Literary 'Sconset, the Benchleys, and John Steinbeck, Robert C. Benchley Biography, Photos and Works, New York Public Library for the Performing Arts, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Robert_Benchley&oldid=1148971771, Male actors from Worcester, Massachusetts, Short description is different from Wikidata, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, This page was last edited on 9 April 2023, at 10:45. Husband of Gertrude Benchley While some of his pieces would not have been out of place in a crackerbarrel-style presentation, Benchley's reliance on puns and wordplay resonated more with the literary humorists, as shown by his success with The New Yorker, known for the highbrow tastes of its readers. His performances gave him some local fame, and most entertainment programs on campus and many off-campus meetings recruited Benchley's talents. (According to legend, he submitted a magazine piece titled "I Like to Loaf" two weeks after deadline. Benchley initially wrote the column under the pseudonym Guy Fawkes (the lead conspirator in the English Gunpowder Plot), and the column was very well received. That's what makes it so tough for us outsiders: we have to fight home He also made many memorable appearances acting in films such as Alfred Hitchcock's Foreign Correspondent (1940) and Nice Girl? [80], Benchley produced over 600 essays,[81] which were initially compiled in twelve volumes, during his writing career. A founding member of the famous Algonquin Round Table in New York Benchley enrolled at Harvard University in 1908, again with Duryea's financial help. He did especially well in his English and government classes. In Milwaukee last month a man died laughing over one of his own jokes. The format of Vanity Fair fit Benchley's style very well, allowing his columns to have a humorous tone, often as straight parodies. A short that Benchley completed for MGM, A Night at the Movies, was Benchley's greatest success since How to Sleep: it was Oscar-nominated, and secured him a contract for more short films that would be produced in New York. WEDNESDAY, 5th Rodeo & Wood, chop. arged from an Army hospital, where he is convalescing from a minor operation. (the name being a pun of the European revue Le Chauve-Souris), "An Anonymous Entertainment by the Vicious Circle of the Hotel Algonquin." A second son, Robert Benchley, Jr., was born in 1919. Benchley was invited to be theatre critic for The New Yorker in 1929, leaving Life, and contributions from Woollcott and Parker became regular features in the magazine. Though Benchley had been a teetotaler in his youth, in later life he drank with increasing frequency, and eventually he was diagnosed with cirrhosis of the liver. Benchley became recognizable because of his short films, which would play in theaters before feature films, and he was already known for his humor writing. He identifies no new sources for his biography and asks no new questions of the old ones. Paramount did not renew his contract in 1943, and Benchley signed back with MGM with an exclusive contract. 10: James Thurber." 24 Amelia Drive Mrs. Parker and the Vicious Circle is a 1994 American film that depicts the Round Table from the perspective of Dorothy Parker. In his films, the common man exaggerations continued. A guy would come in and pick out white appliances and then ask that they be shipped to Nantucket and held for pickup at the pier. Before heading back to New York, Benchley took a role in the feature film Dancing Lady,[52] which also featured Joan Crawford, Clark Gable, Fred Astaire, Nelson Eddy, and the Three Stooges. He appeared in prominent roles with Fred Astaire in You'll Never Get Rich (1941) and The Sky's the Limit (1943). He wrote brilliantly and hilariously for The New Yorker and Vanity Fair, won an Oscar and, by all accounts, acquitted himself with distinction at the Algonquin in New York.Up there with Dorothy Parker, et. [87] He also appeared in a number of films, including 48 short treatments that he mostly wrote or co-wrote and numerous feature films. [72] Even the longer, plot-driven shorts, such as Lesson Number One, Furnace Trouble, and Stewed, Fried and Boiled, show a Benchley character overmatched by seemingly mundane tasks. The filming went by quickly, and though he was convinced he was not good, The Treasurer's Report was a financial and critical success upon its release in 1928. [66], In 1960, Benchley was posthumously inducted into the Hollywood Walk of Fame with a motion pictures star at 1724 Vine Street.[67]. It was a joke about the canals, but in winter its frequently true as is well known by visitors wading through Piazza San Marco and other flooded sites. The Benchley family was attending a public Fourth of July picnic when a bicycle messenger brought the notification telegram. Benchleys novel Welcome to Xanadu was made into the 1975 motion picture Sweet Hostage. The Algonquin Round Table was a group of New York City writers and actors who met regularly between 1919 and 1929 at the Algonquin Hotel. He was promised a position at the Tribune's Sunday magazine when it launched, and he was moved to the magazine's staff soon after he was hired, eventually becoming chief writer. Did he and Charles MacArthur really set Theodore Roosevelt's son's pants on fire while engaging him ''in a lengthy conversation concerning military protocol''? other disruptions, Benchley made his mark as a theater critic and as Benchley and Parker soon held down one corner of the Algonquin Round Table, that collection of wits whose quips are still repeated. He did especially well in his English and government classes. [8] Additionally, because the news about Edmund had arrived during a July 4th celebration, Robert for the rest of his life associated fireworks with Edmund's death. Rob Benchley was raised in Connecticut and, as a boy, maybe he was one of the entitled ones. He fit the profile. Benchley began at Vanity Fair with fellow Harvard Lampoon alumnus Robert Emmet Sherwood and future friend and collaborator Dorothy Parker, who had taken over theatre criticism from P. G. Wodehouse years earlier. Benchley was the highly-respected author of many childrens/juvenile books that provided learning for the youthful readers with stories of various animals or through the books historical settings. (There is no evidence to support speculation that Lillian had an inappropriate relationship with Robert.) "[29] While his public profile rose, Benchley continued with freelance work, which included his first paid piece for Vanity Fair in 1914, titled "Hints on Writing a Book,"[30][31] a parody of the non-fiction pieces then popular. His elder son, Peter Benchley (19402006), was a writer best known for writing the novel Jaws and the screenplay of the 1975 Steven Spielberg film made from it. This experience was a poor one, as Brady was extremely difficult to work for. Rob is a real icon on the island.. And that was the point of the trip, which made it a happy one in every way that it could be. He married his childhood sweetheart, Gertrude Darling, in 1914. ISBN 0393038335). WebBenchley would continue to perform the sketch periodically throughout his life, with his final Report delivered on October 27, 1945 (just a few weeks prior to his death) for CBS Radio 's Report to the Nation. When news reached the family, Maria's stunned reaction was to cry out, "Why couldn't it have been Robert?! Although Benchley was known for misleading and fictional autobiographical statements about himself (at one point asserting that he wrote A Tale of Two Cities before being buried at Westminster Abbey),[1] he actually was the great-grandchild of the founder of Benchley, Texas: Henry Wetherby Benchley who was jailed for his help with the Underground Railroad. [2] Benchley reveled in the atmosphere at the Academy, and he remained active in creative extracurricular activities, thereby damaging his academic credentials toward the end of his term. Few could be arguably as skilled. I met an older fellow on the ferry going back to the mainland who is another real islander, and asked him if he knew the Benchleys. Benchley's alcoholism, already a problem, worsened and he was diagnosed with cirrhosis of the liver. Benchley died of complications from cirrhosis of the liver in 1945 at the age of 56. Upon completion, MGM invited Benchley to write and perform in a short production inspired by a Mellon Institute study on sleep commissioned by the Simmons Mattress Company. Most of them were adapted from his old essays ("Take the Witness!," with Benchley fantasizing about conquering a tough cross-examination, was filmed as The Witness; "The Real Public Enemies," showing the criminal tendencies of sinister household objects, was filmed as Crime Control, etc.). In his mid-50s Benchley suffered from cirrhosis of the liver and high blood pressure, and died from complications of both. [41], The situation at Vanity Fair deteriorated upon management's return. Which was plenty to go on, when I got home. His experience there was not much better, and when an opportunity was offered to return to the Tribune under new editorial management, Benchley took it. People say the darnedest things on that boat, Rob responded, when I told him in an e-mail about the comment. They are bothered when they cant have what they want. Gallery as well as at AAN. His arrival put him on the scene of a number of productions almost instantly. [73], Topical, current-event style pieces written for Vanity Fair during the war did not lose their levity, either. In unthinking, stunned reaction, Maria ("Jenny") Benchley cried out "Why couldn't it have been Robert?! He wrote two articles a week; the first a review of non-literary books, the other a feature-style article about whatever he wanted. Benchley's earliest roles were in film, including the romantic comedy "Rafter Romance" (1933) with Ginger So are the two Benchley biographies, the first published by his son Nathaniel in 1955, the second by Babette Rosmond in 1970. Brother of Lt. Edmund Benchley. The prominent styles of humor were then "crackerbarrel" which relied on devices such as dialects and a disdain for formal education, in the style of humorists like Artemis Ward and David Ross Locke, through his alter-ego Petroleum Vesuvius Nasby and a more "genteel" style of humor, very literary and upper-class in nature, a style popularized by Oliver Wendell Holmes. Robert's older brother, Edmund, was rushed to the Spanish-American War days after graduation from West Point (1898), and was a casualty almost immediately. He was not afraid to poke fun at the establishment (one piece he wrote was titled "Have You a Little German Agent in Your Home? Father of Nathaniel Benchley and Robert Benchley, Jr. The films enjoyed similar success and were critically acclaimed, and Benchley was signed to a deal to produce more films before heading back to New York to continue writing. [19] The election of Benchley was unusual, as he was the publication's art editor and the board positions typically fell to the foremost writers on the staff. The table gained prominence due to the media attention the members drew as well as their collective contributions to their respective areas. Benchley's contribution to the program, "The Treasurer's Report," featured Benchley as a nervous, disorganized man attempting to summarize an organization's yearly expenses. . They were designed to create a contrast between himself and the masses, who had less common sense. Drawing on my fine command of language, I said nothing. [30], At the Tribune, Benchley, along with new editor Ernest Gruening, was in charge of a twelve-page pictorial supplement titled the Tribune Graphic. Word of it was published in Time by Alexander Woollcott, who was at a lunch with Benchley, Parker, and others. From his beginnings at The Harvard Lampoon while attending Harvard University, through his many years writing essays and articles for Vanity Fair and The New Yorker and his acclaimed short films, Benchley's style of humor brought him respect and success during his life, from his peers at the Algonquin Round Table in New York City to contemporaries in the burgeoning film industry. On one of these, Benchley wrote out, in very small handwriting, an elaborate excuse involving a herd of elephants on 44th Street. During his first two years at Harvard, Benchley worked with the Harvard Advocate and the Harvard Lampoon. The work on The Sport Parade caused Benchley to miss the fall theatre openings, which embarrassed him (even if the relative success of The Sport Parade was often credited to Benchley's role), but the lure of filmmaking did not disappear, since RKO offered him a writing and acting contract for the following year for more money than he was making writing for The New Yorker.[51]. His humor and style began to reveal itself during this time; Benchley was often called upon to entertain his fraternity brothers, and his impressions of classmates and professors became very popular. A theatrical production by the members of the Round Table was put together in response to a challenge from actor J. M. Kerrigan, who was tired of the Table's complaints about the ongoing theatre season. Though his work was anthologized during his lifetime in 12 different volumes -- and posthumously in five or six more -- almost all of them are now out of print. They were among the founders of the famed Algonquin Round Table in 1919. After brief stints at The New York Tribune and Vanity Fair, where he began taking long lunches at the Algonquin with his colleagues Dorothy Parker and Robert Sherwood, Benchley became a full-time theater critic for Life magazine and, in 1929, for The New Yorker. He also made a name for himself in Hollywood, when his short film How to Sleep was a popular success and won Best Short Subject at the 1935 Academy Awards, and his many memorable appearances in films such as Alfred Hitchcock's Foreign Correspondent and a dramatic turn in Nice Girl?. Back in the late forties after the war my dad ran a Sears store in Yonkers. They include the writer and actor Nat and also Peter, most famous for writing Jaws Peter and Nats dad, Nathaniel Benchley wrote childrens literature, was a biographer of Humphrey Bogarts and wrote the novel on which the 1961 movie The Russians are Coming was based. traits: fidelity, perseverance and to turn around three times before They are more bothered when local government fusses about their wishes to gut or tear down older (or really old) homes. Benchley died of complications from cirrhosis of the liver in 1945 at the age of 56. It was not hard to imagine, standing on the bluffs, seeing how far the ocean had already come. He was not afraid to poke fun at the establishment (one piece he wrote was titled "Have You a Little German Agent in Your Home? In 1931, he was persuaded to do voice work for RKO Radio Pictures for a film that would eventually be titled Sky Devils, and he acted in his first feature film, The Sport Parade (1932) with Joel McCrea. The Music Box Revue opened in September 1921 and ran until September 1922, with Benchley appearing in his eleven-minute turn eight times a week (evening performances on Monday through Saturday and matinees on Wednesday and Saturday). [47] His reviews were known for their flair, and he often used them as a soapbox for issues of concern to him, whether petty (people who cough during plays) or more important (such as racial intolerance). The uncanny feature of our talent in this field is that, once the scene is through and they begin talking of something new on the stage, a sixth sense in us operates to send the blood pounding through our temples and we awake with a start, rosy-cheeked and refreshed.''. [28], Benchley filled in for P. G. Wodehouse at Vanity Fair at the beginning of 1916, reviewing theatre in New York. 3 reviews Get A Copy Amazon Stores Published 1956 More Details Edit Details Reader Q&A To ask other readers questions about Robert Benchley , please sign up . [50], Things changed again for Benchley a number of years into the arrangement. $(1901$) 18,301.' Upon its completion, MGM invited Benchley to write and perform in a short production inspired by a Mellon Institute study on sleep commissioned by the Simmons Mattress Company. [77] The longer, plot-driven shorts, such as Lesson Number One, Furnace Trouble, and Stewed, Fried and Boiled, likewise show a Benchley character overmatched by seemingly mundane tasks. The experience at Vanity Fair inspired Benchley's fellow staff at the Tribune magazine with creative topics for articles (such as arranging for the producers of The Thirteenth Chair to cast Benchley as a corpse), but the situation at the magazine deteriorated as the pacifist Benchley became unhappy with the Tribune's position on World War I, and the Tribune editors were unhappy with the evolving tone and irreverence of the magazine. [7] The film was included in the compilation Robert Benchley and the Knights of the Algonquin. The result was No Sirree! Every boy should have a dog, for a dog teaches a boy three valuable Another English professor recommended that Benchley speak with the Curtis Publishing Company; but Benchley was initially against the idea, and ultimately took a position at a civil service office in Philadelphia. The table gained prominence due to the media attention the members drew as well as their collective contributions to their respective areas. This inspired staff at the Tribune magazine to creativity for articles (such as arranging for the producers of The Thirteenth Chair to cast Benchley as a corpse), but the situation at the magazine deteriorated as the pacifist Benchley became unhappy with the Tribune's position on World War I, and the Tribune editors were unhappy with the evolving tone and irreverence of the magazine. Part of it was boutiques. Please advise, was humorist Robert Benchleys famous telegram to the New Yorker magazine after arriving in Venice. Benchley, who had also been offered a syndicated column by Hearst, was able to film the shorts in New York and keep up with his new column. Benchley initially wrote the column under the pseudonym Guy Fawkes (the lead conspirator in the English Gunpowder Plot), and the column was well received. Mrs. Benchley apologized profoundly and tried hard to atone for the remark. lying down. "[25] Things did not improve for Benchley and Obiter Dicta, and a failed practical joke at a company banquet further strained the relationship between Benchley and his superiors. Copyright Jeff Schult. [75], In his films, the common man exaggerations continued. Management attempted to issue "tardy slips" for staff who were late. "[20] Things did not improve for Benchley and Obiter Dicta, and a failed practical joke at a company banquet further strained the relationship between Benchley and his superiors. In the summer of 61, I worked worked for bob Clark cutting grass. His re-entry into public speaking followed the annual HarvardYale football game in 1914, where he presented a practical joke involving "Professor Soong" giving a question-and-answer session on football in Chinese. [40] Sherwood, Parker, and Benchley became close, often having long lunches at the Algonquin Hotel. While Benchley's pieces were bought by Vanity Fair from time to time, his consistent work dried up, and Benchley took a position with the New York Tribune. [20], Along with his duties at the Lampoon, Benchley acted in a number of theatrical productions, including Hasty Pudding productions of The Crystal Gazer and Below Zero. [62], Benchley's return yielded two more short films, and his high-profile prompted negotiations for sponsorship of a Benchley radio program and numerous appearances on television shows, including the first television entertainment program ever broadcast, an untitled test program using an experimental antenna on the Empire State Building. 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