What did Robert Benchley, Tallulah Bankhead, George S. Kaufman, Harpo Marx, and Dorothy Parker have in common besides an artistic bent and a gleeful disdain for convention? They were members in good standing of the Vicious Circle, a.k.a. The Algonquin Round... [more]
What did Robert Benchley, Tallulah Bankhead, George S. Kaufman, Harpo Marx, and Dorothy Parker have in common besides an artistic bent and a gleeful disdain for convention? They were members in good standing of the Vicious Circle, a.k.a. The Algonquin Round Table. The group's moniker was inspired by its members' predilection to hold court while imbibing liquid lunches at New York City's Algonquin Hotel; during the Prohibition era, Round Tablers gathered daily at the "Gonk" for liquor, literary gossip, and laughter at the vicissitudes of life. Some critics now consider them to be the most notorious -- if not the most celebrated -- literary gathering in American letters. This sardonic band of actors, magazine editors, playwrights, newspaper writers, and critics created a timeless chapter of enduring cultural resonance, as evidenced by the steady stream of films, plays, and books enshrining their flippant wit and attitude. Unconnected by any binding philosophy or aesthetic, their work nonetheless shares their stamp: satirical edginess, world-weary wit, and urban sensibility. As writer Dorothy Parker demanded of her telephone callers, "What fresh hell is this?" [show less]