Best known for writing and directing the 1979 drama movie Kramer vs. Kramer, Benton was the art director at Esquire magazine in the early '60s before joining the film industry with the help of acclaimed screenwriter David Newman.
Benton once explained in an interview: "I had been working as an art director at Esquire and I got fired.
"I decided to write a screenplay. I am dyslexic. I cannot spell or punctuate. I knew a young editor at Esquire, a wonderful writer, David Newman. I sold him on the glamorous life of the Hollywood screenwriter."
Benton wrote his first screenplay with Newman for Bonnie and Clyde, the 1967 biographical crime film that starred Warren Beatty and Faye Dunaway as Clyde Barrow and Bonnie Parker.
The iconic movie - which also featured Michael J. Pollard, Gene Hackman, and Estelle Parsons - proved to be a big success, earning Benton and Newman an Academy Award nomination.
What's more, Bonnie and Clyde made $US70 million ($A110 million) from a budget of just $US2.5 million ($A4 million).
Benton and Newman reunited to work on What's Up, Doc?, the 1972 screwball comedy film that starred Barbra Streisand and Ryan O'Neal.
The Peter Bogdanovich-directed movie - which paid homage to comedy films of the '20s, '30s and '40s - was another critical and commercial success, becoming the third highest-grossing film of the year.
Benton received his first individual credit in 1977, when he wrote and directed The Late Show, the neo-noir comedy-mystery film that starred Art Carney, Lily Tomlin, Bill Macy, Eugene Roche and Joanna Cassidy.
The movie earned Benton a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay.
Benton and Newman joined forces once again to work on Superman, the 1978 superhero movie that featured Marlon Brando and Gene Hackman.
The film was a critical and financial hit, despite being the most expensive movie ever made up to that point, with a budget of $US55 million.
Then, in 1979, Benton wrote and directed Kramer vs. Kramer, the legal drama film based on Avery Corman's 1977 novel.
The movie featured Dustin Hoffman and Meryl Streep, and earned nine nominations at the Academy Awards.
Benton won the Academy Award for Best Director and the Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay.
The acclaimed filmmaker subsequently won a third Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay for Places in the Heart, the 1984 drama film that he also wrote.
Benton's last directing credit was in 2007 for Feast of Love, the drama movie that starred Morgan Freeman and Selma Blair.
Benton - who was working on his memoir before he passed away - is survived by a son, John.
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