Sally Benson
Sally Benson was an American writer born Sara Mahala Redway Smith on September 3, 1900, in St. Louis, Missouri. She began her career as a bank teller and later transitioned to feature writing, contributing to publications like the New York Morning Telegraph and The New Yorker. Benson gained recognition for her sharp satire and insightful portrayals of human experiences, particularly in her short stories. Notable works include "The Lady Who Takes Her Swains to the Zoo," and her collections *People Are Fascinating* and *Emily*. She is best remembered for her depictions of adolescent girls, most famously through characters like Judy Graves in *Junior Miss* and Tootie Smith in *Meet Me in St. Louis*, the latter of which became a beloved musical film in 1944. In addition to her literary contributions, Benson was a successful screenwriter, earning an Academy Award nomination for *Anna and the King of Siam* and writing for films such as *Bus Stop* and *Viva Las Vegas*. Her legacy is marked by her keen observation of character and society, making her a prominent figure in American literature and cinema.
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Sally Benson
Writer
- Born: September 3, 1900
- Birthplace: St. Louis, Missouri
- Died: July 19, 1972
Biography
Sally Benson was born Sara Mahala Redway Smith to cotton broker Alonzo Redway and Anna Prophater Smith on September 3, 1900, in St. Louis, Missouri. As a child, she attended the Mary Institute in St. Louis, Missouri, and the Horace Mann High School in New York City. Between 1917 and 1919, she worked as a bank teller for the National City Bank in New York City, followed by a job as a feature writer for the New York Morning Telegraph. She also reviewed books and films, married athletics manager Reynolds Benson in 1919, and had one daughter, Barbara. The couple later divorced.
Recognized for her withering satire, Benson made frequent contributions to The New Yorker, a venue where she felt very much at home. Benson’s New Yorker stories were known for their deprecating satire and keen, sad insight into the human condition. For instance, in her popular short story, “The Lady Who Takes Her Swains to the Zoo,” a woman finds she has the ability to ferret out and pick up deeply saddened, newly separated men. One reviewer wrote that Benson’s stories were “ruthless in their satire, and penetrating often to the point of tragedy.” In 1936, Benson published her book of short stories People Are Fascinating, followed two years later by another short-story collection, Emily.
Benson is best remembered for her insightful depiction of tongue-tied, graceless adolescent girls: for instance, Judy Graves in Junior Miss, and Tootie Smith in the autobiographical Meet Me in St. Louis. After her first successful Judy Graves story written for The New Yorker, Benson was encouraged to write more stories about adolescent girls. Ultimately, her stories were published in the successful book Junior Miss, which was dramatized in the 1943 radio show of the same title. Meet Me in St. Louis, her autobiographical story about the Smith family’s four beautiful daughters, was made into a very popular musical in 1944. It was directed by Vincent Minnelli and starred Judy Garland as Esther Smith and Margaret O’Brien as Tootie.
Benson was also an enormously successful screenwriter. In addition to the popular Anna and the King of Siam, for which she received an Academy Award nomination in 1946, she also wrote the screenplays for Bus Stop; Summer Magic; Viva Las Vegas; and The Singing Nun. A highly prolific writer, Benson received high praise for her depiction of pithy characters, knife-sharp satire, and for her ability to turn a thought-provoking phrase.