Robert Benton

Robert Douglas Benton born September 29 1932 is an American screenwriter and film director Benton was born in Waxahachie Texas the son of Dorothy née Spaulding and Ellery Douglass Benton a telephone company employee He attended the University of Texas and Columbia University1 Benton has enjoyed a highly successful career in film winning numerous prestigious awards for both writing and directing He was also the art director at Esquire magazine in the early 1960s In 2006 he appeared in the documentary Wanderlust as did a number of other wellknown people Bentons family originally hailed from Northumberland in Great Britain where the Bentons held a seat long before the Norman Conquest Many family members settled in America including Abigail and Isabel Benton who settled in Virginia in 1642 George Benton who settled in Barbados in 1669 and Robert Benton who settled in Virginia in 1635 Benton was once a noble family but they became commoners after the Norman invasion Robert Benton still has relatives living in England who trace their origins to the seventeenth century Other prominent Bentons include Thomas Hart Benton and William Burnett Benton Description above from the Wikipedia article Robert Benton licensed under CCBYSA full list of contributors on Wikipedia