# Nat Benchley > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Nat_Benchley > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Nat_Benchley.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nat_Benchley > Source revision: 1354351015 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) American writer and actor This biography of a living person needs additional citations for verification. Please help by adding reliable sources. Contentious material about living persons that is unsourced or poorly sourced must be removed immediately from the article and its talk page, especially if potentially libelous. Find sources: "Nat Benchley" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (November 2010) (Learn how and when to remove this message) Nat Benchley Benchley as Det. Augie Polk on HBO's The Wire Born Nathaniel Robert Benchley Education Stanford University Occupation Actor Father Nathaniel Benchley Relatives Robert Benchley (grandfather) Peter Benchley (brother) **Nathaniel Robert Benchley** is an American actor who has performed for stage, television, and cinema. ## Early life and education Benchley is the son of [Nathaniel Benchley](/source/Nathaniel_Benchley), an author, and Marjorie (Bradford). He is the grandson of humorist [Robert Benchley](/source/Robert_Benchley), a founding member of the [Algonquin Round Table](/source/Algonquin_Round_Table). He is the brother of author [Peter Benchley](/source/Peter_Benchley), who authored the novel *[Jaws](/source/Jaws_(novel))*. He is a graduate of The [Choate School](/source/Choate_School) and [Stanford University](/source/Stanford_University). ## Career Benchley served in the [United States Navy](/source/United_States_Navy) and was assigned to the [Naval Security Group](/source/Naval_Security_Group) during the [Vietnam War](/source/Vietnam_War). He later worked for a public television station in Washington, D.C. During the early-1970s, he wrote and acted in an anti-shoplifting film for the Florida Attorney General's office titled "High Pockets At Full Noon". In 1999, he wrote a script for the [FBI National Academy](/source/FBI_National_Academy) explaining their multi-national networking program.[1] Since 1996,[*[citation needed](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Citation_needed)*] Benchley has been performing a show named *Benchley Despite Himself*,[2] which he describes as "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".[3] He has performed it in [Washington, D.C.](/source/Washington%2C_D.C.); [New York](/source/New_York_City), [New York](/source/New_York_State); [Boston](/source/Boston), [Massachusetts](/source/Massachusetts); and other locations. *[The Washington Post](/source/The_Washington_Post)* termed 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."[2] He has recorded two CDs of Robert Benchley's monologues, *Benchley On Benchley, Volumes 1 & 2*. He also does narration work for commercials and television documentaries for the [National Geographic Channel](/source/National_Geographic_Channel) and the [Discovery Channel](/source/Discovery_Channel). His movies include *[Diner](/source/Diner_(1982_film))*, *[Broadcast News](/source/Broadcast_News_(film))*, and *[Home for the Holidays](/source/Home_for_the_Holidays_(1995_film))*. He also had a continuing character role as [Det. Augustus Polk](/source/List_of_characters_from_The_Wire#Augustus_Polk) in [HBO](/source/HBO)'s television series *[The Wire](/source/The_Wire_(TV_series))*. In 1988, he created the title role of "Church Key Charlie Blue" in [Jim Lehrer](/source/Jim_Lehrer)'s play. That same year, he and co-actor Bill Grimmette were nominated for a [Helen Hayes Award](/source/Helen_Hayes_Award) for their performances in Athol Fugard's show "The Blood Knot". During the 1990s, Benchley revived two [Peter Cook](/source/Peter_Cook) and [Dudley Moore](/source/Dudley_Moore) stage productions, *[Beyond the Fringe](/source/Beyond_the_Fringe)* and *Good Evening* in the Washington, D.C., area. He also appeared as a character of the 1996 [video game](/source/Video_game) *[The Sacred Mirror of Kofun](/source/The_Sacred_Mirror_of_Kofun)*. From the early 1980s to the early 2000s, he was an officer of the [Screen Actors Guild](/source/Screen_Actors_Guild)'s Washington/Baltimore division. He served as vice-president, president and national board member. In 2009, he and co-editor [Kevin C. Fitzpatrick](/source/Kevin_C._Fitzpatrick) published "The Lost Algonquin Round Table", a collection of early writings by his grandfather [Robert Benchley](/source/Robert_Benchley) and other members of the [fabled New York literary gang](/source/Algonquin_Round_Table).[4] In 2011, he recorded audio versions of four of his father's children's books for the [HarperCollins](/source/HarperCollins) "I Can Read" series. ## Filmography ### Film Year Title Role Notes 1982 Diner Technical Director 1987 Broadcast News Commander 1989 Her Alibi Prosecutor 1989 Chances Are Marshall 1994 Serial Mom Macho Man 1995 Home for the Holidays Airport Cop 1998 Species II Squad Leader 2000 Cecil B. Demented Swat Cop A 2009 State of Play Junior Detective #2 ### Television Year Title Role Notes 1983 Kennedy FBI Agent 5 episodes 1987 The Ryan White Story David Rosselot Television film 1998, 1999 Homicide: Life on the Street Bartender 2 episodes 2002–2008 The Wire Det. Augustus Polk 8 episodes 2004 Something the Lord Made Karsh Television film ## References 1. **[^](#cite_ref-1)** ["Nat Benchley"](https://freshfiction.com/author.php?id=22559). *freshfiction.com*. July 2009. 1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-washingtonpost_2-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-washingtonpost_2-1) Gregory, Dolores (November 18, 2003). ["'Benchley': Seeing a Famous Forebear Whole"](https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/2003/02/18/benchley-seeing-a-famous-forebear-whole/df446139-f536-4595-87f1-71722cf53a29/). *[The Washington Post](/source/The_Washington_Post)*. Retrieved May 29, 2016. 1. **[^](#cite_ref-3)** [""Benchley Despite Himself""](http://www.natbenchley.com/). *www.natbenchley.com*. Retrieved May 29, 2016. 1. **[^](#cite_ref-4)** Hansen, Liane (September 20, 2009). ["Algonquin Writers' Work No Longer Lost"](https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=113005574). *[NPR](/source/NPR)*. Retrieved May 29, 2016. ## External links - [Nat Benchley](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0070359/) at [IMDb](/source/IMDb_(identifier)) - [Official website](http://www.natbenchley.com) --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Nat Benchley](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nat_Benchley) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nat_Benchley?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.