Robert Saul Benjamin (1909 – October 22, 1979)[1] 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.
[2] Benjamin, along with his longtime friend and partner Arthur B. Krim, took over United Artists in 1951.
[1] 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.
[3][1] The Krim-Benjamin team quickly showed a profit, and they bought out Chaplin and Pickford to own the company outright in 1955.
[1] In 1979, Robert Benjamin won the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian award posthumously.