Ben Hecht
He was a close and lifelong friend of screenwriter Ben Hecht, with whom he had co-written numerous screenplays. Hecht noted that Lederer was "half Jewish and half Irish," and soon after meeting him, wired Rose, his wife, "I have met a new friend. He has pointed teeth, pointed ears, is nineteen years old, completely bald and stands on his head a great deal. His name is Charles Lederer. I hope to bring him back to civilization with me." Hecht's 1963 autobiography, Gaily, Gaily, was dedicated, "For Charles Lederer, to read in his tub."
Lederer was famed on both coasts as a sardonic wit and "incessant practical joker," which endeared him to Hecht. Bennett Cerf's book Shake Well Before Using describes an incident during Lederer's career in the Army during World War II, when Lederer wreaked revenge on an Englishwoman who had been making rude remarks against Jews. Lederer was also great friends with Marx Brother Harpo Marx and the two constantly cooked up practical jokes at the balls and parties they attended at Hearst Castle, the estate of William Randolph Hearst, such as stealing all the female guests' fur coats and draping them over the statues outside the estate during a heavy snowstorm.
Read more about this topic: Charles Lederer, Personal Life, Friendships
Famous quotes by ben hecht:
“Immorality, perversion, infidelity, cannibalism, etc., are unassailable by church and civic league if you dress them up in the togas and talliths of the Good Book.”
—Ben Hecht (1893–1964)
“Alicia Huberman: Look, I’ll make it easy for you. The time has come when you must tell me that you have a wife and two adorable children, and this madness between us can’t go on any longer.
T.R. Devlin: I bet you’ve heard that line often enough.
Alicia: Right below the belt every time. Oh that isn’t fair, Dev.
Devlin: Skip it. We have other things to talk about. We have a job.”
—Ben Hecht (1893–1964)
“What’re you always trying to push me in the gutter for, Dixon? I got as much right on the sidewalk as you have. Don’t talk to me about ‘rights.’ You’re a hood and a murderer.”
—Ben Hecht (1893–1964)