Robert Benton

Academy Award winner Robert Benton (1932-2025) was raised in Waxahachie, Texas, earned his BFA degree from the University of Texas, and moved to New York for his Master’s at Columbia University. He went to work at Esquire Magazine as the assistant to the art director before being drafted into the Army, where he was stationed at Fort Bliss, Texas. Benton returned to Esquire after his discharge from the service, and was soon promoted to art director. While at Esquire he co-authored The In and Out Book with Harvey Schmidt. In 1966 his first screenplay, Bonnie and Clyde, co-written with David Newman, went into production with Arthur Penn directing. That same year, the Benton/Newman musical It’s a Bird… It’s a Plane… It’s Superman! opened on Broadway.