# Eric Bentley

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**Eric Russell Bentley** (September 14, 1916 – August 5, 2020) was a British-born American theater critic, [playwright](/source/Playwright), singer, editor, and translator.[1] In 1998, he was inducted into the [American Theatre Hall of Fame](/source/American_Theater_Hall_of_Fame). He was also a member of the New York Theater Hall of Fame, recognizing his many years of cabaret performances.

## Biography

Bentley was born in [Bolton, Lancashire](/source/Bolton,_Lancashire), the son of Laura Evelyn and Fred Bentley.[2] Bentley attended [University College, Oxford](/source/University_College,_Oxford),[3] where his tutors were [J. R. R. Tolkien](/source/J._R._R._Tolkien) and [C. S. Lewis](/source/C._S._Lewis);[4] he received his degree in English in 1938. He subsequently attended [Yale University](/source/Yale_University) ([B. Litt.](/source/Bachelor_of_Letters) in 1939 and [PhD](/source/Doctor_of_Philosophy) in 1941), where he received the [John Addison Porter](/source/John_Addison_Porter) Prize.[5] Bentley taught History and Drama during the 1942 summer session at [Black Mountain College](/source/Black_Mountain_College), as well as from 1943 to 1944.[6]

Beginning in 1953, he taught at [Columbia University](/source/Columbia_University) and was a theatre critic for *[The New Republic](/source/The_New_Republic)*. He became known for his blunt style of theatre criticism, and was threatened with lawsuits from both [Tennessee Williams](/source/Tennessee_Williams) and [Arthur Miller](/source/Arthur_Miller) for his unfavorable reviews of their work. From 1960 to 1961, Bentley was the [Charles Eliot Norton](/source/Charles_Eliot_Norton) Professor at [Harvard University](/source/Harvard_University).

Bentley was one of the preeminent experts on [Bertolt Brecht](/source/Bertolt_Brecht), whom he met at the [University of California, Los Angeles](/source/University_of_California,_Los_Angeles) as a young man and whose work he translated extensively. He edited the [Grove Press](/source/Grove_Press) issue of Brecht's work, and recorded two albums of Brecht's songs for [Folkways Records](/source/Folkways_Records), most of which had never before been recorded in English.

In 1968, he signed the [Writers and Editors War Tax Protest](/source/Writers_and_Editors_War_Tax_Protest) pledge, vowing to refuse [tax payments](/source/Tax_payment) in [protest against the Vietnam War](/source/Opposition_to_United_States_involvement_in_the_Vietnam_War).[7]

His play *The Red, White, and Black* was produced at [La MaMa Experimental Theatre Club](/source/La_MaMa_Experimental_Theatre_Club) in 1971 in collaboration with the [Columbia University School of the Arts](/source/Columbia_University_School_of_the_Arts) Theatre Division.[8] Beginning in 1975, [Andrei Serban](/source/Andrei_Serban) directed multiple productions of Bentley's translation of Brecht's *[Good Woman of Setzuan](/source/The_Good_Person_of_Szechwan)* at La MaMa, with music by [Elizabeth Swados](/source/Elizabeth_Swados). The 1975 production[9] was followed by a production in 1976[10] and another production in 1978.[11] The [Great Jones Repertory Company](/source/Great_Jones_Repertory_Company) also took the show on tour to Europe in 1976.[12]

Bentley was elected a Fellow of the [American Academy of Arts and Sciences](/source/American_Academy_of_Arts_and_Sciences) in 1969.[13] That same year, he made his [homosexuality](/source/Homosexuality) public. In an interview in *[The New York Times](/source/The_New_York_Times)* on November 12, 2006, he said he was married twice before coming out at age 53, at which time he left his position as the [Brander Matthews](/source/Brander_Matthews) Professor of Dramatic Literature at Columbia to concentrate on his writing. He cited his homosexuality as an influence on his theater work, especially his play *Lord Alfred's Lover*, based on the life of [Oscar Wilde](/source/Oscar_Wilde).

He won an [Obie Award](/source/Obie_Award) for Lifetime Achievement in Theatre from the [American Theatre Wing](/source/American_Theatre_Wing) in 2006 and a [Robert Chesley Award](/source/Robert_Chesley_Award) in 2007.[14]

Bentley became an [American citizen](/source/American_citizen) in 1948 and had been living in [New York City](/source/New_York_City) for many years at the time of his death. He [turned 100](/source/Centenarian) on September 14, 2016.[15]

Bentley died at his home in Manhattan on August 5, 2020, at the age of 103.[16]

## Selected works

He wrote numerous books of theatre criticism. In addition, he edited *The Importance of Scrutiny* (1964), a collection from *[Scrutiny: A Quarterly Review](/source/Scrutiny_(journal))*, and *Thirty Years of Treason: Excerpts from Hearings Before the House Committee on Un-American Activities, 1938–1968* (1971). His most-produced play, *Are You Now Or Have You Ever Been: The Investigations of Show-Business by the Un-American Activities Committee 1947–1958* (1972), was based on the transcripts from the [House Un-American Activities Committee](/source/House_Un-American_Activities_Committee) collected in *Thirty Years of Treason*.[17]

### Books (theatre criticism)

- 1944: *A Century of Hero Worship*
- 1946: *The Playwright As Thinker*
- 1947: *Bernard Shaw*
- 1948: *The Modern Theatre*
- 1953: *In Search of Theater*
- 1956: *What Is Theatre?*
- 1964: *The Life of the Drama*
- 1971: *Thirty Years of Treason*
- 1972: *Theater of War*
- 1981: *Brecht Commentaries*
- 1987: *Thinking About The Playwright*

### Plays

- 1967: *A Time To Live & A Time To Die* (published by [Broadway Play Publishing Inc.](/source/Broadway_Play_Publishing_Inc.))
- 1972: *Are You Now Or Have You Ever Been: The Investigations of Show-Business by the Un-American Activities Committee 1947–1958*
- 1979: *Lord Alfred's Lover* (collected in *Monstrous Martyrdoms*, 1985)
- 1979: *Wannsee, a Tragi-Comedy* (published in [The Massachusetts Review](/source/The_Massachusetts_Review) Vol. 20, No. 3)
- 1985: *H for Hamlet*
- *German Requiem* (collected in *Monstrous Martyrdoms*, 1985)
- *Round One* (published by [Broadway Play Publishing Inc.](/source/Broadway_Play_Publishing_Inc.))
- *Round Two* (published by [Broadway Play Publishing Inc.](/source/Broadway_Play_Publishing_Inc.))
- "The Sternheim Trilogy" containing *The Underpants*, *The Snob*, & *1913* (published by [Broadway Play Publishing Inc.](/source/Broadway_Play_Publishing_Inc.))

### Discography

The following are recordings done by Bentley for [Folkways Records](/source/Folkways_Records).[18]

- 1961: "[Bertolt Brecht](/source/Bertolt_Brecht) before the [Committee on Un-American Activities](/source/Committee_on_Un-American_Activities): An Historical Encounter"
- 1963: "*[A Man's A Man](/source/A_Man's_a_Man)* by [Bertolt Brecht](/source/Bertolt_Brecht)"
- 1964: "Songs of [Hanns Eisler](/source/Hanns_Eisler)"
- 1965: "Bentley on Brecht: Songs and Poems of [Bertolt Brecht](/source/Bertolt_Brecht)"
- 1965: "Bertolt Brecht's *[The Exception and the Rule](/source/The_Exception_and_the_Rule)*"
- 1968: "*[The Elephant Calf](/source/The_Elephant_Calf)* and Small Comments on Large Themes"
- 1968: "Bentley on Biermann: Songs and Poems of [Wolf Biermann](/source/Wolf_Biermann)"
- 1970: "Eric Bentley Sings The Queen of 42nd Street"

## References

1. ["Eric Bentley"](http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/61180/Eric-Bentley). *Encyclopædia Britannica*. Retrieved April 11, 2015.

1. ["Who's who"](https://books.google.com/books?id=mK4KawdOUDMC&q=%22Fred+Bentley,+J.P.,+and+Laura+Evelyn+Bentley%22). 1968.

1. "In memoriam". *The Martlet*. '***(13): 52. Spring 2021.***

1. Riedel, Michael. "Obituaries - Eric Bentley". *New College Record 2020*

1. Historical Register of Yale University, 1937–1951 (New Haven: [Yale University Press](/source/Yale_University_Press), 1952), p. 80.

1. ["Eric Bentley's class, ca. 1943 :: Black Mountain College Collection"](http://digital.ncdcr.gov/cdm/ref/collection/p249901coll44/id/1115). *digital.ncdcr.gov*. Retrieved 2019-08-02.

1. "Writers and Editors War Tax Protest" January 30, 1968 *New York Post*

1. La MaMa Archives Digital Collections. ["Production: *Red, White, and Black, The* (1971)". Accessed August 15, 2018.](https://catalog.lamama.org/Detail/Occurrences/831)

1. La MaMa Archives Digital Collections. ["Production: *Good Woman of Setzuan, The* (1975)". Accessed August 15, 2018.](https://catalog.lamama.org/Detail/Occurrences/1490)

1. La MaMa Archives Digital Collections. ["Production: *Good Woman of Setzuan, The* (1976)". Accessed August 15, 2018.](https://catalog.lamama.org/Detail/Occurrences/1555)

1. La MaMa Archives Digital Collections. ["Production: *Good Woman of Setzuan, The* (1978)". Accessed August 15, 2018.](https://catalog.lamama.org/Detail/Occurrences/1870)

1. La MaMa Archives Digital Collections. ["Tour: Great Jones Repertory Company European Tour (1976)". Accessed August 15, 2018.](https://catalog.lamama.org/Detail/Occurrences/2913)

1. ["Book of Members, 1780–2010: Chapter B"](http://www.amacad.org/publications/BookofMembers/ChapterB.pdf). [American Academy of Arts and Sciences](/source/American_Academy_of_Arts_and_Sciences). Retrieved June 15, 2011.

1. ["2006 | Obie Awards"](http://www.obieawards.com/events/2000s/year-06/). *Obie Awards*. 2006. Retrieved August 15, 2018.

1. Eva C. Schweitzer (2016-12-30). ["Übersetzer Eric Bentley "Brecht witterte überall Sabotage und Nazis""](http://www.spiegel.de/einestages/uebersetzer-eric-bentley-bertolt-brecht-und-hanns-eisler-schwere-jahre-im-us-exil-a-1110414.html) (in German). *[Spiegel Online](/source/Spiegel_Online)*. Retrieved January 21, 2017.

1. Lehmann-Haupt, Christopher (August 5, 2020). ["Eric Bentley, Critic Who Provoked Lovers of Broadway, Dies at 103"](https://www.nytimes.com/2020/08/05/theater/eric-bentley-dead.html). *[The New York Times](/source/The_New_York_Times)*. Retrieved August 5, 2020.

1. ["Eric Bentley", *glbtq: An Encyclopedia of Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer Culture*, 2006](http://www.glbtqarchive.com/arts/bentley_e_A.pdf)

1. ["Eric Bentley - Smithsonian Folkways"](http://www.folkways.si.edu/search/?query=eric+bentley). *Smithsonian Folkways Recordings*. Retrieved August 15, 2018.

## External links

- ["Columbia fetes American theater legend Eric Bentley"](http://www.columbia.edu/cu/news/06/09/bentley.html)
- ["Eric Bentley at 90" in *The New York Times*](https://www.nytimes.com/2006/11/12/theater/12kalb.html?ref=arts)
- [Bentley discography on Folkways Records](http://www.folkways.si.edu/search/?query=eric+bentley)
- [Eric Bentley singing "Ballad on the Poet François Villon"](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xxwi-REJVag)
- [Bentley's page on La MaMa Archives Digital Collections](https://catalog.lamama.org/Detail/Entities/3321)

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Eric Bentley](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eric_Bentley) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eric_Bentley?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.