Dorothy Parker
Dorothy Parker (1893–1967) was an American short-story writer, poet, screenwriter and critic known for her witty and often acerbic remarks, and one of the founders of the Algonquin Round Table. She joined Vogue in 1916 and became drama critic of Vanity FairVanity FairVanity Fair is a magazine and digital media brand owned by Condé Nast, covering politics, business, arts and culture, entertainment and fashion. The title traces back to Dress & Vanity Fair in 1913, ceased publication in 1936 and was relaunched in 1983; it has since built a historical digital archive and hosts events such as its Oscar party.Open the full entry in 1917, leaving in 1920; her verse collection Enough Rope was a best-seller, her story “Big Blonde” won the 1929 O. Henry Award, and she co-wrote the film A Star Is Born (1937).
Contents6 sections
Key facts
1893Born in New Jersey
Dorothy Parker was born Dorothy Rothschild on August 22, 1893, in West End, near Long Beach, New JerseyNew JerseyNew Jersey is a state in the eastern United States on the Atlantic Ocean, bordered by New York State, Delaware, and Pennsylvania, with the Hudson River forming its northeastern boundary and the Delaware River its western boundary; its capital is Trenton and its largest city is Newark. One of the original 13 colonies, it became the third state to ratify the U.S. Constitution on December 18, 1787, and its population in the 2020 census (April 1, 2020) was 9,288,994.Open the full entry. She was educated at Miss Dana’s School in Morristown, New Jersey, and the Blessed Sacrament Convent School in New York City.[1]
1916–1920Vogue and Vanity Fair
She joined the editorial staff of Vogue in 1916 and the next year moved to Vanity Fair as its drama critic, working alongside Robert BenchleyRobert BenchleyRobert Benchley (1889–1945) was an American humorist, actor and drama critic. A Harvard graduate, he was managing editor of Vanity Fair in 1919 and later drama critic for Life and The New Yorker, and a member of the Algonquin Round Table; he made more than 40 short films, including How to Sleep (1935), which won the Academy Award for best live-action short.Open the full entry and Robert E. SherwoodRobert E. SherwoodRobert E. Sherwood (1896–1955) was an American playwright who was drama editor of Vanity Fair in 1919–20 and later editor of the humor magazine Life; his plays include The Road to Rome, The Petrified Forest, Idiot’s Delight, Abe Lincoln in Illinois and There Shall Be No Night. He wrote speeches for Franklin D. Roosevelt, directed the overseas branch of the Office of War Information during World War II, and wrote the Academy Award–winning film The Best Years of Our Lives.Open the full entry. After being discharged from Vanity Fair in 1920, she became a freelance writer.[1][2]
1920sThe Algonquin Round Table and The New Yorker
In the early 1920s she co-founded the Algonquin Round Table, an informal lunch group of writers, journalists and artists at the Algonquin Hotel in Manhattan, where she established herself as a brilliant conversationalist. From around 1927 she reviewed books for The New Yorker. Her verse collection Enough Rope became a best-seller, followed by Sunset Gun and Death and Taxes, later collected as Not So Deep As a Well; in 1929 she won the O. Henry Award for her short story “Big Blonde.”[1]
1933–1967Hollywood and Later Years
In 1933 she moved to Hollywood with her second husband, Alan Campbell, to write for films; together they worked on more than 15 films, including A Star Is Born (1937), which earned them an Academy Award nomination. After her husband’s death in 1963 she returned to New York City, where she died on June 7, 1967.[1]
Related Organizations, Websites, and Public Accounts
Vanity Fair: Official website: https://www.vanityfair.com/ (opens in a new window).[3]