Where in the World is Bob?

Awhile ago this inquiry came to the Robert Benchley Society:

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Hello. My name is Xxx Xxxxx.

I'm trying to put together a list of places where members of the Algonquin Round Table lived during their life and I'm having trouble finding home addresses where Mr Benchleyhung his hat and was wondering if you could help me out. I found three locations in Los Angeles, though I'm only sure about one of them.

The Garden Of Allah. The other two addresses are?

1722 WILCOX AVENUE
DONALD OGDEN STEWART RESIDENCE
Benchley is said to have lived here in the 1920s

727 CRESCENT DRIVE - BEVERLY HILLS
This is the other site

I'd appreciate any help you can give me. Thank you.

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Gordon Ernst responded:

Gertrude and Robert had a house in Scarsdale, N.Y., the address was 2 Lynwood Road, Scarsdale, N.Y.

Robert most famously lived in an apartment in the Royalton Hotel, 44 W. 44th St., N.Y., N.Y.

Here is some research Gordon did on the L.A. area:

The Garden of Allah,8152 Sunset Blvd. (West Hollywood, Sunset Blvd. and Crescent Heights). A veritable who’s who of celebrities and literary typeslived and partied here, of which Benchley was one of its most famous residents. Torn down in 1959, now a parking lot and strip mall.

Ambassador Hotel,3400 Wilshire Blvd. Benchley mentions in a 1928 letter that Dorothy Parker wasliving there, so he most certainly was there as a visitor or guest. The Cocoanut Grove nightclub was located within the hotel. The Ambassadorwas the site of
the Robert Kennedy assassination. It was torn down in February 2006.

Mark Twain Hotel,1620 N. Wilcox Ave., Hollywood. Benchley stayed here in July 1926 while trying to break into screenwriting. Also staying here at the same time were Donald Ogden Stewart, Marc Connelly, and Herman Mankiewicz. Hotel is still in
existence.

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David Trumbull responded:

I have collected the following information for the Boston area.

88 Charles St., Boston, Mass.
Benchley shared a room with his classmate George Gray.
April-May 1914
SOURCE: Robert Benchley: A Biography, Benchley, Nathaniel, 1955, McGraw-Hill

52 Plympton St., Cambridge, Mass.
ResidenceBenchley lived here freshman year.
SOURCE: Laughter's Gentle Soul: The Life of Robert Benchley, Altman, Billy, 1997, W. W. Norton & Company

Holworthy Hall, Harvard Yard.
Benchkley lived here 1909-1910
SOURCE: Robert Benchley: A Biography, Benchley, Nathaniel, 1955, McGraw-Hill

51 Brattle St., Cambridge, Mass.
Arthur Beane's apartment where the Benchleys stayed for a few months while Beane was away.
June-August, 1914
SOURCE: Laughter's Gentle Soul: The Life of Robert Benchley, Altman, Billy, 1997, W. W. Norton & Company

117 Church St., Watertown, Mass.
Benchley's apartment in Watertown.
Sept-Dec., 1915
SOURCE: Laughter's Gentle Soul: The Life of Robert Benchley, Altman, Billy, 1997, W. W. Norton & Company


Information about Benchley's boyhood homes in Worcester, Mass. is on our website at: http://www.robertbenchley.org/sob/index.htm

He also spent much time on the Island of Nantucket.