When Organizations Collide
(The Robert Benchley Society Meets
The SandBaggers)
By Horace Digby,
-- Editor-In-chief -- SandBagger News
BOSTON,
Massachusetts -- David Trumbull, of the Boston Trumbulls, a humor
columnist and founder of the prestigious Robert Benchley Society is also
a zealous devotee of SandBagger Mag-e-zine.
"It changed
my life," Trumbull might have said, although it was hard to
understand his words clearly, due in large part to the
"medically-prescribed" Hannibal Lecter muzzle he wore during
our interview. "In addition to curing male pattern baldness,
the mag-e-zine taught me the secret of inner peace—especially that
article about Mad Mad Mad Mad Mad Cow Disease," mumbled
Trumbull. "More people need to read SandBagger Mag-e-zine. That is why I linked it to
our Robert Benchley Society
site."
After prattling
on for about an hour (evidence of his enthusiasm, or perhaps simply that
he forgot to take his meds again) Trumbull announced that since he
had become a reader of SandBagger Mag-e-zine, his doctors planed to release
him. But when asked if his release would be anytime soon,
Trumbull explained, "It's bound to take awhile to undo all these
straps and buckles."
The Robert Benchley Society
The Robert
Benchley Society honors that great American humorist who, together with a
small band of writers and journalists, set the tempo for national and
international media during the 1920s. Those lucky enough to join
this "vicious circle," as Dorothy S. Parker called the fellowship she helped
launch, lunched daily in the Rose room of the famous Algonquin Hotel at
59 West 44th Street in New York, with writers and celebrities—the
cream of the New York press—at a huge round table acquired by Maitre d'hotel and later Algonquin owner, Frank
Case.
Through wit and
media access this lunch group achieved international notoriety as,
"The Algonquin Round Table." Members and guests of the
Algonquin Round Table included: Robert Benchley, Dorothy S. Parker,
Alexander Woollcott, Edna Ferber, George S. Kaufmann, Franklin Pierce
Adams, Harpo Marks, Heywood Broun, Marc Connelly, Robert E. Serwood,
Tallulah Bankhead, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Earnest Hemingway, James Thurber,
Harold Ross, Peggy Wood and other noteworthies of the time.
Writing about
Algonquin Round Table members, critic Brooks Atkinson once said, "By
force of character, they changed the nature of American comedy and
established the tastes of a new period in the arts and
theater." But Atkinson's stodgy turn of phrase missed the
mark. Instead, it was Dorothy S. Parker who, with characteristic,
rapier-like wit and accuracy, observed that the only truly remarkable
accomplishment of the Round Table was that its members were
"becoming most famous for having lunch."
The
official SandBagger website, www.SandBaggers.biz, sponsored by SandBagger past
president Frank King is one of the few humor links selected by Trumbull
to share the limelight with icons like SandBagger friend Dave Barry. Other links include:
the Benchley related site, Kittens in
Underpants (no, it's not that kind of site); a Dorothy
Parker, Robert Benchley tribute called The Utica Drop
Forge and Tool Company; and sites dedicated to Benchley
Society members and friends including Erma Bombeck, Bob Newhart, S.
J. Perelman, Jean
Shepherd, H.
Allen Smith and James
Thurber. Trumbull's own charmingly funny
columns are archived at www.trumbullofboston.org. Trumbull's personal site
also contains a link to SandBagger friend Dita Von Teese, International Burlesque Star,
(which, by the way, actually is that
kind of site). Readers can also learn about a new play by
Robert Benchley's grandson, Nat
Benchley.
[Editor's Note: When equipment
problems on a return flight following official SandBagger business in Las
Vegas marooned Joe Daggy, Bill Putaansuu, Tim South and Kurt
Anagnostou at the Los Angeles Airport Radisson Hotel's lobby bar, they
met an exquisite young woman. Except for the small dog she carried,
she had arrived alone. Rather than let her be seated at an
inferior table, Daggy instructed his waiter to extend an invitation,
which the lady graciously accepted, to join the SandBagger
table with its excellent view of the entertainment (two musicians
performing the music of Lennon and McCartney). As it turned out the
musicians were friends whom the lady had come to see.
Remaining at the SandBagger
table throughout the evening, the she chatted about philosophy,
films, television (she was a producer for the
Playboy Channel), Hawaii, and of course, Beatles
music. "I am Dita," she had said when
introductions were made, and when asked for her last name, she repeated,
"I am Dita."]
Benchley Society Admits Daggy
By Lola Lane --
SandBagger News
NEW YORK -- David Trumbull today
announced that SandBagger Mag-e-zine publisher J. Omar Daggy had been
elected to membership in the prestigious Robert Benchley Society.
"Just as the
Algonquin Hotel remains a Mecca for humorists, nostalgia buffs and the
literati, the Robert Benchley Society has borne forth
a new venue in cyber space, where
spiritual heirs to the
Algonquin Round Table legacy can share their admiration for the works of
Robert Benchley, Dorothy S. Parker and their small but 'vicious circle'
of friends," Trumbull would have said, had he not lost his prepared
speech earlier while standing on line at the pari-mutuel window.
The select membership of
the Robert Benchley Society includes humor greats like Dave Barry, Bob
Newhart, Woody Allen and, although membership is said to be exclusive,
our own J. Omar Daggy was inducted in March.
Unwilling to
disclose exact details of the Society's rigorous screening procedure,
Trumbull did say, "Since we charge no dues and have no membership
application process, I consider everyone who expresses a positive
interest in the Society to be a Member." Even so, when asked
if other SandBagger
Mag-e-zine staff like Editor Horace J. Digby, and writers Lana Long,
Jayson Blair, Steven Glass and myself Lola Lane might be invited to join,
Trumbull suggested, with some sadness, that Society membership might not
be open to fictional characters.
IN OTHER NEWS,
the tooth fairy, "speaking for fictional characters
everywhere," appeared today at a press conference outside the
Algonquin Hotel, where, flanked by a team of lawyers, she denounced
The Robert Benchley society for its "biased and unfair treatment of
fictional characters."
"We plan a
massive class action suit against the Society. To show our
solidarity and unified support for fictional characters in all
professions and all walks of life, we have hired this team of honest
lawyers," the tooth fairy said, "to bring this
suit."
As presstime
David Trumbull, Dave Barry, J. Omar Daggy and Robert Benchley (may he
rest in peace) were unavailable for comment.
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