Historical Figure
Groucho Marx
d. 1977
American comedian (1890–1977)
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Biography
Julius Henry "Groucho" Marx was an American comedian, actor, comic vocalist and game show host who performed in vaudeville, Broadway, films, radio, and television. A master of the one-line retort, he is considered one of America's greatest comedians.
Timeline
The story of Groucho Marx, told in moments.
Born Julius Henry Marx on the Upper East Side of Manhattan. His mother Minnie pushed all five brothers into vaudeville. She terrified booking agents.
The Cocoanuts, the Marx Brothers' first film. Groucho ad-libbed so much that the writers stopped trying to keep the script current.
Duck Soup released. A satire of war and politics that flopped at the box office. Paramount dropped them. It's now considered one of the greatest comedies ever made.
You Bet Your Life debuted on television. He'd interview contestants before the quiz and the interviews were funnier than the game. The show ran for 11 years.
In Their Own Words (16)
To write an autobiography of Groucho Marx would be as asinine as to read an autobiography of Groucho Marx.
Just after completing his second autobiography, as quoted in The Marx Brothers: A Bio-bibliography (1987) by Wes D. Gehring, p. 137, 1987
I find television very educational. Every time someone switches it on I go into another room and read a good book.
As quoted in Halliwell’s Filmgoer’s Companion (1984) by Leslie Halliwell, 1984
Years ago, I tried to top everybody, but I don't anymore. I realized it was killing conversation. When you're always trying for a topper you aren't really listening. It ruins communication.
The Groucho Phile (1976), p. 308, 1976
I did a bond tour during the Second World War... We were raising money, and we played Boston and Philadelphia and most of the big cities. And we got to Minneapolis. There wasn't any big theater to play there, so we did our show in a railroad station. Then I told the audience that I knew a girl in Minneapolis. She was also known in St.Paul, she used to come over to visit me. She was known as "The Tail Of Two Cities." I didn't sell any more bonds, but eh... they didn't allow me to appear anymore.
Recounting a War Bonds tour in his Carnegie Hall appearance (6 May 1972), 1972
They say Allen got something from the Marx Brothers. He got nothing. Maybe twenty years ago, he might have been inspired. Today he's an original. The best, the funniest.
On Woody Allen, in an interview with Roger Ebert in Esquire magazine (7 March 1972), 1972
Artifacts (15)
Roger Marx
Odilon Redon
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