In his relatively short life Benchley managed to enjoy careers as a humorist, theater critic, newspaper columnist, screenwriter, radio performer and movie actor. His writing appeared in such magazines as the old Life and The New Yorker and his pieces were collected in several books with outlandish titles. Among the film directors he worked with were Alfred Hitchcock, Rene Clair, and Billy Wilder. Benchley won an Academy Award for one of the comedy shorts he wrote and starred in. Benchley was also a member in good standing of the Algonquin Circle in Manhattan and a longtime resident of the Garden of Allah in Hollywood. Talent runs in the Benchley family—his grandson wrote Jaws, and both his son, Nathaniel, and his grandson, Peter, became writers.

A genuinely funny man, it was his wit and humor that allowed Benchley to make his way through the...