Robert Benchley (1889-1945) was the first modern humorist. After inventing the magazine parody while an undergraduate at The Harvard Lampoon, Benchley defined short humor in the 1920s and 30s, moving it away from the Twain-flavored, dialect-heavy crackerbarrel stuff that sprung up after the Civil War, and towards an urban, ironic, overwhelmed wisenheimer persona—elements that still dominate today.
Best remembered as a founding member of the Algonquin Round Table, Benchley wrote humor for Vanity Fair, Life, and as a syndicated columnist, as well as contributing much-needed star-power to the then-fledgling New Yorker. In the late 20s, Benchley developed an unlooked-for but lucrative career as a stage performer, delivering “The Treasurer’s Report” and other gems of authoritative incompetence. His latter years were spent well-paid but unfulfilled in Hollywood, playing bit parts in movies and making a series of shorts, one of which, “How To Sleep,” netted him an Oscar. Benchley’s laid-back befuddlement, and magpie mixing of high and low influences (usually as a mock-authority figure) would come to define the style of literary humor for the next fifty years. Less literary and acid than Thurber, more approachable than Perelman, Robert Benchley influenced everyone from Woody Allen to Doug Kenney and Dave Barry.
Love Conquers All (1922)
The Record is proud to post Robert Benchley’s Love Conquers All. This book was originally published in 1922 and contains short humor written by Benchley for Life, The New York World, The New York Tribune, The Detroit Athletic Club News, and The Consolidated Press Association. The pieces in this collection range from bridge to kids to the tragedy of a missing hat.