Charles Benton

1931 - 2015

Visionary Film Distributor and Philanthropist Helped Reinstitute Presidential Debates Charles Benton was a determined, passionate, and agile businessman and philanthropist who, over many decades, pursued a vision of empowering people to use the latest communications tools to improve the lives of all. On April 29, 2015, Benton, 84, died at his home in Evanston from complications from renal cancer. Charles William Benton was born February 13, 1931 in New York to Helen Hemingway Benton and William Burnett Benton, then the head of the Benton and Bowles advertising firm and later the owner of the Chicago-based Encyclop¿dia Britannica and U.S. Senator from Connecticut (1948-53). While at Yale University, Charles met Marjorie Craig, a student at the Connecticut College for Women, and they married in 1953. Together they had three children -- Adrianne, Craig and Scott. After graduating from Yale in 1953, Charles began a long career in the media education and entertainment businesses. He joined Britannica Films, owned by his father, who believed that "educational talking pictures" were a potent and largely unexploited medium, "perhaps the most striking opportunity for public service in the field today" - a view the younger Benton shared and pursued. Charles rose to become president of the Encyclopaedia Britannica Education Corp. in 1966. In 1967 at age 36, Benton resigned from the Encyclopaedia Britannica Education Corp. and created the nonprofit Fund for Media Research to study educational uses of new media. The U.S. Office of Education (now the Department of Education) hired the Fund to research the use of television in the 16 largest U.S. school systems. Also in 1967, Charles exchanged a large block of his stock in the Encyclopaedia Britannica Educational Corporation in return for his sole ownership of Films, Inc., a company which distributed 16 millimeter versions of entertainment films produced by Hollywood studios mainly to civic, cultural and educational institutions. The guiding principle for Films, Inc. and its parent company, Public Media, Inc., was: "Good Films That Sell." The company grew into the biggest, and most important, distributor of films to the non-theatrical market in the 16mm and VHS formats. For many years, Films, Inc. controlled the exclusive rights to the major Hollywood studios. Later, Films, Inc. distributed classic and independent films on DVD and select public television stations and independent filmmakers through its Home Vision Entertainment label. Charles Benton served three U.S. presidents. In 1978, President Carter appointed him as chairman of the National Commission on Libraries and Information Science and as chairman of the 1st White House Conference on Library and Information Services, held in 1979. In 1997, President Clinton appointed Benton as a member of the Presidential Advisory Committee on the Public Interest Obligations of Digital Television Broadcasters. In 2012 President Obama appointed Benton to serve on the National Museum and Library Services Board. Charles founded the Benton Foundation as the legacy of his father, who championed free speech and civil liberties. In his will, William Benton handed down the foundation's mission of "good works in communication" and $8 million in Encyclopedia Britannica stock to support the organization. The Benton Foundation currently works to ensure that media and telecommunications serve the public interest and enhance democracy. Charles and Marjorie Benton initiated and provided the $200,000 grant that the League of Women Voters used to fund the televised presidential forums during the 1976 primaries. Those forums led to the televised presidential debates sponsored by the League later in 1976 -- the first such event since the Nixon-Kennedy debates of 1960. Benton was an active board member and adviser for organizations in the arts, education and communications, including service on the original Illinois Arts Council Board, the Illinois Humanities Council and The Partnership for a Connected Illinois. He was a trustee of the University of Chicago, Hampton Institute, and National College of Education. In film and television, Benton was a member of the founding board of the American Film Institute and the Chicago International Film Festival, served on the board of WTTW, and was President of the National Citizen Committee for Broadcasting. He has also served on the board of the National Foundation for the Preservation of Film in California. Benton was elected a Field Museum Trustee in 2000 and became a Life Trustee in 2006. He and his wife Marjorie were active members of The Founders' Council and avid collectors of American art, primarily pottery from the pueblo communities of Native Americans in the Southwestern United States. Charles Benton is survived by his loving wife of 62 years, Marjorie; daughter Adrianne Furniss and her husband, Robert; son, Craig, and his wife Tina Ashmore; five treasured grandchildren, Savannah Taylor (Hunter), Colby Benton, Hemingway Benton, Carrie Furniss, and Lily Furniss; and sister, Helen (Boley). Family, friends, and colleagues remember Charles Benton not just for his many accomplishments, but his passion and enthusiasm; his values and persistent vision; his positive attitude, indomitable spirit and continuous optimism. In lieu of flowers, the family encourages gifts to honor Charles' lifelong passion, the Benton Foundation, and its efforts to ensure that media and telecommunications serve the public interest and enhance democracy. The foundation, which will celebrate its 35th anniversary in 2016, is a 501(c)(3) organization. While he remained active in media reform until the end, Charles put the leadership of the Foundation in the capable hands of his daughter, Adrianne Furniss, and a strong, respected Board of Directors, thus assuring the continued vibrancy of the organization. Contributions can be sent to: Benton Foundation 1560 Sherman Ave, Suite 440 Evanston, IL 60201 Memorial services for Charles Benton will be held in Chicago this summer and in Washington (DC) later this year.