Nat Benchley
Encyclopedia
Nathaniel Robert "Nat" Benchley is a writer and actor who has performed on stage, television, and film. He is the grandson of humorist Robert Benchley
, the son of author Nathaniel G. Benchley
, and the brother of late author Peter Benchley
, who wrote Jaws
.
Since 1996 Nat Benchley has been performing Benchley Despite Himself, "a compilation of
Robert Benchley's best monologues, short films, radio rantings and pithy pieces as recalled, edited, and acted by his grandson, and combined with family reminiscences and friends' perspectives." He has performed it in Washington, DC; New York
, New York; Boston
, Massachusetts
; and other locations. The Washington Post called it "an engaging work that breaks with the usual conventions of one-man plays. Rather than inhabit the character of Robert Benchley the entire evening, Nat Benchley blends his own observations with re-creations of the routines and sketches that made his grandfather famous. The effect is at once seductive and distancing, perhaps a bit like Robert Benchley, whose humor often obscured his unhappiness."
He has recorded two CDs of Robert Benchley's monologues, Benchley on Benchley, Volumes 1 & 2. He also does narration work for commercials and television documentaries for the National Geographic Channel
and the Discovery Channel
.
His films include Diner
, Broadcast News
, and Home for the Holidays
. He also had a continuing character role as Det. Augustus Polk in HBO's The Wire
.
His television credits also include Counterplot - a mid 1980s show that taught arithmetic to elementary students. The show aired on public television. Mr. Benchley played the role of a private detective (a mathematical gumshoe) named Nick Malone who cracked cases by solving math problems. Each episode lasted approximately 20 minutes, with most of the episode taking place in the detective's office, wherein numbers key to the plot were written on paper on an easel. A recurring adversary was a man named The Shark, played by the late Doug Tillett.
In 1987, he performed in one of the first AIDS Awareness TV Public Service Announcements.
In 1988, he created the title role of "Church Key Charlie Blue" in Jim Lehrer's play. That same year, he and co-star Bill Grimmette were both nominated for Helen Hayes Awards (Washington, DC's, version of the Tonys) for their performances in Athol Fugard's "The Blood Knot."
In the 1990s Benchley revived two Peter Cook
and Dudley Moore
stage productions, Beyond the Fringe
and Good Evening in the Washington, DC, area.
From the early 1980s to the early 2000s, he was an officer of the Screen Actors Guild for the Washington/Baltimore branch. He served as Vice-President, President and National Board member.
According to his Web site, "Prior to disdaining regular work, he wrote and produced public relations for WETA, the Washington, D.C. public television station, worked on a White House national drug abuse prevention campaign and served in the Philippines and Viet Nam in the U.S. Naval Security Group during the unpopular Southeast Asian dust-up." In the early 1970s, he wrote and acted in an anti-shoplifting film for the Florida Attorney General's office titled "High Pockets at Full Noon." And in the mid-1990s he wrote a film for the FBI National Academy explaining their unique, multi-national networking program.
In 2009, he and co-editor Kevin C. Fitzpatrick published "The Lost Algonquin Round Table," a collection of early writings by members of the fabled New York literary gang.
In 2011, he recorded audio versions of four of his father's children's books for HarperCollins Publisher's "I Can Read" series.
He is a graduate of The Choate School and Stanford University
.
Robert Benchley
Robert Charles Benchley was an American humorist best known for his work as a newspaper columnist and film actor...
, the son of author Nathaniel G. Benchley
Nathaniel Benchley
Nathaniel Benchley was an American author.Born in Newton, Massachusetts to a literary family, he was the son of Gertrude Darling and Robert Benchley , the noted American writer, humorist, critic, actor, and one of the founders of the Algonquin Round Table in New York City...
, and the brother of late author Peter Benchley
Peter Benchley
Peter Bradford Benchley was an American author, best known for his novel Jaws and its subsequent film adaptation, the latter co-written by Benchley and directed by Steven Spielberg...
, who wrote Jaws
Jaws (novel)
Jaws is a 1974 novel by Peter Benchley. It tells the story of a great white shark that preys upon a small resort town, and the voyage of three men to kill it....
.
Since 1996 Nat Benchley has been performing Benchley Despite Himself, "a compilation of
Robert Benchley's best monologues, short films, radio rantings and pithy pieces as recalled, edited, and acted by his grandson, and combined with family reminiscences and friends' perspectives." He has performed it in Washington, DC; New York
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
, New York; Boston
Boston
Boston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...
, Massachusetts
Massachusetts
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...
; and other locations. The Washington Post called it "an engaging work that breaks with the usual conventions of one-man plays. Rather than inhabit the character of Robert Benchley the entire evening, Nat Benchley blends his own observations with re-creations of the routines and sketches that made his grandfather famous. The effect is at once seductive and distancing, perhaps a bit like Robert Benchley, whose humor often obscured his unhappiness."
He has recorded two CDs of Robert Benchley's monologues, Benchley on Benchley, Volumes 1 & 2. He also does narration work for commercials and television documentaries for the National Geographic Channel
National Geographic Channel
National Geographic Channel, also commercially abbreviated and trademarked as Nat Geo, is a subscription television channel that airs non-fiction television programs produced by the National Geographic Society. Like History and the Discovery Channel, the channel features documentaries with factual...
and the Discovery Channel
Discovery Channel
Discovery Channel is an American satellite and cable specialty channel , founded by John Hendricks and distributed by Discovery Communications. It is a publicly traded company run by CEO David Zaslav...
.
His films include Diner
Diner (film)
Diner is a 1982 comedy-drama film written and directed by Barry Levinson. Levinson's screen directing debut, Diner is the first in his "Baltimore films", which also include the subsequent Tin Men, Avalon and Liberty Heights.-Plot:...
, Broadcast News
Broadcast News (film)
Broadcast News is a 1987 romantic comedy-drama film written, produced and directed by James L. Brooks. The film concerns a virtuoso television news producer , who has daily emotional breakdowns, a brilliant yet prickly reporter and his charismatic but far less seasoned rival...
, and Home for the Holidays
Home for the Holidays (film)
Home for the Holidays is a 1995 comedy-drama film directed by Jodie Foster and produced by Peggy Rajski and Jodie Foster. The screenplay was by W. D. Richter based on the short story by Chris Radant...
. He also had a continuing character role as Det. Augustus Polk in HBO's The Wire
The Wire (TV series)
The Wire is an American television drama series set and produced in and around Baltimore, Maryland. Created and primarily written by author and former police reporter David Simon, the series was broadcast by the premium cable network HBO in the United States...
.
His television credits also include Counterplot - a mid 1980s show that taught arithmetic to elementary students. The show aired on public television. Mr. Benchley played the role of a private detective (a mathematical gumshoe) named Nick Malone who cracked cases by solving math problems. Each episode lasted approximately 20 minutes, with most of the episode taking place in the detective's office, wherein numbers key to the plot were written on paper on an easel. A recurring adversary was a man named The Shark, played by the late Doug Tillett.
In 1987, he performed in one of the first AIDS Awareness TV Public Service Announcements.
In 1988, he created the title role of "Church Key Charlie Blue" in Jim Lehrer's play. That same year, he and co-star Bill Grimmette were both nominated for Helen Hayes Awards (Washington, DC's, version of the Tonys) for their performances in Athol Fugard's "The Blood Knot."
In the 1990s Benchley revived two Peter Cook
Peter Cook
Peter Edward Cook was an English satirist, writer and comedian. An extremely influential figure in modern British comedy, he is regarded as the leading light of the British satire boom of the 1960s. He has been described by Stephen Fry as "the funniest man who ever drew breath," although Cook's...
and Dudley Moore
Dudley Moore
Dudley Stuart John Moore, CBE was an English actor, comedian, composer and musician.Moore first came to prominence as one of the four writer-performers in the ground-breaking comedy revue Beyond the Fringe in the early 1960s, and then became famous as half of the highly popular television...
stage productions, Beyond the Fringe
Beyond the Fringe
Beyond the Fringe was a British comedy stage revue written and performed by Peter Cook, Dudley Moore, Alan Bennett, and Jonathan Miller. It played in London's West End and then on New York's Broadway in the early 1960s, and is widely regarded as seminal to the rise of satire in 1960s Britain.-The...
and Good Evening in the Washington, DC, area.
From the early 1980s to the early 2000s, he was an officer of the Screen Actors Guild for the Washington/Baltimore branch. He served as Vice-President, President and National Board member.
According to his Web site, "Prior to disdaining regular work, he wrote and produced public relations for WETA, the Washington, D.C. public television station, worked on a White House national drug abuse prevention campaign and served in the Philippines and Viet Nam in the U.S. Naval Security Group during the unpopular Southeast Asian dust-up." In the early 1970s, he wrote and acted in an anti-shoplifting film for the Florida Attorney General's office titled "High Pockets at Full Noon." And in the mid-1990s he wrote a film for the FBI National Academy explaining their unique, multi-national networking program.
In 2009, he and co-editor Kevin C. Fitzpatrick published "The Lost Algonquin Round Table," a collection of early writings by members of the fabled New York literary gang.
In 2011, he recorded audio versions of four of his father's children's books for HarperCollins Publisher's "I Can Read" series.
He is a graduate of The Choate School and Stanford University
Stanford University
The Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University or Stanford, is a private research university on an campus located near Palo Alto, California. It is situated in the northwestern Santa Clara Valley on the San Francisco Peninsula, approximately northwest of San...
.