It's Okay to Stare

The Boston "We've Come for the Davenport" Chapter of the Robert Benchley Society will have a Round-up on Saturday, September 15, 2012, the anniversary of Mr. Benchley's birth. We have hired artists' models for an afternoon/evening of life drawing. For $25 ($30 for non-members), which covers the cost of the models and artists' supplies, beer, wine, tonic, and food, you can join us for sketching, food, drinks, and conversation. Maybe someone will read Mr. Benchley's essay "Artist’s Model Succumbs" to put us in the mood.

WHEN: Afternoon of Saturday, September 15, 2012.

WHERE: Beacon Hill, Boston, Mass.

HOW MUCH: $25 for Robert Benchley Society Members; $30 for non-members

NOT AN ARTIST? Don't worry. The idea is to expose ourselves to something new -- sketching -- in a fun atmosphere with friends. No one will judge your work.

Our models for this session are curvaceous Thea and muscular (welterweigh mixed martial arts fighter) Mike "The Stuntman."

Benchley in Worcester

Theatre - Performance
Thursday, August 23, 2012, 6:30 PM-8:30 PM
Worcester (Mass) History Museum's Fletcher Auditorium

Have a glass of wine -- or two -- and enjoy the wit and whimsy of some of Worcester's greatest writers. "Benchley, Behrman, & Bishop," the final in the a three-part performance series, will be on August 23 and promises laughs with a reading of "The Sex Life of the Polyp," from Robert Benchley's 1928 outrageously hilarious short film, which documents a dim-witted doctor attempting to describe the sex life of a polyp to a women's club. Excerpts from "The End of Summer" by S.N. Behrman will also be performed. Considered to be one of Behrman's best-written plays, "The End of Summer" details the story of a liberal household threatened by a devious psychoanalyst who is able to play upon their weaknesses in his desire for wealth and power. Poetry by Elizabeth Bishop will also be read.

An honor bar and hors d'oeuvres will be available.

RBS Announces Preliminary Schedule of Events for 2012 Annual Gathering

DATES: Friday through Sunday, October 12 through 14, 2012

LOCATION: Los Angeles, California

WHERE TO STAY: We do not have a block of rooms; however, a half dozen or so of us have already booked at
LeParc Suites
733 N. West Knoll Dr.
West Hollywood, CA 90069
310-855-8888
www.leparcsuites.com
reservations@leparcsuites.com

SCHEDULE

FRIDAY, OCTOBER 12, 2012

Afternoon private reception at the Venice Beach studio of Helen Garber.
Helen is the world's premier neo-noir photographer and a huge fan of Mr.
Benchley and Mrs. Parker. Those who were at her 2006 reception for the RBS
can attest that this is an event you must not miss.
www.helenkgarber.com

Dinner to be arranged.

SATURDAY, OCTOBER 13, 2012

9:45 a.m. Private tour of the J. Paul Getty Museum
www.getty.edu/museum
Paul O'Day of the Washington "Lost Locomotive" Chapter has arranged this
private event. Paul is friends with Rocco C. Siciliano, a leading patron of the arts and civic affairs in California, whose activities include being a board member of the Los Angeles Philharmonic Association (having served as President and then Chairman), Director of the Los Angeles Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA), and Trustee Emeritus of the J. Paul Getty Trust.

Luncheon TBA

Evening. Annual Awards Dinner
Jonathan Beach Club
Santa Monica, CA 90403
This year's presenter will be Arte Johnson, star of Rowan and Martin's Laugh-In
Rocco C. Siciliano (our Getty Museum connection) will be attending and has a fascinating biography
(http://crdl.usg.edu/people/s/siciliano_rocco_c/?Welcome)
Also attending will be "Mad Men" costar Meghan Bradley
Dress for the Annual Awards Dinner is black-tie with option of 1920s-1940s period.
SUNDAY, OCTOBER 14, 2012

Brunch
Canter's Fairfax Delicatessen and Restaurant
Los Angeles, California 90036
www.cantersdeli.com

Then off to the corner of Hollywood & Vine for a guided tour. See Robert Benchley's star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame and the stars of Benchley contemporaries, associates, and followers nearby. The Hollywood Walk of Fame consists of more than 2,400 five-pointed terrazzo and brass stars embedded in the sidewalks along fifteen blocks of Hollywood Boulevard and three blocks of Vine Street in Hollywood, California. The stars are permanent public monuments to achievement in the entertainment industry, bearing the names of a mix of actors, musicians, directors, producers, musical and theatrical groups, fictional characters, and others. The Walk of Fame is administered by the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce and maintained by the self-financing Hollywood Historic Trust.

All Comedy Radio Comes to Boston, Other American Cities.

According to a post on Radio Insight, Clear Channel Communications will be launching about a score of all-comedy radio stations over the coming weeks. Here in Boston, the formerly all-talk AM 1200 has already switched to Matty's Comedy 1200. The website has a search engine where you can enter the name of the comedian to get more information. A search of Benchley yielded Nat's recordings of his grandfather's stories. However, I could not find a play list with times to expect particular artists.

Benchley in Worcester

Theatre - Performance
Thursday, August 23, 2012, 6:30 PM-8:30 PM

Worcester (Mass) History Museum's Fletcher Auditorium

Have a glass of wine -- or two -- and enjoy the wit and whimsy of some of Worcester's greatest writers. "Benchley, Behrman, & Bishop," the final in the a three-part performance series, will be on August 23 and promises laughs with a reading of "The Sex Life of the Polyp," from Robert Benchley's 1928 outrageously hilarious short film, which documents a dim-witted doctor attempting to describe the sex life of a polyp to a women's club. Excerpts from "The End of Summer" by S.N. Behrman will also be performed. Considered to be one of Behrman's best-written plays, "The End of Summer" details the story of a liberal household threatened by a devious psychoanalyst who is able to play upon their weaknesses in his desire for wealth and power. Poetry by Elizabeth Bishop will also be read.

An honor bar and hors d'oeuvres will be available.

Washington/Baltimore RBS Chapter Plans Evening of Comedy to Celebrate Anniversary of the Birth of Robert Benchley

The Baltimore/Washington "Lost Locomotive" Chapter of the Robert Benchley Society is pleased to announce its first event of the season: "Wojo and Mickey: Heaven Help Us!” -- a night of comedy, improv and “fun” raising, will be held Saturday, September 15, at The Catholic High School of Baltimore, 2800 Edison Highway in Baltimore.

Starring national award-winning writer and humorist (and RBS member) Michele “Wojo” Wojciechowski and Mickey Cucchiella from 98 Rock, the evening is a fundraiser for Catholic High and the official launch of Wojo’s first book, Next Time I Move, They’ll Carry Me Out in a Box, a hilarious look at searching for a dream home, finding it, and enduring the move.

Doors open at 7 p.m. with light refreshments and cash bar, and the show starts at 8 p.m. Tickets cost $20 per person and may be purchased by calling 410-732-6200 x248 or visiting www.thecatholichighschool.org

All proceeds from ticket sales will match a 1:1 challenge grant from the France-Merrick Foundation to support Catholic High's Science Department, including a renovation of the chemistry lab and the creation of a first-ever science prep room for teachers. The room will be named in memory of M. Beverly Brooks Hanan '60, Wojo’s mother, and Sandra Forte '67, Mickey’s mother.

For more information, contact Matt Hahn at mathahn@yahoo.com.

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.

It appears (verified) in Mitch Albom's Tuesdays with Morrie (1997) but not attributed to Benchley.

Matthew Hahn, president of the Washington "Lost Locomotive" Chapter of the RBS, reports that the line appeared in Irish playwright Hugh Leonard's 1978 play Da.

It appears (verified) more expansively in Robert Woodruff Anderson's 1966 play (and 1970 movie) I Never Sang for My Father:

"Death ends a life, but it does not end a relationship, which struggles on in the survivor's mind torwards some resolution which it never finds."

This occurrence also is without attribution to Benchley.

Does anyone care to research this any further, or shall we say it is a Robert Anderson quotation with no Benchley association?