Tell Us Your Favorite Benchley Piece

Okay, folks, let's give this forensics coach so great suggestions for Benchley pieces to read aloud.

Hello David,

I located your email address on the home page of the Benchley Society. I am a forensics coach and am always in search of great humorous stories for competition. My daughter is a three time national champion in high school speech and held the first place national ranking for Humorous Interpretation for the STOA league throughout the 2014-15 season and won first place at this year's tournament where over 500 students competed in various speech and debate events. We hope to choose a Benchley piece for the upcoming competitive season. Would you be able to direct me to one or more selections from Benchley that would offer a female character as the dominant figure for the piece.

Thank you for your time and I look forward to your reply.

Sincerely,

A.B.C.

Send your suggestions to David Trumbull at david@robertbenchley.org.

What's the 411 on Jane Wallis Burrell?

From the mailbag --

I am writing a piece about Jane Wallis Burrell, daughter of newspaper editor and writer, James Harold Wallis.

Wallis family legend has Harold being good friends with Robert Benchley and the Algonquian Round Table.

Here's a collection of his books from a brief biography:

Wallis authored eleven novels including The Woman He Chose (1934), The Politician: His Habits, Outcries, and Protective Coloring (1935), The Synthetic Philanthropist (1943) and The Niece of Abraham Pein (1943). He also wrote three volumes of poetry and numerous magazine articles.

1945 Once Off Guard was made into a film entitled The Woman in the Window starring Raymond Massey, Edward G. Robinson, and Joan Bennett. In 1949 "Strange Bargain" screen play by Lillie Hayward, based on a story by J. H. Wallis, was produced by Sid Rogell for RKO Radio Pictures. Inc.

other books Wallis authored were mystery-detective novels including The Servant of Death, Murder Mansion, Cries in the Night, The Capital City Mystery, Murder by Formula, The Servant of Death, and The Mystery of Vaucluse.

you ever heard of Wallis?

thanks

D.W.

If anyone can answer the question, email David Trumbull at david@robertbenchley.org.