DC Benchley Roundup

The Lost Locomotive Chapter of the Robert Benchley Society met on Monday, 1/30/12 at the Black Squirrel in Washington, DC. After dinner and cocktails, we got down to the business at hand, namely viewing Benchley shorts. We saw "The Trouble With Husbands" (and, to be fair, "The Man's Angle"), "The Forgotten Man", "Crime Control", "How to Take A Vacation", "Nothing but Nerves", "The Witness", "Keeping in Shape", and "Waiting for Baby". Society President David Trumbull was in attendance, as were the President and First Lady of the local chapter, Bill and Norma Hyder. SAVE THE DATE: The next meeting will likely be on Saturday, March 17, in Northern VA. More details when I get them.

DC Benchley Roundup Mon. 1/30/12

I am pleased to announce that the DC "Lost Locomotive" will hold a meeting on Mon. Jan. 30, 2012, 7:30 PM, at the Black Squirrel, 2427 18th Street NW, Washington, DC, 20009. The first half-hour will be socialization, followed by a showing of Benchley shorts, and who knows, maybe an Aleck Woollcott short, and if we go completely nuts, maybe a Donald Ogden Stewart short or two. We will discuss the date and time of our next meeting (partly depending on David Trumbull's schedule) and also the subject matter. I sent out a list of possible topics, if you have ideas, send them to me or bring them up at the meeting. Can't wait to get this started!

The Sound of Music & Laughter

The hills are alive with the sound of... laughter? The celebration of Christmas includes many traditions in our family, not the least of which is a viewing of The Sound of Music. For better and worse, the music from the film reverberates throughout my cerebral cortex non-stop for weeks well into the new year.

Who can forget the wise and kind Mother Superior (Mother Abbess) belting out the motivational anthem Climb Every Mountain?
The formidable actress who played the inspirational convent CEO was American stage actress Peggy Wood (February 9, 1892 - March 18,1978). Due to her advanced age, she was dubbed (for singing) by Margery McKay, but still garnered an Academy Award nomination for best supporting actress.

More than twenty years before she appeared in The Sound of Music, Peggy starred in the New York premiere of Noel Coward's classic play Blithe Spirit, in which she portrayed Ruth, whose husband Charles is hilariously tormented by the ghost of his deceased first wife Elvira.

But the best fact about Peggy Wood? She was a member of the Algonquin Round Table.

Telegram from Mr. Benchley

David Trumbull has traced the well-known "Street full of water. Advise." telegram anecdote back to the Saturday Evening Post of July 19, 1958, where, on page 13, in an article titled "I'm Always Surprising Myself" by David Niven as told to Dean Jennings, this paragraph appears:

I have even been a travel agent, in an unprofessional sort of way, I recall helping Douglas Fairbanks, Sr. plan a European itinerary for the late humorist Bob Benchley, and making special arrangements for him to visit some friends of mine who were staying in Venice. The day Benchley got there he sent us a cable which read: STREETS FULL OF WATER. ADVISE.

Who Was It Who Said...?

The line "Death ends a life, not a relationship" is "quoted on several websites with attribution to Robert Benchley, but none, at least not any of the sites that I visited, offer any verification (such as when and where was it uttered or printed). In fact, the various websites all seem to be simply swiping it from each other with no attempt to verify. So, my question is: Does anyone have, or care to at least attempt to find, a source for the line?

Dave Barry and Alan Zweibel at Thurber House

Thurber House kicks off 2012 with a special evening featuring the bestselling, Pulitzer-Prize winning columnist/humorist Dave Barry and Emmy-Award winning TV writer, SNL alum and Thurber Prize for American Humor winner, novelist Alan Zweibel!

Friday, January 13, 2012
Columbus Museum of Art
480 E. Broad St.
Reception: 5:30 - 6:45 p.m.; Reading at 7:00 p.m.

The two have joined forces to write Lunatics, a hilarious new novel of comic mayhem and sublime nuttiness. In alternating chapters, Barry and Zweibel have written an outrageous, laugh-out-loud humor masterpiece that tells the story of two 'joe schmoes' who meet through an escalating series of events, sending them running for their lives and ultimately solving everything from world conflicts to the perils of school soccer leagues. Universal Studios has already acquired the rights to make the film, Steve Carrell is attached to play one of the leads.

Get up close and personal with these two funnymen at a wine and hors d'oeuvres reception followed by a reading. The new book, to be published January 10, will be available for purchase and signing by both authors.

Tickets for the reception are $45 and include reserved seating at the reading, space is limited. The deadline to purchase tickets for the reception is Tuesday, January 10.

Tickets to the reading only are $25.

Tickets may be purchased at http://www.thurberhouse.org/special-events.html.

Video of Mark Russell at the 2011 Robert Benchley Society Annual Gathering

Mark Russell has us all cracking up with his witty informal performance at the 2011 RBS Annual Awards Dinner.

Thanks again to Mark and Ali for making the evening such a hit!