Delanceyplace.com 05/16/06-Robert Benchley

In todays excerpt, Robert Benchley (1889-1945), American author, actor, drama critic, humorist and member of the Algonquin roundtable. Benchley published 12 books of short stories, wrote and starred in 48 short films (winning the 1935 Oscar for How to Sleep), wrote and acted in 38 feature films, published more than 600 stories in various magazines, and was drama critic for Life magazine and The New Yorker. Samples of Benchleys wit include:

Drawing on my fine command of the English language, I said nothing

Drinking makes such fools of people, and people are such fools to begin with, that its compounding a felony.

There are two kinds of people in the world, those who believe there are two kinds of people in the world, and those who dont.

Tell us your phobias, and we will tell you what you are afraid of.

Of his own biography, Benchley wrote:

Robert Charles Benchley, born on the Isle of Wight, September 15, 1807. Shipped as a cabin boy on the Florence J. Marble, 1815. Arrested for bigamy and murder in Port Said, 1817. Released, 1820. Wrote Tale of Two Cities. Married Princess Anastasia of Portugal, 1831. Children: Prince Ruprecht and several little girls. Wrote Uncle Toms Cabin, 1850. Editor of Godeys Ladies Book, 1851-1856. Began Les Miserables In 1870, finished by Victor Hugo. Died 1871. Buried in Westminster Abbey.

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