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Richard Benjamin

Richard Benjamin is a famous Hollywood actor. Born in 1938 in New York, USA, he is also equally talented as a film director and producer. He started his career as an actor; some of the most notable movies in which he acted include “West World”, “Catch 22” and “The Sunshine Boys”. After a successful acting career, he tried his luck in directing films and was equally successful in this field as well. Some of the most popular films he directed include “City Heat” and “The Money Pit”. He is also an avid traveller and has been to several countries including Jamaica.

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Her father was involved with the garment industry, while her mother was a housewife. He studied at High School of Performing Arts, and then later moved to North Western University. He was involved in several plays and dramas during his childhood as well.

Richard decided after passing out of university that he would become an actor. However, his journey was a tough one – he had to wait almost 15 years to score good roles in movies. His wife, Paula Prentiss, on the other hand, was quite successful and popular much before Richard came to the spotlight. However, it was worth the wait for Richard since he got famous in a short period of time after making his first debut on TV. He was the main actor along with Prentiss for the TV series, “He and She”. His brilliant performance in that series earned him the main role in the movie "Goodbye, Columbus”, which was based on the book by Philip Roth with the same name. After the success of this movie, he got several other roles in movies such as “The Marriage of a Young Stockbroker”, “Portnoy's Complaint” etc. These movies were critical to his success as an actor. However, his most memorable role was in the comedy movie, “The Sunshine Boys”. His excellent performance helped him win a Golden Globe award. He and Paula together hosted the Saturday Night Live Show in 1979.

Gradually, he became more inclined towards directing than acting. He has acted in very few movies after “The Sunshine Boys”. He is quite successful as a director too. His first movie, “My Favourite Year” received positive reviews and also gave its star a nomination for the Oscar. Recently in 2006, he directed a television drama, “A Little Thing Called Murder”.

Richard and actress, Paula Prentiss, became acquainted with each other while studying at the same university. They used to study noted acting together. They married in 1961 and had two children – Ross Benjamin and Prentiss Benjamin. Both Ross and Prentiss together starred in the movie “Hard Four”. Richard and Paula had to struggle a lot and Paula often could not handle the stress she had to face from her movies and TV shows. Richard was always there to support Paula. It is really amazing how they have managed to survive as a couple through the changing times of 70s, 80s and 90s, when several couples couldn’t save their marriages.

He is estimated to have a net worth of $8 million, as of 2015.


Quick Facts
Birth Date: 22 May, 1938
Age: 81 yrs
Citizenship: United States of America
Birth Place: New York City
Gender: Male
Description: Actor, film director
Spouse: Paula Prentiss [M. 1961]
Net Worth 2021: 10 million
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Last Modified: Jun 26 2020
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