By 1944 he was taking thankless roles in the studio's least distinguished films, like the rustic musical National Barn Dance. is buried in the family plot on Nantucket. Of course, he said. [51], Benchley had continued to receive positive responses from his performing, and in 1925 he accepted a standing invitation from film producer Jesse L. Lasky for a six-week term writing screenplays at $500. [43] He continued meeting with his friends at the Algonquin, and the group became popularly known as the Algonquin Round Table. 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. Artists Association of Nantucket While Benchley's books and Paramount contract were giving him financial security, he was still unhappy with the turn his career had taken. Benchley re-entered Hollywood at the height of the Great Depression and the large-scale introduction of the talkie films he had begun working with years before. The Benchley legend grew fast, fueled by stories constructed by him and his equally witty friends. 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. [16] Benchley kept these achievements in mind as he began to contemplate a career for himself after college. with Deanna Durbin, noteworthy for a rare dramatic performance by Benchley. Besides the cancellation of his radio show, Benchley learned that MGM did not plan to renew his contract, and The New Yorker, frustrated with Benchley's film career taking precedence over his theatre column, hired a new critic. His star is located at 1724 Vine Street. WebRobert Benchley. Some of Benchley's columns, featuring a character he created, were attributed to his pseudonym Brighton Perry, but most were attributed to Benchley himself. [46] Unfortunately for Benchley, however, his writing a syndicated column for David Lawrence drew the ire of his World bosses, and "Books and Other Things" was dropped. URL accessed May 21, 2007. [35] Sherwood, Parker, and Benchley became close, often having long lunches at the Algonquin Hotel. He admitted to occasional borrowing of a Benchley topic for his own reflection and writings. 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 . '', See the article in its original context from. It is hard to imagine, back here on the mainland. 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. List of Robert Benchley collections and film appearances, Robert Benchley and the Knights of the Algonquin. The liberty gave his work new life, and the success of his pieces in the magazine convinced his editors to give him a signed byline column in the Tribune proper. [32] Benchley accepted, and began work there in 1919.[33]. I enjoyed this article, thank you. [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. 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. But now he has been an islander for a long [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. 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.[56]. . 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. [26] He continued his attempts to develop his own voice within the publication, but Benchley and Curtis were not a good match, and he eventually left,[27] as Curtis was considering eliminating Benchley's role and he had been offered a position in Boston with a better salary[28], Benchley held a number of similar jobs in the following years. There was a lot of begatting in the Benchley family. The table gained prominence due to the media attention the members drew as well as their collective contributions to their respective areas. 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 Benchley and Parker soon held down one corner of the Algonquin Round Table, that collection of wits whose quips are still repeated. 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. 1. In unthinking, stunned reaction, Maria ("Jenny") Benchley cried out "Why couldn't it have been Robert?! https://www.nytimes.com/1997/04/20/books/exit-laughing.html. WebBenchley showed at the Lobster Pot. They can get positively irate at the prospect that their summer homes and mansions on the bluffs will not last forever, that the Atlantic is reclaiming Nantucket fast enough to make everyone jittery. Benchley, Parker, and Sherwood responded with a memo of their own, followed by placards around their necks detailing their exact salaries for all to see. In 1960 Benchley was posthumously inducted into the Hollywood Walk of Fame. [73], Topical, current-event style pieces written for Vanity Fair during the war did not lose their levity, either. Husband of Gertrude Benchley Also, Benchley appeared as himself in Walt Disney's behind the scenes film, The Reluctant Dragon (1941). 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.''. The situation was not positive for Benchley, as the studio "mishandled" him and kept Benchley too busy to complete his own work. URL accessed May 21, 2007. [68], Topical, current-event style pieces written for Vanity Fair during the war did not lose their levity, either. The New Yorker published an average of forty-eight Benchley columns per year during the early 1930s. His explanatory note: "I was loafing. The first Robert Benchley was the one I thought I sort of knew, as much as you can know someone who died 11 years before you were born. When his older brother, Edmund, was killed in Cuba during the Spanish-American War, Edmund's fiancee, Lillian Duryea, the daughter of a wealthy starch-manufacturing family in Nyack, N.Y., took 9-year-old Robert under her wing, eventually paying for him to attend prep school and Harvard College. He also wrote and starred in 50 film shorts and acted in another 40 full-length movies -- including ''I Married a Witch,'' ''The Road to Utopia'' and Alfred Hitchcock's ''Foreign Correspondent.''. Rob Benchley was raised in Connecticut and, as a boy, maybe he was one of the entitled ones. He fit the profile. Back in the late forties after the war my dad ran a Sears store in Yonkers. The management sent out a memo forbidding the discussion of salaries in an attempt to rein in the staff. [47], Benchley was also hired to help with the book for a Broadway musical, Smarty, starring Fred Astaire. WebSo, how much is Robert Benchley worth at the age of 56 years old? It was not well received, and it was removed from the schedule. children. Every boy should have a dog, for a dog teaches a boy three valuable [2] Robert Benchley was born on September 15, 1889 in Worcester, Massachusetts, to Charles and Maria Benchley.[3]. May 2003. "), and his common man observations often veered into angry rants, such as his piece "The Average Voter," where the namesake of the piece "[F]orgets what the paper saidso votes straight Republicrat ticket. 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. He also made many memorable appearances acting in films such as Alfred Hitchcock's Foreign Correspondent (1940) and Nice Girl? Thanks to financial aid from his late brother's fiancee, Lillian Duryea, he could attend Phillips Exeter Academy in Exeter, New Hampshire for his final year of high school. [11] Nathaniel also became a writer, and he published a biography of his father in 1955. [68], Benchley's definition of humor was simple: "Anything that makes people laugh. [40] Sherwood, Parker, and Benchley became close, often having long lunches at the Algonquin Hotel. Jaws author Peter Benchley. WebRobert Charles Benchley (September 15, 1889 November 21, 1945) was an American humorist best known for his work as a newspaper columnist and film actor. His performances gave him some local fame, and most entertainment programs on campus and many off-campus meetings recruited Benchley's talents. He took a position with Curtis shortly after he received his diploma. WEDNESDAY, 5th Rodeo & Wood, chop. arged from an Army hospital, where he is convalescing from a minor operation. Be the first to ask a question about Robert Benchley Lists with This Book Radio Announcer, Author of books: The revue was applauded by both spectators and fellow actors, with Benchley's performance receiving the biggest laughs. [21] He continued his attempts to develop his own voice within the publication, but Benchley and Curtis were not a good match and he eventually left,[22] as Curtis was considering eliminating Benchley's role and Benchley was offered a position in Boston with a better salary. Robert Benchleys income source is mostly from being a successful Actor. While Benchley's books and Paramount contract were giving him financial security, he was still unhappy with the turn his career had taken. The situation was not positive for Benchley, as the studio "mishandled" him and kept Benchley too busy to complete his own work. [39] Benchley's work was typically published twice a month. (New York City: Athena Books, 1989. 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. The result, which played for one night April 30, 1922 at the 49th Street Theatre, was No Sirree! The Writer: Dave Barry. On one of these, Benchley wrote out, in very small handwriting, an elaborate excuse involving a herd of elephants on 44th Street. In the summer of 61, I worked worked for bob Clark cutting grass. His shortcoming was the submission of a "scholarly paper" which Benchley eventually rectified by a treatise on the U.S. Canadian Fisheries Dispute, written from the point of view of a cod. [53], During the time that Benchley was filming various short films, he also began working at The New Yorker, which had started in February 1925 under the control of Benchley's friend Harold Ross. His legacy includes written work and numerous short film appearances. His first novel Sail a Crooked Ship (1960) was filmed by Columbia Pictures in 1961. 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. WebTop 3 Results for Robert C Benchley. Time Magazine, January 8, 2006. 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. He wrote a biography of his father Robert in 1955. This worried Sherwood, as he felt it could jeopardize his forthcoming raise. , Smarty, starring Fred Astaire 's work was typically published twice a month 1944 he was unhappy! Which played for one night April 30, 1922 at the Algonquin, and work... 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