Robert Benton, Oscar-winning director of Kramer vs Kramer, dies aged 92

Oscar-winning writer and manager Robert Benton has died astatine the property of 92.

He won his 2 Academy awards for divorcement play Kramer vs Kramer. His longtime adjunct and manager confirmed his decease to the New York Times.

Benton’s archetypal surface recognition was for co-writing 1967 deed Bonnie and Clyde with David Newman. The movie won 2 Oscars and was nominated for 8 others, including champion screenplay.

“I had been moving arsenic an creation manager astatine Esquire and I got fired,” Benton aboriginal said successful an interview. “I decided to constitute a screenplay. I americium dyslexic. I cannot spell oregon punctuate. I knew a young exertion astatine Esquire, a fantastic writer, David Newman. I sold him connected the glamorous beingness of the Hollywood screenwriter.”

The task was “turned down for 4 years” until Warren Beatty expressed interest. It went connected to marque $70m from a $2.5m budget.

Benton went connected to collaborate again with Newman, arsenic good arsenic Buck Henry, connected screwball drama What’s Up, Doc? His archetypal solo recognition was for Robert Altman’s drama noir The Late Show.

He was 1 of 4 writers for Richard Donner’s Superman earlier penning and directing Kramer vs Kramer, which was a captious and commercialized deed successful 1979. He won the Oscars for champion manager and champion screenplay for his work.

“I don’t deliberation they would marque it contiguous due to the fact that I deliberation there’s been an tremendous displacement successful film,” Benton said of the movie successful 2009. “Even successful the precocious 70s, the studios were inactive owned and tally by entrepreneurs … and a concern that is tally by entrepreneurs makes decisions successful a antithetic mode than a corp which is simply a nationalist institution and liable to the stockholders. I’m not saying 1 is close and 1 is wrong, I’m conscionable saying they’re antithetic models.”

He reunited with Kramer vs Kramer prima Meryl Streep for Still of the Night, a Hitchcockian thriller helium wrote and directed successful 1982 earlier winning his 3rd Oscar for the Places successful the Heart screenplay. The play starring Sally Field besides secured him a champion manager nomination.

His aboriginal credits arsenic some writer and manager included 1994 drama play Nobody’s Fool and 1998 thriller Twilight, some starring Paul Newman, and Philip Roth adaptation The Human Stain starring Anthony Hopkins. He besides wrote the screenplay for Christmas drama The Ice Harvest with John Cusack.

His past recognition was for directing the ensemble play Feast of Love, which starred Morgan Freeman and Greg Kinnear.

“I’m looking for thing that’s antithetic from what I did past time,” helium said of his process successful 2003. “Scripts past a benignant of winnowing process, and I scope the constituent wherever I bask these characters capable to walk 2 years with them.”

According to the New York Times, helium had been moving connected his memoir astatine the clip of his death.