Editing Richard Benjamin (section)

===Stardom===
[[File:Ali MacGraw-Richard Benjamin in Goodbye, Columbus trailer.jpg|thumb|left|Ali MacGraw and Richard Benjamin in ''[[Goodbye, Columbus (film)|Goodbye, Columbus]]'' in 1969]]
Benjamin's first lead role in a film came with an adaptation of the [[Philip Roth]] novella, ''[[Goodbye, Columbus (film)|Goodbye, Columbus]]'' (1969) with [[Ali MacGraw]]. It was a critical and commercial hit.<ref name="av">{{cite web|url=https://www.avclub.com/richard-benjamin-on-peter-o-toole-celebrity-treasure-h-1798234629|website=AV Club|title=Interview with Richard Benjamin – Random Roles|date=November 15, 2012}}</ref> He followed it with a key support role in the film of ''[[Catch-22 (film)|Catch-22]]'' (1970). He was top billed in ''[[Diary of a Mad Housewife]]'' (1970) from the team of Eleanor and Frank Perry, appearing alongside [[Carrie Snodgress]] and [[Frank Langella]]. He directed his wife off-Broadway in ''Arf/The Great Airplane Snatch'' (1969), which ran for five performances.

Benjamin played the lead in ''[[The Marriage of a Young Stockbroker]]'' (1971), directed by the producer and the original author of ''[[The Graduate]]'', though it was not as successful.<ref>{{Cite news|last=Burke|first=Tom|date=1971-12-05|title=Movies (Published 1971)|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1971/12/05/archives/alexander-portnoy-this-is-your-wife.html|access-date=2020-12-28|issn=0362-4331}}</ref> He acted in a comedy, ''[[The Steagle]]'' (1971), the directorial debut of designer [[Paul Sylbert]], which was little seen. Another box-office flop was the film of Roth's ''[[Portnoy's Complaint (film)|Portnoy's Complaint]]'' (1972), the sole directorial effort of [[Ernest Lehman]].

In 1972 Benjamin returned to Broadway with ''The Little Black Book'', which only ran for nine performances. He then acted in two more successful films, as part of an all-star cast in ''[[The Last of Sheila]]'' (1973), from a script by [[Anthony Perkins]] and [[Stephen Sondheim]], and in ''[[Westworld (film)|Westworld]]'' (1973), directed by [[Michael Crichton]] and co-starring [[Yul Brynner]]. The ''Los Angeles Times'' stated that by this stage, his image was of "a whining, petulant bore by doing too good a job of acting in a series of sleazy roles." He decided to steer away from such roles by turning down a part in ''[[The Towering Inferno]]'' (which Richard Chamberlain ended up playing).<ref name="los">{{cite news|title=After 'Portnoy,' Benjamin Has No Complaint|author=ALJEAN HARMETZ|work=Los Angeles Times|date=December 21, 1975|page=m49}}</ref>