The Short Answer is...

The following inquiry just came in by carrier pigeon:

Wikipedia lists this film as making $6 million in 1936:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_highest-grossing_films#High-grossing_films_by_year

They're not referring to the Benchley short subject, are they? Do you have any idea?

Thanks,

Mark M.

Reply:

Funny you should ask just now. With the "Oscars" being awarded recently, there was an article in Smithsonian (http://blogs.smithsonianmag.com/movies/2012/02/what-ever-happened-to-the-short-film/ that addresses the issue, although not that specific film. Indeed, short subjects were big business in the golden age of Hollywood and did sometimes exceed the box office gross of the feature films. So the short answer is, yes, assuming the the Wikipedia entry is correct, then Robert Benchley's short, "How to be a Detective" was the highest grossing picture of 1936.

For more information on, or to buy, Robert Benchley short subjects, see our website at http://www.robertbenchley.org/sob/shorts.htm.

RBS 2009 Winner Ed Tasca to Teach Writing Course

Working Through the Writing Process, April 23-29, 2012, at the Ghost Ranch, New Mexico.

Discover who you are as a writer, whether you’re interested in fiction or nonfiction, whether you plan for a career in writing or enjoy it purely as an avocation. This course covers the basic considerations every writer should address as you think, prepare for, and work through the writing process. For beginners and intermediate writers. Activities include student readings and discussion, and personal one-on-one assistance, time permitting.

Ed Tasca was born in Philadelphia, and retired to Mexico in 2006 after living in England and Canada for several years. He’s the author of six novels and works of fiction, including Apocalypse Now...Grab the Karaoke Machine!, The Fables of Leonardo da Vinci, Autobiography of a Worm, Lub Dub, The Fishing Trip That got Away, and Return of the Lost Horses, in addition to a parody of Columbus’s journey of discovery, Good Morning--Why is Everyone Here Naked?

Ed is also the creator of several optioned screenplays and was awarded
the Grand Prize at the 2011 Screenplay Search Competition. He won the prestigious Robert Benchley Society Humor-Writing Award for 2009 and was a runner-up three years in a row. Ed holds awards from humorpress.com and the M. Culbertson’s Life and Humor Award. His work has appeared in publications in the US, Canada, England, Italy, and Mexico and he has been anthologized in Laugh Your Shorts Off and America’s Funniest Humor.

Registration $360 + lodging & meals

Additional information, including lodging fees, can be found at
www.ghostranch.org or you may call the registrar at 505.685.4333, ext. 4155.

Thurber House Presents New York Times Bestselling Author Tim Dorsey

Tim Dorsey is back with his gloriously unrepentant Florida serial killer, Serge Storms, in Pineapple Grenade: A Novel. A hollow corpse, shark carcasses lying in busy intersections, touchy grenade launchers, superhero capes, among many other things set the tone in this latest laugh-riot thriller. Serge has finagled his way into becoming a secret agent in Miami, spying for the president of a banana republic. Will Serge still have time for a cocktail before Homeland Security brings him down?

Dorsey was a reporter and editor for the Tampa Tribune from 1987 to 1999, and is the author of 15 novels, including Electric Barracuda, Nuclear Jellyfish, Atomic Lobster, and Hurricane Punch. He lives in Tampa, Florida.

He will be reading on Wednesday, February 22, at 7:30 p.m. at the Columbus Museum of Art, 480 E. Broad St. A book signing and an informal coffee and cookie reception will follow the reading. Tickets are $20 general admission in advance, with discounts for students and seniors. All tickets at the door are $20. Tickets are available at www.thurberhouse.org, or by calling 614-464-1032 x. 11.

Very Interesting... but Stupid, Robert Benchley Society Announces 2012 Humor Writing Competition

The Robert Benchley Society announces comedian ARTE JOHNSON as celebrity judge of the 2012 ROBERT BENCHLEY SOCIETY AWARD FOR HUMOR WRITING.

Johnson, who is perhaps best know for his portrayal of "Wolfgang," a German soldier, on Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In, will pick and rank the top four essays from among the entries received by the Society and will give out the awards at the Ninth Robert Benchley Society International Annual Gathering, to be held this autumn in Los Angeles.

THE DEADLINE TO ENTER IS APRIL FOOL'S DAY (APRIL 1ST, 2012).

Entries must be:

• Original;
• Benchleyesque (in the sense of reflecting the Benchley style and humor);
• Not more than 500 words in length (times height times width);
• In the English language, such as it is these days; and
• Accompanied by the $10 entry fee.

Entries are limited to one per person. Submission of an entry to the competition grants the Robert Benchley Society permission to publish the entry on the Society's website and online newsletter. All other rights are retained by the author.

Judging Rules. All judging will be done in accordance with WBC rules:

1. There is no standing 8 count and no 3 knockdown rule;
2. Fighter can be saved by the bell in the last round only;
3. A 10-point must system is in effect; and
4. Accidental head butt goes to the scorecard after the fourth round.
5. None of the above.
6. Officers and family members of officers of the National RBS, and judges are excluded.

The top four finalist entries will be ranked 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and 4th by ARTE JOHNSON. Winners will be announced in JUNE 2012, by the Robert Benchley Society.

Required Electronic Submission Procedure. Entries must be accompanied by $10 entry fee, payable through PayPal, which funds will be used by the Society exclusively to cover the costs associated with the competition, to buy the plaque(s) and other insignificant prizes for the winner(s) and, so far as possible, pay for the cost of the first-place winner attending the Annual Gathering and Award Ceremony. Entries must be in MS Word or HTML format with no identifying information (such as name, address, etc.) in the entry. To enter click here and follow the instructions.

DEADLINE TO ENTER IS APRIL 1ST.

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." RBS 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.