Robert Benchley.

On September 15, 1889, Robert Benchley was born in Worcester, Massachusetts, to Charles Henry Benchley. He attended South High Community School before moving on to Phillips Exeter Academy, where he developed his wit and writing skills. At Harvard University, he became editor of the Harvard Lampoon and gave a comic performance that defined his career: impersonating a befuddled after-dinner speaker, a routine he reprised for the rest of his life.

Benchley’s writing career began when he became managing editor of Vanity Fair, where he worked with Dorothy Parker and Robert E. Sherwood. He quit to protest Parker’s firing, demonstrating his principles. With Parker, Sherwood, Harpo Marx, and George S. Kaufman, Benchley was a regular at the Algonquin Round Table, a group of New York wits. He was among the first contributors to The New Yorker, influencing later writers including E.B. White and James Thurber. In the 1930s and 1940s, Benchley appeared in many short comedy films, often playing a befuddled everyman, and in feature films like Foreign Correspondent 1940 and The Reluctant Dragon 1941.

Robert Benchley married Gertrude Darling on June 6, 1914, and they remained together until his death in 1945. They had one son, Nathaniel Benchley, who became a writer and is the father of Jaws author Peter Benchley. Benchley was a teetotaler until age 31, then became an alcoholic. In his mid-50s he suffered from cirrhosis of the liver and high blood pressure, and died from complications of both.

Robert Benchley helped shape the tone of The New Yorker and mentored writers including E.B. White and James Thurber. His short comedy films, shown before features, made him a recognizable face and introduced a style of gentle self-deprecating humor. Benchley received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. He is the grandfather of Peter Benchley, author of Jaws. He is remembered as a founding member of the Algonquin Round Table and a master of the comedic essay.