Robert Saul Benjamin (1909 – October 22, 1979)
was a founding partner of the movie-litigation firm Phillips, Nizer, Benjamin, Krim & Ballon, a former co‐chairman of
United Artists, and a founding member of
Orion Pictures.
Biography
Robert Saul Benjamin was born to a
Jewish
Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...
family.
Career
Benjamin, along with his longtime friend and partner
Arthur B. Krim, took over
United Artists in 1951.
The deal that they struck with then-owners
Charlie Chaplin
Sir Charles Spencer Chaplin (16 April 188925 December 1977) was an English comic actor, filmmaker, and composer who rose to fame in the era of silent film. He became a worldwide icon through his screen persona, the Tramp, and is considered o ...
and
Mary Pickford
Gladys Louise Smith (April 8, 1892 – May 29, 1979), known professionally as Mary Pickford, was a Canadian-American film actress and producer. A Canadian pioneers in early Hollywood, pioneer in the American film industry with a Hollywood care ...
was that if the company showed a profit in any one of the first three years of their management, the two would be able to purchase a 50% share of the company for one dollar.
The Krim-Benjamin team quickly showed a profit, and they bought out Chaplin and Pickford to own the company outright in 1955. In 1957, they took the company public.
In 1975 Benjamin was a senior adviser to the United States delegation to the United Nations.
Awards
In 1979, Robert Benjamin won
the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian award posthumously.
His wife Jean accepted the award on his behalf.
Personal life
Robert Benjamin married Jean Kortright.
They had two kids, Jonathan and Margret.
References
External links
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Benjamin, Robert
American film studio executives
1909 births
1979 deaths
Orion Pictures
20th-century American lawyers
American entertainment lawyers
Businesspeople from Los Angeles
Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award winners
20th-century American businesspeople
American film production company founders
20th-century American Jews
United Artists people