Benjamin going down the stairwell refusing to wear a life jacket.
Benjamin Guggenheim (October 26, 1865 – April 15, 1912) was an American businessman. He died aboard the Titanic when the ship sank in the North Atlantic Ocean. In the film, he is portrayed by Michael Ensign.
Life on Titanic[edit | edit source]
Guggenheim was travelling in first-class with his valet Victor Giglio and his mistress, Leontine Aubert. He appears during the first-class dinner scene, along with the other upper-class passengers.
Benjamin Guggenheim before perishing in the First class stairwell
Realizing that the situation was much more serious than he had implied, as well as realizing he was not going to be rescued, he then returned to his cabin with Giglio and the two men changed into evening wear. The two are seen in the Grand Staircase closing the door behind them. He was heard to remark, "We've dressed up in our best and are prepared to go down like gentlemen." He also gave a survivor a message saying, "Tell my wife, if it should happen that my secretary and I both go down, tell her I played the game out straight to the end. No woman shall be left aboard this ship because Ben Guggenheim was a coward."
Guggenheim and his valet, Victor Giglio, were last seen in the flooding Grand Staircase on chairs with a glass of brandy watching in horror as many first class passengers were struggling in the rushing water. Both men went down with the ship.
Behind the Scenes[edit | edit source]
Guggenheim is also well known for another quote that he said to Victor, which was "Remind me to never travel with a Foreigner again." Victor then answered dryly "I am a foreigner, sir.", which wasn't shown in the movie, however, it was seen in the Titanic 2012 miniseries.
In Cameron's Titanic, Guggenhiem is shown to be in the Grand Staircase as it floods; in realitly, eyewitness accounts say that Guggenhiem and Victor were actually seen on deck near the band.
External links[edit | edit source]
Benjamin Guggenheim on Wikipedia- Benjamin Guggenheim at Find a Grave
