Nat Benchley
| Nat Benchley | |
|---|---|
 Nat Benchley as Det. Augie Polk on HBO's The Wire |
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| Born | Nathaniel Robert Benchley |
| Other name(s) | Nathan |
| Occupation | Film, stage, TV actor |
Nathaniel Robert "Nat" Benchley is a writer and actor who has performed on stage, television, and film. He is the grandson of humorist Robert Benchley, the son of author Nathaniel G. Benchley, and the brother of late author Peter Benchley, who wrote Jaws.
Since 1997 Nat Benchley been performing Benchley Despite Himself, "a compilation of Robert Benchley's best monologues, short films, radio rantings and pithy pieces as recalled, edited, and acted by his grandson, and combined with family reminiscences and friends' perspectives." He has performed it in Washington, DC; New York, New York; Boston, Massachusetts; and other locations. The Washington Post called it "an engaging work that breaks with the usual conventions of one-man plays. Rather than inhabit the character of Robert Benchley the entire evening, Nat Benchley blends his own observations with re-creations of the routines and sketches that made his grandfather famous. The effect is at once seductive and distancing, perhaps a bit like Robert Benchley, whose humor often obscured his unhappiness."
He has recorded a CD of Robert Benchley's monologues, Benchley on Benchley. He also does narration work for commercials and television documentaries for the National Geographic Channel and the Discovery Channel.
His films include Diner, Broadcast News, and Home for the Holidays. He also had a continuing character role as Det. Augustus Polk in HBO's The Wire.
His television credits include Counterplot - a mid 1980s show that taught arithmetic to elementary students. The show aired on public television. Mr. Benchley played the role of a private detective (a mathematical gumshoe) who cracked cases by solving math problems. Each episode lasted approximately 20 minutes, with most of the episode taking place in the detective's office, wherein numbers key to the plot were written on paper on an easel. A recurring adversary was a man named The Shark.
In the 1990s Benchley revived two Peter Cook and Dudley Moore stage productions, Beyond the Fringe and Good Evening in the Washington, DC, area.
According to his Web site, "Prior to disdaining regular work, he wrote and produced public relations for WETA, the Washington, D.C. public television station, worked on a White House national drug abuse prevention campaign and served in the Philippines and Viet Nam in the U.S. Naval Security Group during the unpopular Southeast Asian dust-up."
He is a graduate of The Choate School and Stanford University.
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