Dorothy Parker Audio-Video
Inside tour of the Algonquin Hotel and the Round Table itself.
Dorothy Parker's Birthplace; A National Literary Landmark on Jersey Shore
Jennifer Jason Leigh performs "In April" from Mrs. Parker and the Vicious Circle.
Dorothy Parker made two full-length LP recordings of her work in 1964. A record company, Verve, asked her to read her poems and stories for a record called The World of Dorothy Parker (Verve V-15029). Her other LP is from Spoken Arts called An Informal Hour with Dorothy Parker (Spoken Arts 726). It is the best of the two: Parker reads more than two dozen of her favorite poems. It is from the latter that most of these audio clips are taken.
At the time of the recording sessions, Mrs. Parker was approaching age 71. Her voice ravaged by years of Chesterfields and Johnny Walker, this offers a peek at the real Mrs. Parker. She died three years after recording her work.
Special thanks to Jon Bradley Snyder of Spokane, WA, and Catherine Chodack of New Jersey for loaning me recordings of these 2 LPs. Note: The NAACP owns the copyright to these recordings, so copying them for commercial use or performance is prohibited.
You will need the free Real Player to play the clips.
Dorothy Parker Audio
| Name |
Length |
Originally Published |
| Men |
:35 |
Aug. 19, 1926, New York Life |
| Resume |
:17 |
Aug. 16, 1925, The New York World |
| One Perfect Rose |
:50 |
Jan. 4, 1923, The New York Life |
| Partial Comfort |
:17 |
Feb. 24, 1927, New York Life |
| Bohemia |
:35 |
Sept. 17, 1927, The New Yorker |
| Coda |
:34 |
March 22, 1928, New York World |
| The False Friends |
:44 |
Enough Rope |
| The Satin Dress |
1:01 |
Jan. 20, 1926, New York World |
| A Fairly Sad Tale |
1:11 |
Jan. 8, 1927, The New Yorker |
| They Part |
:30 |
Enough Rope |
| The Lady's Reward |
:56 |
April 13, 1933, NY Herald Tribune |
| The Evening Primrose |
:36 |
Aug. 24, 1929, The New Yorker |
| Afternoon |
:46 |
March 12, 1927, The New Yorker |
| The Burned Child |
:37 |
Aug. 19, 1926, New York Life |
| Recurrence |
:55 |
Aug. 28, 1925, New York World |
| Inscription for the Ceiling of a Bedroom |
1:02 |
April 8, 1926, New York Life |
| The Counsellor; To Newcastle |
:39 |
July 28, 1927, New York Life |
| Plea |
1:08 |
April 17, 1925, The New York Life |
| The Red Dress |
:47 |
June 9, 1927, The New York Life |
| The Little Old Lady in the Lavender Silk |
1:31 |
Aug. 1, 1930, The New York World |
| The Veteran |
:48 |
Enough Rope |
| Parable for a Certain Virgin |
1:33 |
April 23, 1927, The New Yorker |
| For an Unknown Lady |
:52 |
Aug. 19, 1926, New York Life |
| Story |
:33 |
July 14, 1927, The New York Life |
| Tombstones in the Starlight |
|
May 4, 1929, The New Yorker |
| I. The Minor Poet |
:25 |
|
| II. The Pretty Lady |
:19 |
|
| III. The Very Rich Man |
:20 |
|
| IV. The Fisherwoman |
:14 |
|
| V. The Crusader |
:17 |
|
| VI. The Actress |
:21 |
|
Other Parker Audio Clips
| Audio #1, Dorothy Parker: 1958 interview on the writing process and The Ladies of the Corridor. (3:26) |
|
| Audio #2, Arnaud d'Usseau: 1989 interview on meeting and working with Parker on The Ladies of the Corridor. Low volume. (8:33) |
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| Audio #3, Marion Meade: 2008 interview on The Ladies of the Corridor and its relevance today. (7:35) |
|
| Audio #4, Irish radio show: 2008 arts program about Dorothy Parker, New York, and her legacy. (1 hour) |
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| Audio #5, "Mr. Durant": 1995, Broadway actress Elaine Stritch reads Parker's classic 1924 short story. The story is from the audio book Selected Stories (available here) and in the Portable Dorothy Parker (available here). (31:19) |
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| Audio #6, "Happy Birthday, Mrs. Parker": 2008, Broadway composer William Zeffiro recorded this original song for the annual Parker Society birthday party. The lyrics are here. (1:49) |
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