Writer and Director Robert Benton Passes Away at 92
In addition to his many films, he co-wrote the Broadway musical It's a Bird... It's a Plane... It's Superman.
By: Josh Sharpe May. 14, 2025
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BroadwayWorld is saddened to report the passing of director and writer Robert Benton at the age of 92. A three-time Academy Award-winner, Benton worked on several high-profile films of the 1970s and 80s, including What' Up Doc? starring Barbra Streisand, 1978's Superman, and as writer-director, which won him Oscars for Best Screenplay and Best Director. The movie itself won Best Picture that year.
In the 1960s, Benton, along with writing partner David Newman, penned the book for the Broadway musical, It's a Bird... It's a Plane... It's Superman. Based on the DC comic, the show featured music and lyrics from songwriting team Charles Strouse and Lee Adams and starred Bob Holiday, Jack Cassidy, Patricia Marand, and Linda Lavin.
In the realm of theater, Benton also contributed to the script for 1969's Oh! Calcutta!, the boundary-pushing theatrical revue created by Kenneth Tynan. Other contributors included Samuel Beckett, Sam Shepard, Jules Feiffer, and more.
Benton's first screenwriting credit came in 1967 with the Academy Award-winning film Bonnie and Clyde, starring Warren Beatty, Faye Dunaway, and Estelle Parsons. Other notable screen credits include 1977's The Late Show, Still of the Night, Places in the Heart (which won him another Oscar), and Nobody's Fool. His final film as director was 2007's Feast of Love.
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