Richard Benjamin

Richard Benjamin Bio

Richard Samuel Benjamin, born on May 22, 1938, is an American actor, director and producer whose career has spanned more than six decades across film, television and stage. He first gained wide recognition as a film actor with Goodbye, Columbus (1969) and Catch-22 (1970), and he later built a second reputation behind the camera with directing credits including My Favorite Year (1982) and The Money Pit (1986). A Golden Globe winner and Emmy nominee, Benjamin has continued to take on acting and directing roles well into his eighties.

Early Life and Background

Richard Samuel Benjamin was born on May 22, 1938, in New York City. He grew up in a Jewish family with ties to the entertainment industry; his uncle was the vaudeville comedian Joe Browning, and his father, Samuel Roger Benjamin, worked in the garment industry. These early surroundings gave him an early awareness of both show business and the working culture of mid-century New York.

As a young man, Benjamin attended the High School of Performing Arts in New York, a school widely known for training future performing arts professionals. He then continued his studies at Northwestern University, where he enrolled in the theatre program and appeared in a number of stage productions. It was at Northwestern that he met the actress Paula Prentiss, who would become both his creative partner and his wife.

Path to Acting

Benjamin began his professional life on the stage, appearing in productions such as The Taming of the Shrew and guest-starring on television series including The New Breed and Dr. Kildare. His first notable break came in 1964 when he was cast in the touring company of Neil Simon’s Barefoot in the Park. He later toured in The Odd Couple with Dan Dailey, sharpening his comic timing in front of live audiences.

In 1966, Benjamin directed Barefoot in the Park on stage in London, an experience that impressed Simon enough to cast him in the Broadway production The Star-Spangled Girl (1966–67) alongside Anthony Perkins and Connie Stevens. That production ran for 261 performances and led directly to his being cast alongside his wife Paula Prentiss in the CBS sitcom He & She (1967–68), a series that established him in American television and earned him an Emmy nomination in 1968.

Richard Benjamin Career

Early Career (1962–1968)

Benjamin began his screen career in the early 1960s with television guest roles and stage work. His Broadway success in The Star-Spangled Girl and his pairing with Paula Prentiss in the sitcom He & She (1967–68) marked his first major period of public recognition, and the sitcom’s 26-episode run made him a familiar face to American viewers.

During this period he was recognized with an Emmy Award nomination for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series for He & She, an early indicator that his comic abilities were being taken seriously by industry voters.

Breakthrough (1969–1975)

Richard Benjamin’s first leading film role came with the adaptation of Philip Roth’s Goodbye, Columbus (1969), co-starring Ali MacGraw, which was both a critical and commercial success. He quickly followed it with a key supporting role in the ensemble film Catch-22 (1970) and was top-billed in Diary of a Mad Housewife (1970) alongside Carrie Snodgress and Frank Langella.

After mixed results with films such as The Marriage of a Young Stockbroker (1971) and Portnoy’s Complaint (1972), he rebounded with two of his most memorable screen appearances in 1973: the all-star mystery The Last of Sheila, scripted by Anthony Perkins and Stephen Sondheim, and the science-fiction thriller Westworld, directed by Michael Crichton and co-starring Yul Brynner. In 1975, he earned a Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor in a Motion Picture for his work as the long-suffering agent Ben Clark in Herbert Ross’s adaptation of Neil Simon’s The Sunshine Boys, starring alongside Walter Matthau and George Burns.

Notable Works and Milestones

Across the 1970s, Richard Benjamin built a reputation as a versatile comedic and dramatic supporting actor, with Goodbye, Columbus, Westworld and The Sunshine Boys standing as signature works. His Golden Globe win for The Sunshine Boys is widely regarded as the defining performance of his acting career.

Richard Benjamin Award Nominations

Throughout his career, Richard Benjamin has received recognition from major entertainment awards bodies for both his acting and his directing work. His most prominent early nomination came in 1968, when he received an Emmy Award nomination for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series for his performance in the CBS sitcom He & She, on which he starred alongside his wife Paula Prentiss.

Richard Benjamin Awards Won

Richard Benjamin is a Golden Globe Award winner. In 1976, he received the Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor in a Motion Picture for his performance as Ben Clark in the 1975 film The Sunshine Boys, the Herbert Ross-directed adaptation of Neil Simon’s stage play.

Richard Benjamin Family

Richard Samuel Benjamin was born to Samuel Roger Benjamin, a garment industry worker, and grew up with a connection to the entertainment world through his uncle, the vaudeville comedian Joe Browning. The family was Jewish and rooted in New York City during the mid-twentieth century.

He has been married to the actress Paula Prentiss since October 26, 1961. The couple met as students at Northwestern University, where Prentiss had transferred from Randolph-Macon Woman’s College. They have two children, a son named Ross and a daughter named Prentiss, both of whom attended Beverly Hills High School.

Personal Life

Richard Benjamin and Paula Prentiss have been married since 1961 and are one of the long-standing couples of American screen entertainment. They have frequently worked together, including on the sitcom He & She, the film Saturday the 14th (1981), the Broadway production The Norman Conquests (1975–76) and appearances hosting Saturday Night Live.

Beyond his work in film and television, Benjamin has continued to take on acting roles in his later career, including a part as Dr. Green in the Netflix comedy You People (2023). He and Prentiss have remained partners both personally and professionally across more than six decades.