...and the winners are...

The Robert Benchley Society Announces the Winners in the 2014 RBS Humor Writing Competition. Our celebrity judge, Mark Russell, said of this year's finalist, "If the New Yorker ever rejected any of these, I would cancel my subscription." --

1. Lowell T. Christensen, of White Rock, N.M., for How to Help Children with Attention Deficit Disorder

   "Well worth the dizziness I experienced while reading it. The piece should include a prescription for Ritalin." -- Mark Russell

2. Cy Creed, of Hamburg, N.Y., for Just The Socks Please, Nothing But The Socks

   "Obviously, the pace of it – I was imagining Nichols and May." -- Mark Russell

3. Kathy Myers, of Petaluma Calif., for A Brief History of Writers

   "Funny digression in the first paragraph – I don’t question the validity of the writer’s anthropology premise." -- Mark Russell

4. Eileen Mitchell, of Palatine, Illinois, for The Science of Stumbling

   "Loved the magazine titles, 'Fido Fancier,' 'Splay Food Journal,' 'Arms Akimbo Magazine,' etc. – pure Benchley." -- Mark Russell

Benchley Movie "Syncopation" Recently Released on Blu-ray

Now available on Blu-ray director William Dieterle's Syncopation, starring Adolphe Menjou, Jackie Cooper, Bonita Granville, Tedd North and Robert Benchley. Recently restored and digitally remastered.

This musical chronicles the history of jazz music and features many of the most popular musical acts from the early 1940s, including Gene Krupa and Benny Goodman. The story centers on a trumpet player who falls for a young woman with an equal passion for music. Unfortunately, the girl is still grieving for her true-love whom she lost during the war. The trumpeter begins working to get the girl to trust her. He simultaneously tries to start a band. Songs include: "Goin' Up the River" (Dave Torbett, Leith Stevens), "You Made Me Love You" (Joseph McCarthy, James V. Monaco), "Only Worry for a Pillow," "Chicago Ragtime" (Stevens), "Under a Falling Star" (Rich Hall, Stevens, sung by Connie Boswell), and "Slave Market" (Hall Johnson).

NEWS FLASH...

The winners in the 2014/2015 Robert Benchley Society Award for Humor Writing Competition have been chosen and will be announced on this blog Wednesday. No fooling!

We are working with our judge, Mark Russell, on a date for the Award Dinner, which will be held in Washington, D.C.

The Annual Contest of the National Society of Newspaper Columnists (NSNC) is Extended to April 1st!

Procrastinators have been reprieved! Besides fame, winners and finalists get a token of fortune: $300 for first place, $200 for second and $100 for third. Finalists and any honorable mentions receive certificates. All will be announced and honored at the awards banquet during the NSNC Conference, June 25-28 in Indianapolis.

Click here for details

Boston Benchley Chapter Round-up Tomorrow

The Boston "We've Come for the Davenport" Chapter of the Robert Benchley Society will hold its monthly Roundup at the Downtown Harvard Club, high above Boston town on the 38th floor of One Federal Street, in the Financial District. We'll gather at the Crimson Pub on Thursday, February 19th, beginning at 5:30 p.m.
Dress code is informal or business casual. For more information, contact David Trumbull at david@robertbenchley.org.