Richard Benjamin
About
Biography
Filmography
Family & Companions
Notes
"Said critic Andrew Sarris, 'Mr. Benjamin is so ideally cast as Philip Roth [in "Goodbye, Columbus"] that it is almost frightening to think of his ever playing anything else. ... Whereas Dustin Hoffman is what clumsy intellectuals would like to be on a blind date, Richard Benjamin [alas!] is what they actually are.'" --From Premiere, November 1990.
Biography
Best known for his characterizations of two Philip Roth characters, in "Goodbye Columbus" (1969) and "Portnoy's Complaint" (1972), Benjamin had walk-on juvenile parts in some 1950s films and first earned adult recognition on Broadway, starring in Neil Simon's "Star-Spangled Girl" (1966). He had directed "Barefoot in the Park" in London the previous year. Other off-beat acting highlights include "Catch-22" (1970) and "The Sunshine Boys" (1975).
Benjamin made a promising directorial debut with "My Favorite Year" (1982), a comic look at the early days of TV featuring a glorious performance by Peter O'Toole. However his subsequent directorial efforts have not been comparable commercially or critically. A conventional storyteller, Benjamin has worked with a wide assortment of actors in several genres. His second film, "Racing With the Moon" (1984), was a war romance starring Sean Penn and Elizabeth McGovern. Benjamin followed up with a pair of undistinguished comedies: "City Heat" (1984), a period detective comedy starring Burt Reynolds and a surprisingly funny Clint Eastwood and "The Money Pit" (1986), featuring Tom Hanks, Shelly Long, and a collapsing house in a Steven Spielberg-produced comedy which confused laughs with special effects. Benjamin's spy drama, "Little Nikita" (1988), offered the intriguing pairing of Sidney Poitier and River Phoenix, but audiences steered clear. Benjamin also tried his hand at high-concept comedy with "My Stepmother Is an Alien" (1988) with Dan Aykroyd and Kim Basinger and moved on to an action comedy, "Downtown" (1990), with Anthony Edwards and Forest Whitaker. Benjamin regained some degree of critical success that same year with "Mermaids," a touching mother-daughter comedy starring Cher, Winona Ryder, and Bob Hoskins. After a hiatus, he directed Whoopi Goldberg and Ted Danson in the romantic comedy, "Made in America" (1993) and helmed the pallid "Mrs. Winterbourne" (1996), which starred Ricki Lake and Shirley MacLaine.
Filmography
Director (Feature Film)
Cast (Feature Film)
Producer (Feature Film)
Director (Special)
Cast (Special)
Cast (Short)
Director (TV Mini-Series)
Life Events
1964
Starred in national tour of "Barefoot in the Park"
1965
Directed first major stage production, "Barefoot in the Park" (London)
1966
Broadway debut as star of Neil Simon's "Star-Spangled Girl"
1967
First regular role in TV series, as Dick Hollister in "He and She" (CBS), with wife Paula Prentiss
1969
Adult screen acting debut, "Goodbye, Columbus", adapted from the novel by Philip Roth; had starring role
1970
First screen pairing with wife Paula Prentiss, "Catch-22"
1971
Starred in "The Marriage of a a Young Stockbroker", opposite Prentiss
1972
Played leading role in second Philip Roth film adaptation "Portnoy's Complaint"
1975
Played the agent-nephew of a vaudevillian (Walter Matthau) in "The Sunshine Boys"
1978
Co-starred in "House Calls"
1981
Had last feature acting role for over 15 years in; the horror spoof "Saturday the 14th"; also featured Prentiss
1982
Feature directing debut, "My Favorite Year"
1984
Helmed the coming of age tale "Racing with the Moon"
1986
Had a directorial misfire with "The Money Pit"
1988
Directed the intriguing spy thriller "Little Nikita"
1990
Helmed "Mermaids", starring Cher
1993
Paired Whoppi Goldberg and Ted Danson in the mildly comedic "Made in America"
1997
Returned to film acting in a small role in Woody Allen's "Deconstructing Harry"
1998
With wife Paula Prentiss, returned to stage acting in the off-Broadway comedy "Power Plays"
2003
Directed and starred in "Marci X" with Lisa Kudrow
2004
Directed the TV remake of Neil Simon's "The Goodbye Girl" starring Jeff Daniels and Patricia Heaton
2006
Cast a the Rabbi opposite Jeremy Piven and Garry Marshall in the indie comedy "Keeping Up with the Steins" directed by Marshall's son Scott
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Notes
"Said critic Andrew Sarris, 'Mr. Benjamin is so ideally cast as Philip Roth [in "Goodbye, Columbus"] that it is almost frightening to think of his ever playing anything else. ... Whereas Dustin Hoffman is what clumsy intellectuals would like to be on a blind date, Richard Benjamin [alas!] is what they actually are.'" --From Premiere, November 1990.
