The world’s first bloggers

The gang is all here...

Dorthy Parker, Alexander Woolcott, Robert Benchley, Harpo Marx, Edna Ferber, Peggy Wood, Franklin P. Adams, George S. Kaufman, Heywood Broun and Marc Connelly.

These are just some of the names that became to be known as the “Vicious Circle”  or The Algonquin Roundtable.  This was a collection of literary talents of the 1920′s who started to meet for lunch at the Algonquin hotel every day, leading to a ten year run of very interesting quotes and antidotes that we still use today.

Started to welcome back Alexander Woolcott back from World War I, the “Circle” flourished.  All of the members were members of New York’s literary scene and would often write columns for their respected magazines based on the roundtables lunches.  Also, lesser knowns and non-members would try to secure tables surrounding the group in order to overhear quotes and quips from the group and also report them to their respective publications.  Thus, becoming the world’s first ”Bloggers” 

The most famous of the group was Dorthy Parker although many members of the group rose to achieve celebrity status as well.  Harold Ross went on to start the now famous magazine The New Yorker . Woolcott became a famous theater critic.  Harpo Marx, along with his brother formed one the best comedy groups of all time (Although Groucho hated the roundtable).    But by far, the one who made the table go round was Dorthy Parker.  Dorothy Parker was known for her pointed verbal wit and satire.  There are many quotes from her that we still use today.  See if you know some of these Dorthy Parker gems…

• You can lead a horticulture, but you can’t make her think.
• I like to have a martini,
  Two at the very most.
  After three I’m under the table,
  after four I’m under my host.
• It serves me right for keeping all my eggs in one bastard.
• Men seldom make passes at girls who wear glasses.
• Women and elephants never forget.
• I’d rather have a bottle in front of me, than a frontal lobotomy.
• That would be a good thing for them to cut on my tombstone: Wherever she went, including here, it was against her better judgment.

Dorthy went on to have a greater fame in Hollywood, being the writer of the screenplay of The Star Is Born.

So I think I make a good point for this being the very first bloggers.  I could only hope to be as influential as these folks were.  But then again, no need to put any pressure on myself. 

So I leave this post with one more Quote from Mrs. Parker,

I’m never going to be famous. I don’t do anything, not one single thing. I used to bite my nails, but I don’t even do that any more.