Robert Benjamin

Robert Saul Benjamin (1909-1979). Robert Benjamin was a founding partner of the movie-litigation firm Phillips, Nizer, Benjamin, Krim & Ballon. With his longtime friend and partner, Arthur Krim, he took over United Artists in 1951. The deal that they struck with then-owners Charlie Chaplin and Mary Pickford 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 1979, Robert Benjamin won the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian award posthumously. His wife Jean accepted the award on his behalf.

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