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. He was a close friend of actor Humphrey Bogart and wrote his biography in 1975. [65] This character, labeled the "Little Man" and in some ways similar to many of Mark Twain's protagonists, was based on Benchley himself; the character did not persist in Benchley's writing past the early 1930s, but survived in his speaking and acting roles. [66], In 1960, Benchley was posthumously inducted into the Hollywood Walk of Fame with a motion pictures star at 1724 Vine Street.[67]. [3][7], Edmund's fiance Lillian Duryea, a wealthy heiress, doted on Robert for many years, and Edmund's death may have seeded the pacifist leanings seen in Robert's writing. founded it. Nancy and I talked all the way home about how we, too, might live on the island perhaps wintering there, housesitting for the entitled while plying our crafts. Dave Barry, author, onetime humor writer for the Miami Herald, and judge of the 2006 Robert Benchley Society Award for Humor,[75] has called Benchley his "idol"[76] and he "always wanted to write like [Benchley]. He wrote The Off-Islanders (filmed as The Russians Are 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. It was not hard to imagine, standing on the bluffs, seeing how far the ocean had already come. Benchley was the protagonist in everything he wrote. WebBorn Robert Charles Benchley in Worcester, Massachusetts. "[82] Horace Digby claimed that, "[M]ore than anyone else, Robert Benchley influenced [his] early writing style. 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. The Washington Post, February 18, 2003. [49] In April 1920, Benchley landed a position with Life writing theatre reviews, which he would continue doing regularly through 1929, eventually taking complete control of the drama section. 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. briefly as managing editor of the magazine Vanity Fair, where his 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. 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. The Robert Benchley Society. [85] In 1944, Benchley starred as Mitty in an adaptation of the story for the radio anthology series, This Is My Best. Owing to an academic failure in his senior year due to an illness,[17] Benchley would not receive his Bachelor of Arts from Harvard until the completion of his credits in 1913. 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. 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. Campbell Scott portrays Robert Benchley. Once he became well-known, therefore, people would often approach him at parties and at other social gatherings and greet him with, "Say something funny, Mr. [32] Benchley accepted, and began work there in 1919.[33]. Much of his time in the films was spent spoofing himself,[76] whether it was the affected nervousness of the treasurer in The Treasurer's Report or the discomfort in explaining The Sex Life of the Polyp to a women's club. [33], Benchley filled in for P. G. Wodehouse at Vanity Fair at the beginning of 1916, reviewing theatre in New York. URL accessed May 21, 2007. In the summer of 61, I worked worked for bob Clark cutting grass. 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. Jaws author Peter Benchley. He was A founding member of the famous Algonquin Round Table in New York WebRobert Benchley was an actor who had a successful Hollywood career. Much of his time in the films was spent spoofing himself,[71] whether it was the affected nervousness of the treasurer in The Treasurer's Report or the discomfort in explaining The Sex Life of the Polyp to a women's club. For this, if no other reason, Billy Altman's ''Laughter's Gentle Soul'' is a welcome addition. 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). Benchley took this offer to Vanity Fair to see if they could match it, as he felt Vanity Fair was the better magazine, and Vanity Fair offered him the position of managing editor. ''You know,'' his widow told her sons with a smile, ''I can hear him laughing right now. URL accessed May 6, 2007. WebRobert Benchley. Although by his own account Benchley was not quite a writer and not The character is often befuddled by many of the actions of society and is often neurotic in a "different" way the character in How to Watch Football, for instance, finds it sensible for a normal fan to forgo the live experience and read the recap in the local papers. Some of Benchley's columns, featuring a character he created, were attributed to his pseudonym Brighton Perry, but most were attributed to Benchley himself. While he completed his year's work, his condition continued to deteriorate, and Benchley died in a New York hospital on November 21, 1945. "[36], Benchley was forced to take a publicity position with the Liberty Loan program, and he continued to freelance until Collier's contacted him with an associate editor position. 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. [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. Mrs. Benchley apologized profoundly and tried hard to atone for the remark. Where was I? WEDNESDAY, 5th Rodeo & Wood, chop. arged from an Army hospital, where he is convalescing from a minor operation. Charles Townsend Copeland, an English professor, recommended that Benchley go into writing, and Benchley and future Benchley illustrator Gluyas Williams from the Lampoon considered going into freelance work writing and illustrating theatrical reviews. 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 Nathaniel Benchley, Robert Benchley, a biography. In 1960 Benchley was posthumously inducted into the Hollywood Walk of Fame. 2. [70] This character, labeled the "Little Man" and in some ways similar to many of Mark Twain's protagonists, was based on Benchley himself; the character did not persist in Benchley's writing past the early 1930s, but survived in his speaking and acting roles. He served (New York City: Harcourt Brace, 1977. [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. 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. On April 22, 1945, he guest starred on the Blue Network's (soon to be ABC) top-rated radio series The Andrews Sisters Show, sponsored by Nash motor cars & Kelvinator home appliances. 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. 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. As Life would say following his eventual resignation in 1929, "Mr. Benchley has left Dramatic Criticism for the Talking Movies". He took a position with Curtis shortly after he received his diploma. [60] The early success of How to Sleep prompted MGM to rush two more short films featuring Benchley, How to Train a Dog, a spoof of dog-training techniques, and How to Behave, which lampooned etiquette norms. The table gained prominence due to the media attention the members drew as well as their collective contributions to their respective areas. [35] Sherwood, Parker, and Benchley became close, often having long lunches at the Algonquin Hotel. He wrote two articles a week: the first a review of non-literary books, the other a feature-style article about whatever he wanted. I should be far away in Footscray, a city of Bourke County, Victoria, Australia, pop. WebTop 3 Results for Robert C Benchley. That is as far as I got. Robert Benchleys income source is mostly from being a successful Actor. WebDirector Robert Benchley Robert Benchley Writer (Uncredited) Jack Chertok Producer Harry Rapf Executive Producer Film Details Genre Short Comedy Release Date 1935 Production Company Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc. Distribution Company Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc. Technical Specs Duration 10m 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. Among his early essays were some of his most clever: ''Opera Synopses: Some Sample Outlines of Grand Opera Plots for Home Study'' (''Immergluck has grown weary of always sitting on the same rock and with the same fishes swimming by every day, and sends for Schwul to suggest something to do'') and ''A Romance in Encyclopedia Land,'' a love story written in encyclopedia prose ('' 'Well,' he sighed, as he gazed upon the broad area of subsidence, 'if I were now an exarch, whose dignity was, at one time, intermediate between the Patriarchal and the Metropolitan and from whose name has come that of the politico-religious party, the Exarchists, I should not be here daydreaming. This, if no other reason, Billy Altman 's `` Laughter 's Gentle Soul '' is a welcome.. 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