Who was Robert Benton’s wife Sallie Rendigs? All we know about Oscar-winning director of Kramer Vs Kramer as he dies at 92

Robert Benton, the Oscar-winning filmmaker, passed away at 92, in his Manhattan home on May 11, 2025. His son, John Benton confirmed the news stating that he died of “natural causes,” according to CBS News.

Benton was known for working on the screenplay for the 1967 crime film, Bonnie and Clyde, besides writing and directing the legal drama film, Kramer vs. Kramer, which released in 1979. He was also one of the screenplay writers of Superman (1978), alongside Mario Puzo, David Newman, and Leslie Newman, according to IMDb.

Benton is survived by his son, John. His wife of 60 years, Sallie Rendigs, passed away in 2023 at the age of 88. They married in 1964 and share only one child.

According to her obituary posted on Legacy, Rendigs was born on September 20, 1934, in Kansas City, Missouri. She attended the University of Kansas before moving to New York. She became a successful fashion illustrator for several years and then became a painter.

Along with his personal life, Robert Benton’s death has ignited interest among his fans and followers about his professional life, too. Here is what we know.

Exploring the life and career of Robert Benton

According to his IMDb profile, Robert Benton was born on September 29, 1932, in Waxahachie, Texas, USA. His birth name was Robert Douglas Benton.

He owed his love for movies to his father, Ellery Douglass Benton, who was a telephone company employee. His mother was Dorothy Benton. He got his idea for the script of Bonnie and Clyde from his father as he attended the separate funerals of Bonnie Parker and Clyde Barrow, per his IMDb profile.

According to CBS News, Robert Benton attended the University of Texas and Columbia University. He then served in the U.S. Army from 1954 until 1956. He dated the feminist Gloria Steinem during the 1960s and, during that time, he also became the art director at Esquire.

Benton made his directorial debut with the 1972 film titled Bad Company, which was an off-beat adaptation of Oliver Twist and starred Jeff Bridges and Barry Brown. He went on to release films like Places in the Heart, The Late Show, and Nobody’s Fool.

He won Oscars in the categories of Best Direction and Best Screenplay – Based on Material from Another Medium for Kramer vs. Kramer, and Best Original Screenplay for Places in the Heart.

Actors such as Meryl Streep, Dustin Hoffman, Paul Newman, John Malkovich, Sally Field, and Jane Alexander won Oscars working in Benton's films, reports Variety.

Per CBS News, he told Venice magazine in 1988,

Trending

“Somebody asked me once when the Academy Award nominations came out and I'd been nominated, 'What's the great thing about the Academy Awards?' I said, 'When you go to the awards and you see people, some of whom you've had bitter fights with, some of whom you're close friends with, some people you haven't seen in ten years, some people you just saw two days before — it's your family.' It's home. And home is what I've spent my life looking for.”

Robert Benton has been widely appreciated by actors as attentive and trusting throughout his 40-year career.

×

Was this article helpful?

Thank You for feedback