stage inThe Taming of the Shrew and guest-starred on shows such asThe New Breed andDr. Kildare.[3] Benjamin's early break came when cast in the touring company ofBarefoot in the Park in 1964. He later toured inThe Odd Couple withDan Dailey.[4] In 1966, he directedBarefoot in the Park on stage in London. Simon was pleased with Benjamin's work and cast him in his new playThe Star-Spangled Girl (1966–67) directed byGeorge Axelrod. Benjamin appeared alongsideAnthony Perkins andConnie Stevens, and the show ran for 261 performances. The success of the show led to Benjamin appearing in a television series with his wife Paula,He & She (1967–68). It ran for 26 episodes.[3]
Benjamin's first lead role in a film came with an adaptation of thePhilip Roth novella,Goodbye, Columbus (1969) withAli MacGraw. It was a critical and commercial hit.[5] He followed it with a key support role in the film ofCatch-22 (1970). He was top billed inDiary of a Mad Housewife (1970) from the team of Eleanor and Frank Perry, appearing alongsideCarrie Snodgress andFrank Langella. He directed his wife off-Broadway inArf/The Great Airplane Snatch (1969), which ran for five performances.
Benjamin played the lead inThe Marriage of a Young Stockbroker (1971), directed by the producer and the original author ofThe Graduate, though it was not as successful.[6] He acted in a comedy,The Steagle (1971), the directorial debut of designerPaul Sylbert, which was little seen. Another box-office flop was the film of Roth'sPortnoy's Complaint (1972), the sole directorial effort ofErnest Lehman.
In 1972 Benjamin returned to Broadway withThe Little Black Book, which only ran for nine performances. He then acted in two more successful films, as part of an all-star cast inThe Last of Sheila (1973), from a script byAnthony Perkins andStephen Sondheim, and inWestworld (1973), directed byMichael Crichton and co-starringYul Brynner. TheLos Angeles Times stated that by this stage, his image was of "a whining, petulant bore by doing too good a job of acting in a series of sleazy roles." He decided to steer away from such roles by turning down a part inThe Towering Inferno (which Richard Chamberlain ended up playing).[3]
Benjamin supportedWalter Matthau andGeorge Burns in the film adaptation ofNeil Simon'sThe Sunshine Boys (1975), for which he won aGolden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor in a Motion Picture. He starred with Prentiss inThe Norman Conquests (1975–76) on Broadway, which went for 76 performances. The couple went to Australia to makeNo Room to Run (1978). In Hollywood, Benjamin supported Matthau andGlenda Jackson inHouse Calls (1978).
In 1978, he starred in the ambitious but short-lived television seriesQuark.[7][8] The same year he appeared in a TV filmFame, written byArthur Miller. Benjamin played a frustrated fiancé of a woman who falls for the vampire Count Dracula in the surprise box-office smashLove at First Bite (1979) starringGeorge Hamilton andSusan Saint James.[9]
Benjamin has hostedSaturday Night Live twice, once by himself on April 7, 1979 and the other nearly a year later on April 5, 1980 with his wifePaula Prentiss.[10] He was top billed inScavenger Hunt (1979), an ensemble film.
Benjamin had directed in theatre and was keen to do it in film. In 1979, Benjamin directed for the first time, creating a pilot for a sitcom spin-off of the filmWhere's Poppa? by Carl Reiner. "The pilot turned out really well," said Benjamin. "But I don't think ABC ever quite 'got' it. They never did put the show on the air... At least I could prove that I wasn't nuts, that I really had actually directed something."[11] He directed one episode of the 1980 TV seriesSemi-Tough.
Benjamin had supporting roles inThe Last Married Couple in America (1980),How to Beat the High Co$t of Living (1980),Witches' Brew (1980), andFirst Family (1980). He and Prentiss played the leads inSaturday the 14th (1981).[12] They also began hosting corporate videos.
Benjamin's work on theWhere's Poppa? pilot saw him offered the job as director onMy Favorite Year (1982) starringPeter O'Toole. The film was warmly received, earning O'Toole an Oscar nomination for Best Actor and launched Benjamin as a director.
Benjamin and Prentiss returned to acting with the TV moviePackin' It In (1983). He said, "If I get a wonderful script to act in and a mediocre script to direct, I'll act. And the same principle applies the other way around. It's the material that counts."[13] He focused on directing, though, for the next decade. Benjamin's second feature as director wasRacing with the Moon (1984) from a script bySteve Kloves starringSean Penn andNicolas Cage. He was then called in at short notice to replaceBlake Edwards onCity Heat (1984) withClint Eastwood andBurt Reynolds, which was a critical and commercial disappointment.[14]
Benjamin directed a comedy forSteven Spielberg's company,The Money Pit (1986) withTom Hanks andShelley Long. He then directed a thrillerLittle Nikita (1988) withSidney Poitier andRiver Phoenix, and a comedy withDan Aykroyd,My Stepmother Is an Alien (1988). Benjamin did another comedy,Downtown (1990), withAnthony Edwards andForest Whitaker. He had a moderate hit withMermaids (1990) starringCher andWinona Ryder.
Made in America (1993) withWhoopi Goldberg andTed Danson was also successful.Milk Money (1994) withMelanie Griffith andEd Harris was less so. He also directedMrs. Winterbourne (1996).
In the 1990s, Benjamin returned to acting with appearances on shows includingThe Ray Bradbury Theater,Love & War,Ink,Mad About You, andTitus, as well as the filmsDeconstructing Harry (1997),[15] In 2003, Benjamin directedMarci X, a satirical comedy starringLisa Kudrow andDamon Wayans that attempted to explore the intersection of white liberal identity and hip-hop culture. The film was a critical and commercial failure, receiving an 8% rating on Rotten Tomatoes[16] and grossing only $1.7 million against a reported $20 million budget.[17] Critics widely panned its tone and racial politics, withThe Boston Globe calling it "clueless and sad,"[18] andThe A.V. Club describing it as "the year's most misguided culture-clash comedy."[19] While a few, including criticArmond White, defended its satirical intentions,[20] the film remains a notable outlier in Benjamin's directorial career and is largely absent from retrospectives of his work.Keeping Up with the Steins (2006), andHenry Poole Is Here (2008).
In 1998, Benjamin and Prentiss performedPower Plays on stage.[21] Benjamin did some directing for TV –The Pentagon Wars (1998),Tourist Trap (1999),The Sports Pages (2001), andLaughter on the 23rd Floor (2001) from the play by Neil Simon. Benjamin returned to features withThe Shrink Is In (2001) andMarci X (2003), in which he also had a small role.[22]
He produced and directed a TV adaptation of Simon'sThe Goodbye Girl (2004) with Jeff Daniels andPatricia Heaton. In 2006, Benjamin directed the award-winning cable television dramaA Little Thing Called Murder, starring AustralianJudy Davis. It was based on the true story ofSante and Kenny Kimes, mother and songrifters and killers.[23] His later acting appearances on television includeRay Donovan andChildrens Hospital. He most recently played Dr. Green in the Netflix comedy filmYou People (2023) oppositeJonah Hill andJulia Louis-Dreyfus.
Benjamin metPaula Prentiss atNorthwestern University. She had transferred fromRandolph-Macon Woman's College and was a year ahead of Benjamin at the university.[24] They married on October 26, 1961, and have two children, son Ross (b. 1974) and daughter Prentiss (b. 1978), both graduates ofBeverly Hills High School.[25]
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1969 | Goodbye, Columbus | Neil Klugman | |
| 1970 | Catch-22 | Maj. Danby | |
| Diary of a Mad Housewife | Jonathan Balser | ||
| 1971 | The Marriage of a Young Stockbroker | William Alren | |
| The Steagle | Harold Weiss, B.A., M.A., Ph.D. | ||
| 1972 | Portnoy's Complaint | Alexander Portnoy | |
| 1973 | The Last of Sheila | Tom Parkman | |
| Westworld | Peter Martin | ||
| 1975 | The Sunshine Boys | Ben Clark | |
| 1978 | House Calls | Dr. Norman Solomon | |
| 1979 | Love at First Bite | Dr. Jeffery Rosenberg / Van Helsing | |
| Scavenger Hunt | Stuart Selsome | ||
| 1980 | The Last Married Couple in America | Marv Cooper | |
| How to Beat the High Co$t of Living | Albert | ||
| Witches' Brew | Joshua Lightman | ||
| First Family | Press Secretary Bunthorne | ||
| 1981 | Saturday the 14th | John Hyatt | |
| 1992 | Lift | Rabbi Brill | Short |
| 1997 | Deconstructing Harry | Ken | |
| 2001 | The Shrink Is In | Samantha's Editor | Uncredited |
| 2003 | Marci X | Ben Feld | |
| 2006 | Keeping Up with the Steins | Rabbi Schulberg | |
| 2008 | Henry Poole Is Here | Dr. Fancher | |
| 2012 | Pablo | Himself | |
| 2023 | You People | Dr. Green | |
| Ex-Husbands | Simon Pearce |
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1962 | The New Breed | Intern | Episode: "All the Dead Faces" |
| 1962–1963 | Dr. Kildare | Dr. Adam Barstow / Intern | 2 episodes |
| 1966 | Vacation Playhouse | Ted Penny | Episode: "My Lucky Penny" |
| 1967–1968 | He & She | Dick Hollister | 26 episodes |
| 1977 | No Room to Run | Nick Loomis | TV movie |
| 1977–1978 | Quark | Adam Quark | 8 episodes |
| 1979–1980 | Saturday Night Live | Himself (host) | 2 episodes |
| 1981 | Insight | Brad | Episode: "Goodbye" |
| 1983 | Packin' It In | Gary Webber | TV movie |
| 1992 | The Ray Bradbury Theater | Mr. Howard | Episode: "Let's Play Poison" |
| 1994 | Love & War | Charles Berkus | Episode: "The Great Escape" |
| 1997 | Ink | Dr. Vishniac | Episode: "The English-Speaking Patients" |
| 1998 | The Pentagon Wars | Caspar Weinberger | TV movie |
| 1999 | Mad About You | Mr. Frank DiChristophoro | Episode: "Valentine's Day" |
| 2000 | Titus | Bill | Episode: "The Reconciliation" |
| 2004 | The Goodbye Girl | Oliver Fry | TV movie |
| 2009 | Pushing Daisies | Jerry Holmes | Episode: "Window Dressed to Kill" |
| 2014 | Ray Donovan | Jerry Weiss | Episode: "Sunny" |
| 2015 | Childrens Hospital | Dan Richards | Episode: "With Great Power..." |
Film
TV movies
TV series
