Former Marjorie Ruth Benson died from complications related to Alzheimer's disease Jan. 1 in Las Vegas, where she had lived for nine years. She was 86.
Her son, entertainer Steven A. Benson, recalls that she was one of a breed of casting directors known for their ability to select, define and suggest to directors the various and often subtle abilities of their selections in the era of the Hollywood film studio system.
She anticipated the emerging dominance of TV, according to her son, and formed a partnership in the early 1950s with Ruth Burch. They cast stars and co-stars for such staples as "The Dick Van Dyke Show," "The Andy Griffith Show," "I Spy," "That Girl," "Gomer Pyle, USMC," "Legends of Wyatt Earp," "Make Room for Daddy" and more.
New York City native was the daughter of actress Jennette Wollrich Benson and Sullivan & Krause theater chain exec Sammy Benson, who moved the family in 1921 to Hollywood, where he became a 20th Century Fox costume designer.
In recent years, the son noted, Benson assisted him in several animal rescue projects, which he continues in her memory. Donations in her memory can be made to the Motion Picture Hospital and Home in Woodland Hills, Calif.
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