Paula Prentiss, Richard Benjamin's actress wife, had already become a star by the early 1960s, but it took Benjamin almost fifteen years to establish his screen persona, a wait that ultimately proved rewarding.
Benjamin's journey to stardom began with extensive work in theatre, where he honed his skills as both an actor and a director. He also appeared in the cult TV series He & She, which aired in 1967 and co-starred Prentiss.
In 1969, Benjamin landed the starring role in the screen adaptation of Philip Roth's best-seller, Goodbye, Columbus. This was followed by roles in Diary of a Mad Housewife (1970),The Marriage of a Young Stockbroker (1971),and another Roth adaptation, Portnoy's Complaint (1972).
Benjamin's portrayal of the characters in these films cemented his status as a prominent "archetype of East Coast Jewish intellectual agony," as critic Jonathan Romney so aptly put it. However, his true forte was comedy, and he won a Golden Globe award when he reprised his stage role in the film version of Neil Simon's The Sunshine Boys (1975).
Although Benjamin still performs to this day, he has also turned his attention to direction, a path he began exploring in the 1980s. One of his most acclaimed directorial efforts was the comedy My Favorite Year (1982),which received widespread critical acclaim.
Throughout his career, Benjamin has demonstrated his versatility as both an actor and a director, and his numerous film and television credits continue to entertain audiences to this day.
