Category Archives: New York City

Any and all documents and quotes related in any way to the cultural, social, economic, and political life of Five Boroughs of New York City.

The Algonquin Wits: Robert Benchley Vacations in Venice

Posted on December 3, 2020 | Leave a comment

“On a summer vacation trip Benchley arrived in Venice and immediately wired a friend: ‘STREETS FLOODED. PLEASE ADVISE.’”

Robert Benchley

Excerpted from: Drennan, Robert E., ed. The Algonquin Wits. New York: Kensington, 1985.

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The Algonquin Wits: Alexander Woollcott Defends Harpo Marx

Posted on November 10, 2020 | Leave a comment

“Struggling to pacify the ‘head of protocol’ at a Paris casino, after his companion Harpo Marx had distressed the gentleman with a few good-natured antics, Aleck turned to Harpo and asked, ‘How can I explain you?… There’s no French word for boob.’”

Excerpted from: Drennan, Robert E., ed. The Algonquin Wits. New York: Kensington, 1985.

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The Algonquin Wits: Robert Benchley on Easy Credit

Posted on October 29, 2020 | Leave a comment

“Better than anyone else, Benchley recognized his own irresponsibility in matters of finance. He once applied for a loan at his local bank and, to his shock, was granted the money with no questions asked. The next day he reportedly withdrew all his savings from the bank, explaining, ‘I don’t trust a bank that would lend money to such a poor risk.’”

Excerpted from: Drennan, Robert E., ed. The Algonquin Wits. New York: Kensington, 1985.

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Central Park in New York City

Posted on October 27, 2020 | Leave a comment

OK, for my erstwhile and possibly future colleagues in New York City, or anyone with students interested in plants, gardening, landscape architecture, the history of leisure time, the concept of public goods or the philosophy of the commons–or any of the numerous areas of inquiry it might stimulate, here is a reading on Central Park and its attendant vocabulary-building and comprehension worksheet.

If you find typos in these documents, I would appreciate a notification. And, as always, if you find this material useful in your practice, I would be grateful to hear what you think of it. I seek your peer review.

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The Algonquin Wits: George S. Kaufman Reviews a Play

Posted on October 16, 2020 | Leave a comment

“As a young theater critic and aspiring playwright, Kaufman was assigned to cover a new Broadway comedy. In his review he wrote: ‘There was laughter in the back of the theater, leading to the belief that somebody was telling jokes back there.’”

Excerpted from: Drennan, Robert E., ed. The Algonquin Wits. New York: Kensington, 1985.

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The Algonquin Wits: Heywood Broun on Taxation

Posted on October 7, 2020 | Leave a comment

“Any reasonable system of taxation should be based on the slogan of ‘Soak the rich.’”

Heywood Broun

Excerpted from: Drennan, Robert E., ed. The Algonquin Wits. New York: Kensington, 1985.

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The Algonquin Wits: Robert E. Sherwood on Presidential Elections and Succession

Posted on September 30, 2020 | Leave a comment

“Discussing modern presidential history, Sherwood once stated: ‘All Coolidge had to do in 1924 was to keep his mean trap shut, to be elected. All Harding had to do in 1920 was repeat ‘avoid foreign entanglements.’ All Hoover had to in 1928 was to endorse Coolidge. All Roosevelt had to do in 1932 was to point to Hoover.’”

Robert E. Sherwood

Excerpted from: Drennan, Robert E., ed. The Algonquin Wits. New York: Kensington, 1985.

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The Algonquin Wits: Ring Lardner on the Costs of Raising Sons

Posted on September 8, 2020 | Leave a comment

“Ring once referred to his prep-school-aged sons as his ‘four grandsons,’ explaining to a puzzled acquaintance that they cost him ‘Four grand a year.’”

Excerpted from: Drennan, Robert E., ed. The Algonquin Wits. New York: Kensington, 1985.

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The Algonquin Wits: Dorothy Parker on Teaching Undergraduates

Posted on August 25, 2020 | Leave a comment

“Mrs. Parker taught for a time at Los Angeles State College, where she found the students very ‘narrow.’ When reading Steinbeck’s The Grapes of Wrath, for example, the students felt the book was too dirty. ‘But then Steinbeck won the Nobel Prize,’ Mrs. Parker recalled. ‘After that they behaved as if they had given it to him.’”

Excerpted from: Drennan, Robert E., ed. The Algonquin Wits. New York: Kensington, 1985.

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The Algonquin Wits: Ring Lardner on Calvin Coolidge

Posted on August 19, 2020 | Leave a comment

“President Coolidge’s inimitable deadpan personality became a cherished target for the Round Tablers’ wit. After his first meeting with Coolidge, Lardner reported to the group that he had told the president a humorous anecdote, adding, ‘He laughed until you could hear a pin drop.’”

Excerpted from: Drennan, Robert E., ed. The Algonquin Wits. New York: Kensington, 1985.

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