Robert Benchley

  • Born: September 15, 1889
  • Birthplace: Worcester, Massachusetts
  • Died: November 21, 1945
  • Place of death: New York City, New York

Biography

Robert Benchley was an American newspaper columnist and humorist who reached the height of his popularity in the 1920’s. Benchley also was a noted actor, critic, and editor. Born and reared in Massachusetts in the late 1800’s, Benchley enjoyed a middle-class upbringing. He attended Harvard University but did not complete his degree. At Harvard, he became involved in theater and served as editor of the Harvard Lampoon. After leaving Harvard, Benchley found work in advertising. Unsatisfied with the field, he soon found work at the New York Tribune, Vanity Fair, and the New Yorker, where he provided humorous articles whose topics ranged from mock scientific studies to parodies to witty remarks about his own life.

Benchley formed the Algonquin Round Table, an informal club of brilliant writers who met every day at the Algonquin Hotel in New York City for lunch. The heyday of the Algonquin Round Table lasted well into the 1930’s. Benchley’s involvement with the Algonquin Round Table led to his stage debut in 1922. He moved to Los Angeles in the mid-1930’s to pursue a full-fledged acting career, and he starred in numerous short movies and feature films and earned an Academy Award for one of his roles. Despite his distinguished film career, it is for his prolific and humorous essays that Benchley is best remembered. Nearly seventy-five essays that he composed for the New Yorker were published in five separate volumes in the 1930’s. Writings drawn from other sources eventually led to the release of sixteen books.