For this, if no other reason, Billy Altman's ''Laughter's Gentle Soul'' is a welcome addition. [16], Benchley did copy work for the Curtis Publishing Company during the summer following graduation (1913) while doing other odd service jobs, such as translating French catalogs for the Boston Museum of Fine Arts. [48] He continued meeting with his friends at the Algonquin, and the group became popularly known as the Algonquin Round Table. The town of Benchley, Texas, is named after his grandfather, who He appeared in prominent roles with Fred Astaire in You'll Never Get Rich (1941) and The Sky's the Limit (1943). [52], Benchley was also hired to help with the book for a George Gershwin musical, Smarty, starring Fred Astaire Benchley's name and Fred Thompsons were listed as the book writers on the sheet music issued during the tryout period. Be the first to ask a question about Robert Benchley Lists with This Book His younger son, Nat Benchley, is a writer and actor who has portrayed his grandfather, Robert Benchley, in a one-man, semi-biographical stage show, Benchley Despite Himself. 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. [18] In September 1913 he was hired by Curtis as a full-time staff member, preparing copy for its new house publication, Obiter Dicta. 24 Amelia Drive PLEASE NOTE that the "Benchley home" on Nantucket pictured at the link above is not one Robert ever knew: it was purchased by Nathaniel in 1954 (and sold by Peter in 1999, or so); the only piece of property Robert ever owned on Nantucket is the plot at the Prospect Hill cemetery In 1933, Benchley returned to Hollywood, completing the short films Your Technocracy and Mine for Universal Pictures, How to Break 90 at Croquet for RKO, and the lavish feature-length production China Seas for Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, starring Clark Gable, Jean Harlow, Wallace Beery, and Rosalind Russell; Benchley's character was slurring drunk throughout the movie. "[82] Horace Digby claimed that, "[M]ore than anyone else, Robert Benchley influenced [his] early writing style. ", then standing by her side at the age of nine. It is Rob III and Carol, though, who have made their mark on Nantucket island as much or more so than any of the clan, and not really because Rob is an extraordinary photographer for the local papers and sometimes for the Boston Globe. A reprise of "The Treasurer's Report" was often requested for future events, and Irving Berlin hired Benchley for $500 a week to perform it nightly during Berlin's Music Box Revue. [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). In unthinking, stunned reaction, Maria ("Jenny") Benchley cried out "Why couldn't it have been Robert?! Artists Association of Nantucket These issues contributed to a general deterioration of morale in the offices, culminating in Parker's termination, allegedly due to complaints by the producers of the plays she skewered in her theatrical reviews. They had a marvelous friendship. The house is gone; the Benchleys ATTRACTIONS INCLUDE: MONDAY, 3rd Concert and Talent Quest. In what the local press dubbed "the Chinese professor caper," Soong was played by a Chinese-American who had lived in the United States for over thirty years, and pretended to answer questions in Chinese while Benchley "translated. other disruptions, Benchley made his mark as a theater critic and as Up there with Dorothy Parker, et. Helen is now 103 years old, resting comfortably in an assisted living home in Atlanta. [37] He accepted and began work there in 1919.[38]. (New York City: Harcourt Brace, 1977. "[64], Benchley's characters were typically exaggerated representations of the common man. Given that Benchley had two children at the time of his resignation, Parker referred to it as "the greatest act of friendship I'd ever seen. (There is no evidence to support speculation that Lillian had an inappropriate relationship with Robert.) Respectfully submitted, /s/ Sharon Lyon (Mrs.) BOSTON, September 15, 2003 -- Boston RBS Chapter Celebrates Benchley's Birthday. He is mentioned, with Dorothy Parker and Alexander Woollcott, in lists of Algonquin Round Table members; and, with S. J. Perelman and James Thurber, as a New Yorker humorist. [2] Robert Benchley was born on September 15, 1889 in Worcester, Massachusetts, to Charles and Maria Benchley.[3]. WebRobert Benchley was an actor who had a successful Hollywood career. Benchley kept these achievements in mind as he began to contemplate a career for himself after college. They became engaged during his senior year at Harvard University, and they married in June 1914. His explanatory note: I was loafing.[38]%29 He was offered $200 per basic subject article for The Home Sector,[39] and a weekly freelance salary from New York World to write a book review column three times per week for the same salary he received at Vanity Fair. This experience was not as positive, and most of Benchley's contributions were excised and the final product, Funny Face, did not have Benchley's name attached. [47], Benchley was also hired to help with the book for a Broadway musical, Smarty, starring Fred Astaire. The table gained prominence due to the media attention the members drew as well as their collective contributions to their respective areas. [4], His father served in the Union army for two years during the Civil War and had a four-year hitch in the Navy before settling again in Worcester, marrying and working as a town clerk. writer of whimsical musings on the vagaries of modern life. [47], Benchley continued to freelance, submitting humor columns to a variety of publications, including Life (where fellow humorist James Thurber stated that Benchley's columns were the only reason the magazine was read). '', See the article in its original context from. Before heading back to New York, Benchley took a role in the feature film Dancing Lady (1933),[57] which also featured Joan Crawford, Clark Gable, Fred Astaire, Nelson Eddy, and the Three Stooges. Matt Haber, "A One-Man Band Who Created an Oeuvre." On graduating from Harvard, where he had earned a reputation as an extraordinary after-dinner speaker, Benchley held a variety of jobs in publishing, business and social service. 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. The New Yorker published an average of forty-eight Benchley columns per year during the early 1930s. [4] The period, however, was full of literary abreaction to the Great War, and Benchley was aware of the published remorse of A.A. Milne. He enlisted in the U.S. Navy prior to the attack on Pearl Harbor and served as a public relations officer and on convoy duty in the Atlantic on destroyers and patrol craft. The British edition of the book carried a Leacock introduction, and Benchley, for his part in a tribute to Leacock later said he read everything Leacock ever wrote. Following his final New Yorker column in 1940, Benchley signed with Paramount Pictures for another series of one-reel shorts, all filmed at Paramount's Long Island studio in Astoria, New York. TimesMachine is an exclusive benefit for home delivery and digital subscribers. Upon learning of her termination, Benchley tendered his own resignation. [9], Robert Benchley met Gertrude Darling in high school in Worcester. Mr. Harvey asked him when he next had a vacation. The crematorium had given the family the wrong urn. (According to legend, he submitted a magazine piece titled I Like to Loaf two weeks after deadline. He admitted to occasional borrowing of a Benchley topic for his own reflection and writings. The revue was applauded by both spectators and fellow actors, with Benchley's performance in particular receiving the biggest laughs. The Blue Pencil: Interview with Horace J. Digby, January 19, 2007. 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. briefly as managing editor of the magazine Vanity Fair, where his Benchley's humor was molded during his time at Harvard. [73] Even the more stereotypical characters held these qualities, such as the incapable sportscaster Benchley played in The Sport Parade. Amazon.com: The Best of Robert Benchley product listing. [12] He joined the Delta Upsilon fraternity in his freshman year, and continued to partake in the camaraderie that he had enjoyed at Phillips Exeter while still doing well in school. Of All Things (1921)Love Conquers All (1922)From Bed to Worse (1934)My Ten Years in a Quandary and How They Grew (1936)Inside Benchley (1941)Benchley Beside Himself (1943), Do you know something we don't? Where was I? "[42], Following word of Benchley's resignation, freelance offers began piling up. By 1944 he was taking thankless roles in the studio's least distinguished films, like the rustic musical National Barn Dance. Nathaniel Benchley died in 1981 in Boston, Massachusetts and was interred in the family plot at Prospect Hill Cemetery in Nantucket. [78] Even the more stereotypical characters held these qualities, such as the incapable sportscaster Benchley played in The Sport Parade.[79]. The Writer: Dave Barry. is buried in the family plot on Nantucket. The result, which played for one night April 30, 1922 at the 49th Street Theatre, was No Sirree! Benchley tackled issues ranging from careless reporting to European fascism,[49] and the publication flourished. 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. The Washington Post, February 18, 2003. (New York City: Athena Books, 1989. And probably, part of it was the ocean coming in, a sense of urgency, that there are important things to do. career.) As Life would say following his eventual resignation in 1929, "Mr. Benchley has left Dramatic Criticism for the Talking Movies". The Benchley family was attending a public Fourth of July picnic when a bicycle messenger brought the notification telegram. Robert Benchley met Gertrude Darling in high school in Worcester. They became engaged during his senior year at Harvard University, and they married in June 1914. [10] Their first child, Nathaniel Benchley, was born a year later. A second son, Robert Benchley, Jr., was born in 1919. [11] It is hard to imagine, back here on the mainland. "[83] Outsider filmmaker Sidney N. Laverents lists Benchley as an influence as well,[84] and James Thurber used Benchley as a reference point, citing Benchley's penchant for presenting "the commonplace as remarkable" in The Secret Life of Walter Mitty. [41], The situation at Vanity Fair deteriorated upon management's return. From Toronto Leacock closely followed the increasing body of Benchley's published humor and wit, and opened correspondence between them. 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. 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