Dorothy Parker
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Dorothy Parker (née Rothschild; August 22, 1893 – June 7, 1967) was an American poet, writer, critic, and
satirist This is an incomplete list of writers, cartoonists and others known for involvement in satire – humorous social criticism. They are grouped by era and listed by year of birth. Included is a list of modern satires. Under Contemporary, 1930-196 ...
based in New York; she was known for her wit, wisecracks, and eye for 20th-century urban foibles. From a conflicted and unhappy childhood, Parker rose to acclaim, both for her literary works published in magazines, such as ''
The New Yorker ''The New Yorker'' is an American weekly magazine featuring journalism, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons, and poetry. Founded as a weekly in 1925, the magazine is published 47 times annually, with five of these issues ...
,'' and as a founding member of the Algonquin Round Table. Following the breakup of the circle, Parker traveled to Hollywood to pursue
screenwriting Screenwriting or scriptwriting is the art and craft of writing scripts for mass media such as feature films, television productions or video games. It is often a freelance profession. Screenwriters are responsible for researching the story, de ...
. Her successes there, including two
Academy Award The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...
nominations, were curtailed when her involvement in
left-wing politics Left-wing politics describes the range of political ideologies that support and seek to achieve social equality and egalitarianism, often in opposition to social hierarchy. Left-wing politics typically involve a concern for those in soc ...
resulted in her being placed on the
Hollywood blacklist The Hollywood blacklist was an entertainment industry blacklist, broader than just Hollywood, put in effect in the mid-20th century in the United States during the early years of the Cold War. The blacklist involved the practice of denying empl ...
. Dismissive of her own talents, she deplored her reputation as a "wisecracker." Nevertheless, both her literary output and reputation for sharp wit have endured. Some of her works have been set to music; adaptations included the operatic song cycle '' Hate Songs'' by composer Marcus Paus.


Early life and education

Also known as Dot or Dottie, Parker was born Dorothy Rothschild in 1893 to Jacob Henry Rothschild and his wife Eliza Annie (née Marston) (1851–1898) at 732 Ocean Avenue in Long Branch,
New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...
. Her parents had a summer beach cottage there. Parker's mother was of Scottish descent. Her father was the son of Sampson Jacob Rothschild (1818–1899) and Mary Greissman (b. 1824), both
Prussia Prussia, , Old Prussian: ''Prūsa'' or ''Prūsija'' was a German state on the southeast coast of the Baltic Sea. It formed the German Empire under Prussian rule when it united the German states in 1871. It was ''de facto'' dissolved by an ...
n-born
Jews Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...
. Sampson Jacob Rothschild was a merchant who immigrated to the United States around 1846, settling in Monroe County, Alabama. Jacob Henry Rothschild was one of five known siblings. The others were Simon (1854–1908); Samuel (b. 1857); Hannah (1860–1911), later Mrs. William Henry Theobald; and Martin, born in
Manhattan Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...
on December 12, 1865, who perished in the sinking of the ''
Titanic RMS ''Titanic'' was a British passenger liner, operated by the White Star Line, which sank in the North Atlantic Ocean on 15 April 1912 after striking an iceberg during her maiden voyage from Southampton, England, to New York City, Unit ...
'' in 1912. Parker wrote in her essay, "My Home Town," that her parents returned to their
Manhattan Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...
apartment shortly after Labor Day so that she could be called a true New Yorker. Her mother died in Manhattan in July 1898, a month before Parker's fifth birthday. Her father remarried in 1900 to Eleanor Frances Lewis (1851–1903). Parker hated her father, who physically abused her, and her stepmother, whom she refused to call "mother," "stepmother," or "Eleanor," instead referring to her as "the housekeeper." However, her biographer, Marion Meade, refers to this account as "largely false," stating that the atmosphere in which Parker was growing up was indulgent, affectionate, supportive and generous. Parker grew up on the
Upper West Side The Upper West Side (UWS) is a neighborhood in the borough of Manhattan in New York City. It is bounded by Central Park on the east, the Hudson River on the west, West 59th Street to the south, and West 110th Street to the north. The Upper West ...
and attended a
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elementary school at the Convent of the Blessed Sacrament on West 79th Street with her sister, Helen, although their father was
Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...
and her stepmother was
Protestant Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century against what its followers perceived to b ...
. (
Mercedes de Acosta Mercedes de Acosta (March 1, 1892 – May 9, 1968) was an American poet, playwright, and novelist. Although she failed to achieve artistic and professional distinction, de Acosta is known for her many lesbian affairs with celebrated Broadway and ...
was a classmate.) Parker once joked that she was asked to leave following her characterization of the
Immaculate Conception The Immaculate Conception is the belief that the Virgin Mary was free of original sin from the moment of her conception. It is one of the four Marian dogmas of the Catholic Church, meaning that it is held to be a divinely revealed truth w ...
as "
spontaneous combustion Spontaneous combustion or spontaneous ignition is a type of combustion which occurs by self-heating (increase in temperature due to exothermic internal reactions), followed by thermal runaway (self heating which rapidly accelerates to high te ...
." Her stepmother died in 1903, when Parker was nine. Parker later attended Miss Dana's School, a finishing school in Morristown, New Jersey. She graduated from Miss Dana's School in 1911, at the age of 18, according to Authur, although Rhonda Pettit and Marion Meade state she never graduated from either school. Following her father's death in 1913, she played piano at a dancing school to earn a living while she worked on her poetry. She sold her first poem to '' Vanity Fair'' magazine in 1914 and some months later was hired as an editorial assistant for '' Vogue'', another
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magazine. She moved to ''Vanity Fair'' as a staff writer after two years at ''Vogue.'' In 1917, she met a Wall Street stockbroker, Edwin Pond Parker II (1893–1933) and they married before he left to serve in
World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
with the
U.S. Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cl ...
4th Division. Dorothy Parker filed for divorce in 1928. He later remarried, to Anne E. O’Brien, former probation officer of the Juvenile Court, and died at 39, following a dental procedure. It is disputed whether he died from an overdose of analgesic or sepsis resulting from multiple tooth extractions. Dorothy Parker retained her married name, though she remarried the screenwriter and former actor Alan Campbell, and moved to Hollywood.


Algonquin Round Table years

Parker's career took off in 1918 while she was writing theater criticism for ''Vanity Fair,'' filling in for the vacationing
P. G. Wodehouse Sir Pelham Grenville Wodehouse, ( ; 15 October 188114 February 1975) was an English author and one of the most widely read humorists of the 20th century. His creations include the feather-brained Bertie Wooster and his sagacious valet, Jeeve ...
. At the magazine, she met
Robert Benchley Robert Charles Benchley (September 15, 1889 – November 21, 1945) was an American humorist best known for his work as a newspaper columnist and film actor. From his beginnings at ''The Harvard Lampoon'' while attending Harvard University, thro ...
, who became a close friend, and
Robert E. Sherwood Robert Emmet Sherwood (April 4, 1896 – November 14, 1955) was an American playwright and screenwriter. He is the author of '' Waterloo Bridge, Idiot's Delight, Abe Lincoln in Illinois, Rebecca, There Shall Be No Night, The Best Years of Our ...
. The trio began lunching at the Algonquin Hotel on a near-daily basis and became founding members of what became known as the Algonquin Round Table. The Round Table numbered among its members the newspaper columnists
Franklin Pierce Adams Franklin Pierce Adams (November 15, 1881 – March 23, 1960) was an American columnist known as Franklin P. Adams and by his initials F.P.A.. Famed for his wit, he is best known for his newspaper column, "The Conning Tower", and his appearances a ...
and Alexander Woollcott. Through their publication of Parker's lunchtime remarks and short verses, particularly in Adams' column "The Conning Tower", Dorothy began developing a national reputation as a wit. When the group was informed that famously taciturn former president Calvin Coolidge had died, Parker remarked, "How could they tell?" Parker's caustic wit as a critic initially proved popular, but she was eventually dismissed by ''Vanity Fair'' in 1920 after her criticisms too often offended powerful producers. In solidarity, Benchley resigned in protest. (Sherwood is sometimes reported to have done so as well, but in actuality he had been fired in December 1919.) She soon started working for '' Ainslee's Magazine'', which had a higher circulation. She also published pieces in ''Vanity Fair,'' which was happier to publish her than employ her, ''
The Smart Set ''The Smart Set'' was an American literary magazine, founded by Colonel William d'Alton Mann and published from March 1900 to June 1930. Its headquarters was in New York City. During its Jazz Age heyday under the editorship of H. L. Mencken and ...
'', and ''
The American Mercury ''The American Mercury'' was an American magazine published from 1924Staff (Dec. 31, 1923)"Bichloride of Mercury."''Time''. to 1981. It was founded as the brainchild of H. L. Mencken and drama critic George Jean Nathan. The magazine featured wri ...
'', but also in the popular '' Ladies’ Home Journal'', '' Saturday Evening Post,'' and ''
Life Life is a quality that distinguishes matter that has biological processes, such as Cell signaling, signaling and self-sustaining processes, from that which does not, and is defined by the capacity for Cell growth, growth, reaction to Stimu ...
''. When
Harold Ross Harold Wallace Ross (November 6, 1892 – December 6, 1951) was an American journalist who co-founded ''The New Yorker'' magazine in 1925 with his wife Jane Grant, and was its editor-in-chief until his death. Early life Born in a prospector' ...
founded ''
The New Yorker ''The New Yorker'' is an American weekly magazine featuring journalism, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons, and poetry. Founded as a weekly in 1925, the magazine is published 47 times annually, with five of these issues ...
'' in 1925, Parker and Benchley were part of a board of editors established by Ross to allay the concerns of his investors. Parker's first piece for the magazine was published in its second issue. Parker became famous for her short, viciously humorous poems, many highlighting ludicrous aspects of her many (largely unsuccessful) romantic affairs and others wistfully considering the appeal of suicide. The next 15 years were Parker's greatest period of productivity and success. In the 1920s alone she published some 300 poems and free verses in ''Vanity Fair,'' ''Vogue,'' "The Conning Tower" and ''The New Yorker'' as well as ''Life'', ''
McCall's ''McCall's'' was a monthly American women's magazine, published by the McCall Corporation, that enjoyed great popularity through much of the 20th century, peaking at a readership of 8.4 million in the early 1960s. It was established as a small-f ...
'' and ''
The New Republic ''The New Republic'' is an American magazine of commentary on politics, contemporary culture, and the arts. Founded in 1914 by several leaders of the progressive movement, it attempted to find a balance between "a liberalism centered in hu ...
.'' Her poem, "Song in a Minor Key" was published during a candid interview with New York N.E.A. writer
Josephine Van de Grift Josephine may refer to: People * Josephine (given name), a given name (including a list of people with the name) * Josephine (singer), a Greek pop singer Places *Josephine, Texas, United States *Mount Josephine (disambiguation) * Josephine Coun ...
. Parker published her first volume of poetry, ''Enough Rope,'' in 1926. The collection sold 47,000 copiesSilverstein 35. and garnered impressive reviews. ''
The Nation ''The Nation'' is an American liberal biweekly magazine that covers political and cultural news, opinion, and analysis. It was founded on July 6, 1865, as a successor to William Lloyd Garrison's '' The Liberator'', an abolitionist newspaper t ...
'' described her verse as "caked with a salty humor, rough with splinters of disillusion, and tarred with a bright black authenticity." Although some critics, notably ''
The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...
'' reviewer, dismissed her work as "
flapper Flappers were a subculture of young Western women in the 1920s who wore short skirts (knee height was considered short during that period), bobbed their hair, listened to jazz, and flaunted their disdain for what was then considered accepta ...
verse," the volume helped affirm Parker's reputation for sparkling wit. Parker released two more volumes of verse, ''Sunset Gun'' (1928) and ''Death and Taxes'' (1931), along with the short story collections ''Laments for the Living'' (1930) and ''After Such Pleasures'' (1933). ''Not So Deep as a Well'' (1936) collected much of the material previously published in ''Rope,'' ''Gun,'' and ''Death'' and she re-released her fiction with a few new pieces in 1939 under the title ''Here Lies''. She collaborated with playwright
Elmer Rice Elmer Rice (born Elmer Leopold Reizenstein, September 28, 1892 – May 8, 1967) was an American playwright. He is best known for his plays ''The Adding Machine'' (1923) and his Pulitzer Prize-winning drama of New York tenement life, '' Street Sce ...
to create ''Close Harmony,'' which ran on Broadway in December 1924. The play was well received in out-of-town previews and was favorably reviewed in New York, but it closed after a run of only 24 performances. It became a successful touring production under the title ''The Lady Next Door''. Some of Parker's most popular work was published in ''The New Yorker'' in the form of acerbic book reviews under the byline "Constant Reader". Her response to the whimsy of
A. A. Milne Alan Alexander Milne (; 18 January 1882 – 31 January 1956) was an English writer best known for his books about the teddy bear Winnie-the-Pooh, as well as for children's poetry. Milne was primarily a playwright before the huge success of Winni ...
's '' The House at Pooh Corner'' was "Tonstant Weader fwowed up." Her reviews appeared semi-regularly from 1927 to 1933, were widely read, and were posthumously published in a collection under the name ''Constant Reader'' in 1970. Her best-known short story, "Big Blonde", published in '' The Bookman'' magazine, was awarded the
O. Henry Award The O. Henry Award is an annual American award given to short stories of exceptional merit. The award is named after the American short-story writer O. Henry. The ''PEN/O. Henry Prize Stories'' is an annual collection of the year's twenty best ...
as the best short story of 1929. Her short stories, though often witty, were also spare and incisive, and more bittersweet than comic; her style is often described as sardonic. Parker eventually separated from her husband, divorcing in 1928. She had a number of affairs, her lovers including reporter-turned-playwright
Charles MacArthur Charles Gordon MacArthur (November 5, 1895 – April 21, 1956) was an American playwright, screenwriter and 1935 winner of the Academy Award for Best Story. Life and career MacArthur was born in Scranton, Pennsylvania, the sixth of seven chil ...
and the publisher Seward Collins. Her relationship with MacArthur resulted in a pregnancy. Parker is alleged to have said, "how like me, to put all my eggs into one bastard.” She had an abortion, and fell into a depression that culminated in her first attempt at suicide. Toward the end of this period, Parker began to become more politically aware and active. What would become a lifelong commitment to activism began in 1927, when she became concerned about the pending executions of
Sacco and Vanzetti Nicola Sacco (; April 22, 1891 – August 23, 1927) and Bartolomeo Vanzetti (; June 11, 1888 – August 23, 1927) were Italian immigrant anarchists who were controversially accused of murdering Alessandro Berardelli and Frederick Parmenter, a ...
. Parker traveled to
Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...
to protest the proceedings. She and fellow Round Tabler Ruth Hale were arrested, and Parker eventually pleaded guilty to a charge of "loitering and sauntering", paying a $5 fine.


Hollywood

In 1932, Parker met Alan Campbell, an actor with aspirations to become a screenwriter. They married two years later in
Raton, New Mexico Raton ( ) is a city and the county seat of Colfax County in northeastern New Mexico. The city is located just south of Raton Pass. The city is also located about 6.5 miles south of the New Mexico–Colorado border and 85 miles west of Texas. His ...
. Campbell's mixed parentage was the reverse of Parker's: he had a German-Jewish mother and a Scottish father. She learned that he was bisexual and later proclaimed in public that he was " queer as a billy goat". The pair moved to Hollywood and signed ten-week contracts with Paramount Pictures, with Campbell (who was also expected to act) earning $250 per week and Parker earning $1,000 per week. They would eventually earn $2,000 and in some instances upwards of $5,000 per week as freelancers for various studios. She and Campbell worked on more than 15 films. In 1935, Parker contributed lyrics for the song " I Wished on the Moon", with music by
Ralph Rainger Ralph Rainger ( Reichenthal; October 7, 1901 – October 23, 1942) was an American composer of popular music principally for films. Biography Born Ralph Reichenthal in New York City, United States, Rainger initially embarked on a legal career, ...
. The song was introduced in '' The Big Broadcast of 1936'' by Bing Crosby. With Campbell and Robert Carson, she wrote the script for the 1937 film '' A Star Is Born'', for which they were nominated for an
Academy Award The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...
for Best Writing—Screenplay. She wrote additional dialogue for ''
The Little Foxes ''The Little Foxes'' is a 1939 play by Lillian Hellman, considered a classic of 20th century drama. Its title comes from Chapter 2, Verse 15 of the Song of Solomon in the King James version of the Bible, which reads, "Take us the foxes, the lit ...
'' in 1941. Together with Frank Cavett, she received a nomination for an Oscar for the screenplay of '' Smash-Up, the Story of a Woman'' (1947), starring Susan Hayward. After the United States entered the Second World War, Parker and Alexander Woollcott collaborated to produce an anthology of her work as part of a series published by
Viking Press Viking Press (formally Viking Penguin, also listed as Viking Books) is an American publishing company owned by Penguin Random House. It was founded in New York City on March 1, 1925, by Harold K. Guinzburg and George S. Oppenheim and then acquir ...
for servicemen stationed overseas. With an introduction by W. Somerset Maugham, the volume compiled over two dozen of Parker's short stories, along with selected poems from ''Enough Rope'', ''Sunset Gun'', and ''Death and Taxes''. It was published in the United States in 1944 under the title ''The Portable Dorothy Parker''. Hers is one of three volumes in the ''Portable'' series, including volumes devoted to
William Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...
and The Bible, that have remained in continuous print. During the 1930s and 1940s, Parker became an increasingly vocal advocate of civil liberties and civil rights, and a frequent critic of authority figures. During the Great Depression, she was among numerous American intellectuals and artists who became involved in related social movements. She reported in 1937 on the Loyalist cause in Spain for the Communist magazine, '
The New Masses ''New Masses'' (1926–1948) was an American Marxist magazine closely associated with the Communist Party USA. It succeeded both ''The Masses'' (1912–1917) and ''The Liberator''. ''New Masses'' was later merged into '' Masses & Mainstream'' (19 ...
.' At the behest of
Otto Katz Otto Katz (27 May 1895 in Jistebnice – 3 December 1952 in Prague, also known as André Simone amongst other aliases, was a Czech agent. He was one of the most influential agents of the Soviet Union under Stalin in Western intellectual and arti ...
, a covert Soviet Comintern agent and operative of German Communist Party agent
Willi Münzenberg Wilhelm "Willi" Münzenberg (14 August 1889, Erfurt, Germany – June 1940, Saint-Marcellin, France) was a German Communist political activist and publisher. Münzenberg was the first head of the Young Communist International in 1919–20 and est ...
, Parker helped to found the
Hollywood Anti-Nazi League The Hollywood Anti-Nazi League (later known as the American Peace Mobilization) was founded in Los Angeles in 1936 by Otto Katz and others to organize members of the American film industry to oppose fascism and Nazism. It was run by the American ...
in 1936, which the FBI suspected of being a Communist Party front. The Hollywood Anti-Nazi League's membership eventually grew to some 4,000 strong. According to David Caute, its often wealthy members were "able to contribute as much to ommunistParty funds as the whole American working class," although they may not have been intending to support the Party cause.Caute, David, ''The Fellow Travellers: Intellectual Friends of Communism,'' New Haven:
Yale University Press Yale University Press is the university press of Yale University. It was founded in 1908 by George Parmly Day, and became an official department of Yale University in 1961, but it remains financially and operationally autonomous. , Yale Universi ...
(1988),
Parker also served as chair of the Joint Anti-Fascist Refugee Committee's fundraising arm, "Spanish Refugee Appeal". She organized Project Rescue Ship to transport Loyalist veterans to Mexico, headed Spanish Children's Relief, and lent her name to many other left-wing causes and organizations. Her former Round Table friends saw less and less of her, and her relationship with Robert Benchley became particularly strained (although they would reconcile). Parker met
S. J. Perelman Sidney Joseph Perelman (February 1, 1904 – October 17, 1979) was an American humorist and screenwriter. He is best known for his humorous short pieces written over many years for ''The New Yorker''. He also wrote for several other magazines ...
at a party in 1932 and, despite a rocky start (Perelman called it "a scarifying ordeal"), they remained friends for the next 35 years. They became neighbors when the Perelmans helped Parker and Campbell buy a run-down farm in
Bucks County, Pennsylvania Bucks County is a county in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. As of the 2020 census, the population was 646,538, making it the fourth-most populous county in Pennsylvania. Its county seat is Doylestown. The county is named after the English ...
, near New Hope, a popular summer destination among many writers and artists from New York. Parker was listed as a Communist by the publication ''
Red Channels ''Red Channels: The Report of Communist Influence in Radio and Television'' was an anti-Communist document published in the United States at the start of the 1950s. Issued by the right-wing journal ''Counterattack'' on June 22, 1950, the pamphle ...
'' in 1950. The
FBI The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic intelligence and security service of the United States and its principal federal law enforcement agency. Operating under the jurisdiction of the United States Department of Justice, t ...
compiled a 1,000-page dossier on her because of her suspected involvement in Communism during the era when Senator Joseph McCarthy was raising alarms about communists in government and Hollywood. As a result, movie studio bosses placed her on the
Hollywood blacklist The Hollywood blacklist was an entertainment industry blacklist, broader than just Hollywood, put in effect in the mid-20th century in the United States during the early years of the Cold War. The blacklist involved the practice of denying empl ...
. Her final screenplay was '' The Fan,'' a 1949 adaptation of Oscar Wilde's ''
Lady Windermere's Fan ''Lady Windermere's Fan, A Play About a Good Woman'' is a four-act comedy by Oscar Wilde, first performed on Saturday, 20 February 1892, at the St James's Theatre in London. The story concerns Lady Windermere, who suspects that her husband is ...
'', directed by
Otto Preminger Otto Ludwig Preminger ( , ; 5 December 1905 – 23 April 1986) was an Austrian-American theatre and film director, film producer, and actor. He directed more than 35 feature films in a five-decade career after leaving the theatre. He first gai ...
. Her marriage to Campbell was tempestuous, with tensions exacerbated by Parker's increasing alcohol consumption and Campbell's long-term affair with a married woman in Europe during
World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...
. They divorced in 1947, remarried in 1950, then separated in 1952 when Parker moved back to New York. From 1957 to 1962, she lived at the Volney Residential Hotel on Manhattan's Upper East Side and wrote book reviews for ''
Esquire magazine ''Esquire'' is an American men's magazine. Currently published in the United States by Hearst Communications, it also has more than 20 international editions. Founded in 1933, it flourished during the Great Depression and World War II under t ...
.'' Her writing became increasingly erratic owing to her continued abuse of alcohol. She returned to Hollywood in 1961, reconciled with Campbell, and collaborated with him on a number of unproduced projects until Campbell died from a drug overdose in 1963.


Later life and death

Following Campbell's death, Parker returned to New York City and the Volney Residential hotel. In her later years, she denigrated the Algonquin Round Table, although it had brought her such early notoriety: Parker occasionally participated in radio programs, including '' Information Please'' (as a guest) and ''Author, Author'' (as a regular panelist). She wrote for the ''
Columbia Workshop ''Columbia Workshop'' was a radio series that aired on the Columbia Broadcasting System from 1936 to 1943, returning in 1946–47. Irving Reis The series began as the idea of Irving Reis. Reis had begun his radio career as an engineer and devel ...
'', and both
Ilka Chase Ilka Chase (April 8, 1905 – February 15, 1978) was an American actress, radio host, and novelist. Biography Born in New York City and educated at convent and boarding schools in the United States, England, and France, Chase was the only child ...
and
Tallulah Bankhead Tallulah Brockman Bankhead (January 31, 1902 – December 12, 1968) was an American actress. Primarily an actress of the stage, Bankhead also appeared in several prominent films including an award-winning performance in Alfred Hitchcock's '' L ...
used her material for radio monologues. Parker died on June 7, 1967, of a
heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when blood flow decreases or stops to the coronary artery of the heart, causing damage to the heart muscle. The most common symptom is chest pain or discomfort which ma ...
at the age of 73. In her will, she bequeathed her estate to
Martin Luther King Jr. Martin Luther King Jr. (born Michael King Jr.; January 15, 1929 – April 4, 1968) was an American Baptist minister and activist, one of the most prominent leaders in the civil rights movement from 1955 until his assassination in 1968 ...
, and upon King's death, to the NAACP.


Burial

Following her cremation, Parker's ashes were unclaimed for several years. Finally, in 1973, the crematorium sent them to her lawyer's office; by then he had retired, and the ashes remained in his colleague Paul O'Dwyer's filing cabinet for approximately 17 years. In 1988, O'Dwyer brought this situation to public attention, with the aid of celebrity columnist Liz Smith; after some discussion, the NAACP claimed Parker's remains and designed a memorial garden for them outside its Baltimore headquarters. The plaque read, In early 2020, the NAACP moved its headquarters to downtown Baltimore and the question about what would happen to Parker's ashes became the topic of much speculation, especially after the NAACP formally announced it would later move to Washington, D.C. The NAACP restated that Parker's ashes will ultimately be where her family wishes her to be. "It’s important to us that we do this right,” said the NAACP. Relatives called for the ashes to be moved to the family's plot in Woodlawn Cemetery, in the Bronx, where a place had been reserved for Parker by her father. On August 18, 2020, Parker's urn was exhumed. "Two executives from the N.A.A.C.P. spoke, and a rabbi who had attended her initial burial said
Kaddish Kaddish or Qaddish or Qadish ( arc, קדיש "holy") is a hymn praising God that is recited during Jewish prayer services. The central theme of the Kaddish is the magnification and sanctification of God's name. In the liturgy, different version ...
." On August 22, 2020, Parker was re-buried privately in Woodlawn, with the possibility of a more public ceremony later. "Her legacy means a lot," added representatives from the NAACP.


Honors

On August 22, 1992, the 99th anniversary of Parker's birth, the
United States Postal Service The United States Postal Service (USPS), also known as the Post Office, U.S. Mail, or Postal Service, is an independent agency of the executive branch of the United States federal government responsible for providing postal service in the U ...
issued a 29¢ U.S. commemorative
postage stamp A postage stamp is a small piece of paper issued by a post office, postal administration, or other authorized vendors to customers who pay postage (the cost involved in moving, insuring, or registering mail), who then affix the stamp to the f ...
in the Literary Arts series. The Algonquin Round Table, as well as the number of other literary and theatrical greats who lodged at the hotel, contributed to the Algonquin Hotel's being designated in 1987 as a New York City Historic Landmark. In 1996, the hotel was designated as a National Literary Landmark by the
Friends of Libraries Friends of Libraries (also Friends of the Library and may be shortened to Friends) are non-profit, charitable groups formed to support libraries in their communities. Support from the Friends groups may be financial, political and cultural. Group ...
USA, based on the contributions of Parker and other members of the Round Table. The organization's bronze plaque is attached to the front of the hotel. Parker's birthplace at the Jersey Shore was also designated a National Literary Landmark by Friends of Libraries USA in 2005 and a bronze plaque marks the former site of her family house. In 2014, Parker was elected to the New Jersey Hall of Fame.


In popular culture

Parker inspired a number of fictional characters in several plays of her day. These included "Lily Malone" in Philip Barry's ''Hotel Universe'' (1932), "Mary Hilliard" (played by Ruth Gordon) in George Oppenheimer's ''Here Today'' (1932), "Paula Wharton" in Gordon's 1944 play '' Over Twenty-one'' (directed by George S. Kaufman), and "Julia Glenn" in the Kaufman–
Moss Hart Moss Hart (October 24, 1904 – December 20, 1961) was an American playwright, librettist, and theater director. Early years Hart was born in New York City, the son of Lillian (Solomon) and Barnett Hart, a cigar maker. He had a younger brother ...
collaboration '' Merrily We Roll Along'' (1934). Kaufman's representation of her in ''Merrily We Roll Along'' led Parker, once his Round Table compatriot, to despise him. She also was portrayed as "Daisy Lester" in
Charles Brackett Charles William Brackett (November 26, 1892 – March 9, 1969) was an American screenwriter and film producer. He collaborated with Billy Wilder on sixteen films. Life and career Brackett was born in Saratoga Springs, New York, the son of ...
's 1934 novel ''Entirely Surrounded''. She is mentioned in the original introductory lyrics in Cole Porter's song " Just One of Those Things" from the 1935
Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street **Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...
musical ''Jubilee'', which have been retained in the standard interpretation of the song as part of the
Great American Songbook The Great American Songbook is the loosely defined canon of significant early-20th-century American jazz standards, popular songs, and show tunes. Definition According to the Great American Songbook Foundation: The "Great American Songbook" i ...
.
Prince A prince is a male ruler (ranked below a king, grand prince, and grand duke) or a male member of a monarch's or former monarch's family. ''Prince'' is also a title of nobility (often highest), often hereditary, in some European states. T ...
released "The Ballad of Dorothy Parker" in 1987; it was the first song recorded in his
Chanhassen, Minnesota Chanhassen is a city about southwest of Minneapolis in Carver County and partially in Hennepin County, Minnesota, United States. The southwest edge of the Minneapolis–Saint Paul suburbs, there is a mix of residential neighborhoods and rura ...
studio home. Those closest to him at the time suggest the association between the poet and the waitress by the same name in the song is a coincidence, but Dorothy Parker died on Prince's 9th birthday and chances are this brought her to his attention prior to writing the song. Parker is featured as a character in the novel ''The Dorothy Parker Murder Case'' by George Baxt (1984), in a series of ''Algonquin Round Table Mysteries'' by J. J. Murphy (2011– ), and in Ellen Meister's novel ''Farewell, Dorothy Parker'' (2013). She is the main character in "Love For Miss Dottie", a short story by Larry N Mayer, which was selected by writer
Mary Gaitskill Mary Gaitskill (born November 11, 1954) is an American novelist, essayist, and short story writer. Her work has appeared in ''The New Yorker'', ''Harper's Magazine'', ''Esquire'', ''The Best American Short Stories'' (1993, 2006, 2012, 2020), and ...
for the collection ''Best New American Voices 2009'' (Harcourt). She has been portrayed on film and television by Dolores Sutton in ''F. Scott Fitzgerald in Hollywood'' (1976), Rosemary Murphy in ''
Julia Julia is usually a feminine given name. It is a Latinate feminine form of the name Julio and Julius. (For further details on etymology, see the Wiktionary entry "Julius".) The given name ''Julia'' had been in use throughout Late Antiquity (e.g ...
'' (1977), Bebe Neuwirth in '' Dash and Lilly'' (1999), and
Jennifer Jason Leigh Jennifer Jason Leigh (born Jennifer Leigh Morrow; February 5, 1962) is an American actress. She began her career on television during the 1970s before making her film breakthrough as Stacy Hamilton in '' Fast Times at Ridgemont High'' (1982). Sh ...
in '' Mrs. Parker and the Vicious Circle'' (1994). Neuwirth was nominated for an Emmy Award for her performance, and Leigh received a number of awards and nominations, including a Golden Globe nomination. The
Wild Colonials Wild Colonials are an American alternative rock band formed in Los Angeles, California in 1992 by Angela McCluskey (vocals), Shark (guitar/vocals/percussion), Paul Cantelon (violin/piano), Scott Roewe (multi-instrumentalist) and Ian Bernard (dru ...
song, "Vicious Circle" from '' Life As We Know It EP'' (2007) is about Dorothy Parker. The chorus lyrics are, "I know how Dorothy Parker felt with someone in her way." Television creator
Amy Sherman-Palladino Amy Sherman-Palladino (born January 17, 1966) is an American television writer, director, and producer. She is the creator of the comedy-drama series ''Gilmore Girls'', ''Bunheads'', and ''The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel''. Sherman-Palladino has rece ...
named her production company ' Dorothy Parker Drank Here Productions' in tribute to Parker. Tucson actress Lesley Abrams wrote and performed the one-woman show ''Dorothy Parker's Last Call'' in 2009 in Tucson, Arizona at the Winding Road Theater Ensemble. She reprised the role at the Live Theatre Workshop in Tucson in 2014. The play was selected to be part of the Capital Fringe Festival in DC in 2010. In 2016, American actress Victoria Scott donned a Halloween costume of Parker in episode 5, season 8 of ''
Modern Family ''Modern Family'' is an American family sitcom television series created by Christopher Lloyd and Steven Levitan for the American Broadcasting Company. It ran for 11 seasons, from September 23, 2009, to April 8, 2020. It follows the lives of th ...
.'' In 2018, American drag queen Miz Cracker played Parker in the celebrity-impersonation game show episode of the Season 10 of ''
Rupaul's Drag Race ''RuPaul's Drag Race'' is an American reality competition television series, the first in the ''Drag Race'' franchise, produced by World of Wonder for Logo TV (season 1–8), WOW Presents Plus, VH1 (season 9–14) and, beginning with the f ...
''. In the 2018 film ''
Can You Ever Forgive Me? ''Can You Ever Forgive Me?'' is a 2018 American biographical film directed by Marielle Heller and with a screenplay by Nicole Holofcener and Jeff Whitty, based on the 2008 confessional memoir of the same name by Lee Israel. Melissa McCarthy sta ...
'' (based on the 2008 memoir of the same name),
Melissa McCarthy Melissa Ann McCarthy (born August 26, 1970) is an American actress, comedian, producer, writer, and fashion designer. She is the recipient of numerous accolades, including two Primetime Emmy Awards, and nominations for two Academy Awards and tw ...
plays Lee Israel, an author who for a time
forged Forging is a manufacturing process involving the shaping of metal using localized compressive forces. The blows are delivered with a hammer (often a power hammer) or a die. Forging is often classified according to the temperature at which it ...
original letters in Dorothy Parker's name.


Adaptations

In the 2010s some of her poems from the early 20th century have been set to music by the composer Marcus Paus as the operatic song cycle '' Hate Songs for Mezzo-Soprano and Orchestra'' (2014); Paus's ''Hate Songs'' was included on Tora Augestad's and the Oslo Philharmonic's album ''Portraying Passion: Works by Weill/Paus/Ives'' (2018) with works by Paus, Kurt Weill and Charles Ives. It was described by musicologist Ralph P. Locke as "one of the most engaging works" in recent years; "the cycle expresses Parker's favorite theme: how awful human beings are, especially the male of the species." In 2014, lyrics taken from her book of poetry ''Not So Deep as a Well'' were, with the authorization of the NAACP, used by Canadian singer Myriam Gendron to create a
folk Folk or Folks may refer to: Sociology *Nation *People * Folklore ** Folk art ** Folk dance ** Folk hero ** Folk music *** Folk metal *** Folk punk *** Folk rock ** Folk religion * Folk taxonomy Arts, entertainment, and media * Folk Plus or Fo ...
album of the same name. Also in 2014,
Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...
jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a m ...
bassist/singer/composer Katie Ernst issued her album ''Little Words'', consisting of her authorized settings of seven of Parker's poems. In 2021 her book ''Men I'm Not Married To'' was adapted as an opera of the same name by composer Lisa DeSpain and librettist Rachel J. Peters. It premiered virtually as part of Operas in Place and Virtual Festival of New Operas commissioned b
Baldwin Wallace Conservatory Voice PerformanceCleveland Opera Theater
an
On Site Opera
on February 18, 2021.


Bibliography


Essays and reporting

* * ''Constant Reader'' (1970) * (compilation of reviews, edited by Fitzpatrick; most of these reviews have never been reprinted) *Short story: A Telephone Call


Short fiction

;Collections * 1930: ''Laments for the Living'' (includes 13 short stories) * 1933: ''After Such Pleasures'' (includes 11 short stories) * 1939: ''Here Lies: The Collected Stories of Dorothy Parker'' (reprints of the stories from both previous collections, plus 3 new stories) * 1942: ''Collected Stories'' * 1944: ''The Portable Dorothy Parker'' (reprints of the stories from the previous collections, plus 5 new stories and verse from 3 poetry books) * 1995: ''Complete Stories'' (
Penguin Books Penguin Books is a British publishing house. It was co-founded in 1935 by Allen Lane with his brothers Richard and John, as a line of the publishers The Bodley Head, only becoming a separate company the following year.Elmer Rice Elmer Rice (born Elmer Leopold Reizenstein, September 28, 1892 – May 8, 1967) was an American playwright. He is best known for his plays ''The Adding Machine'' (1923) and his Pulitzer Prize-winning drama of New York tenement life, '' Street Sce ...
) * 1953: ''Ladies of the Corridor'' (with Arnaud D'Usseau)


Screenplays

* 1936: '' Suzy'' (with Alan Campbell, Horace Jackson and Lenore J. Coffee; based on a novel by Herman Gorman) * 1937: '' A Star is Born'' (with William A. Wellman, Robert Carson and Alan Campbell) * 1938: '' Sweethearts'' (with Alan Campbell, Laura Perelman and
S.J. Perelman Sidney Joseph Perelman (February 1, 1904 – October 17, 1979) was an American humorist and screenwriter. He is best known for his humorous short pieces written over many years for ''The New Yorker''. He also wrote for several other magazines ...
) * 1938: ''
Trade Winds The trade winds or easterlies are the permanent east-to-west prevailing winds that flow in the Earth's equatorial region. The trade winds blow mainly from the northeast in the Northern Hemisphere and from the southeast in the Southern Hemisp ...
'' (with Alan Campbell and Frank R. Adams; story by Tay Garnett) * 1941: '' Week-End for Three'' (with Alan Campbell; story by
Budd Schulberg Budd Schulberg (born Seymour Wilson Schulberg, March 27, 1914 – August 5, 2009) was an American screenwriter, television producer, novelist and sports writer. He was known for his novels '' What Makes Sammy Run?'' and ''The Harder They Fall;'' ...
) * 1942: ''
Saboteur Sabotage is a deliberate action aimed at weakening a polity, effort, or organization through subversion, obstruction, disruption, or destruction. One who engages in sabotage is a ''saboteur''. Saboteurs typically try to conceal their identiti ...
'' (with Peter Viertel and Joan Harrison) * 1947: '' Smash-Up, the Story of a Woman'' (with Frank Cavett, John Howard Lawson and Lionel Wiggam) * 1949: '' The Fan'' (with Walter Reisch and Ross Evans; based on ''
Lady Windermere's Fan ''Lady Windermere's Fan, A Play About a Good Woman'' is a four-act comedy by Oscar Wilde, first performed on Saturday, 20 February 1892, at the St James's Theatre in London. The story concerns Lady Windermere, who suspects that her husband is ...
'' by Oscar Wilde)


See also

* ''Dorothy Parker – Complete Stories'' * " Here We Are" (short story)


References


Further reading

*Randall Calhoun, ''Dorothy Parker: A Bio-Bibliography''. Westport, Connecticut: Greenwood Press, 1993. * Kevin C. Fitzpatrick
''A Journey into Dorothy Parker's New York''
Berkeley, CA: Roaring Forties Press, 2005. * John Keats, ''You Might As Well Live: The Life and Times of Dorothy Parker''. New York: Simon & Schuster, 1970. * Marion Meade, ''Dorothy Parker: What Fresh Hell is This?''. New York: Villard, 1988. *
S. J. Perelman Sidney Joseph Perelman (February 1, 1904 – October 17, 1979) was an American humorist and screenwriter. He is best known for his humorous short pieces written over many years for ''The New Yorker''. He also wrote for several other magazines ...
, "Dorothy Parker". In ''The Last Laugh''. New York: Simon & Schuster, 1981.


External links

* * * *
Dorothy Parker Society

Algonquin Round Table

Dorothy Parker
on Poeticous
Selected Poems by Dorothy Parker

Parker's resting place

Emdashes coverage
of Dorothy Parker
Dorothy Parker photo gallery; GettyImages
* *


Online editions

* * * *

section on Parker's works {{DEFAULTSORT:Parker, Dorothy 1893 births 1967 deaths 20th-century American non-fiction writers 20th-century American poets 20th-century American short story writers 20th-century American women writers Actresses from New York City American anti-fascists American humorists American people of German-Jewish descent American people of Scottish descent American satirists American socialists American women non-fiction writers American women poets American women screenwriters American women short story writers Hollywood blacklist Journalists from New York City Jewish American writers O. Henry Award winners People from Long Branch, New Jersey People from the Upper West Side Poets from New Jersey Screenwriters from New Jersey Screenwriters from New York (state) The New Yorker people Women satirists Writers from Manhattan 20th-century American screenwriters Conversationalists Algonquin Round Table 20th-century American Jews Members of the American Academy of Arts and Letters