Yesterday (September 15) marked the birthday of one of my favorite writers, humorist and actor Robert Benchley, who was born in Worchester, Mass., in 1889 and died in 1945.
His earliest work was writing for the Harvard Lampoon while he was an undergraduate. Over a long career, Benchley wrote for Vanity Fair and The New Yorker. He also appeared in many funny film shorts in the thirties and forties. One of those, “How to Sleep,” won an Oscar for Best Short Film in 1935. He was my favorite funny writer from my high school days, when collections of his essays were made available for sale through school book fairs.
Benchley was also a regular member of the legendary Algonquin Round Table, a group of writers and actors who met regularly for long and often loud lunches at the Algonquin Hotel in New York City. Other members of the group included Harpo Marx (whose autobiography, Harpo Speaks, was a favorite of mine), Dorothy Parker, George S. Kaufman, Noel Coward, and Alexander Woolcott, along with a long list of other writers, actors, and musicians. When I made my first trip to New York on business, I made it my business to stop by the Algonquin and pay my respects.
Benchley died in 1945, but his family continued to contribute to the arts. Son Nathaniel Benchley published fiction books, including some for children. His grandson, Peter Benchley gave us the novel Jaws, which, of course, became a classic film.
A happy birthday memory to the Benchleys.
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