Profile Text
Birth Name: Robert Douglas Benton
Date of Birth: September 29, 1932
Place of Birth: Waxahachie, Texas, U.S.
Date of Death: May 11, 2025
Place of Death: New York City, New York, U.S.
Ethnicity: English, some Scottish, Irish, German, Swiss-German, French, and Swiss-French
Robert Benton was an American film director and screenwriter. He won the Academy Award for Best Director for Kramer vs. Kramer (1979).
Robert was the son of Dorothy and Ellery Benton. He was married to artist Sallie Rendig, until her death, with whom he had a son.
Robert’s paternal grandfather was James Henry Benton (the son of Lemuel C. Benton and Martha Albritton). James was born in Mississippi. Lemuel was born in Tennessee, the son of James Morris Benton and Elizabeth Johnson. Martha was born in Mississippi, the daughter of James Cornelius Albritton and Charity Lane.
Robert’s paternal grandmother was Mary Ophelia Rose Moore (the daughter of Jacob Wesley Moore and Elizabeth Jones). Mary was born in Texas.
Robert’s maternal grandfather was Clint Thomas Spalding (the son of John Henry Spalding and Laura Jane Parks). Clint was born in Texas. John was born in Missouri, the son of Benjamin Aaron Spalding and Matilda Ann Hagar. Laura was born in Tennessee, the daughter of William Woodruff Parks and Sophia Ann Koonce.
Robert’s maternal grandmother was Willie Strong (the daughter of Henry Woodson Strong and Sarah Eleanor Parks). Willie was born in Texas. Henry was born in Mississippi, the son of James Madison Strong and Mary Ann Susan Lumpkin. Sarah was the daughter of Milton Lester Parks and Emily Amanda Raines.
Sources: Birth record of Robert Benton – https://www.familysearch.org
Birth record of Robert’s father – https://www.familysearch.org
Robert’s mother on the 1910 U.S. census – https://www.familysearch.org